“Derrick LeBlanc, who handled the Arkansas defensive line in 2020, has been exploring a move to the NFL, sources told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.”
I have not been paying close attention to this, but sure sounds to me like he was fired. Anybody know?
Nevermind…think I know the answer after reading other posts.
LeBlanc was given a termination letter Jan. 22, according to some employment records I received today. He was reassigned to another position in the program through Feb. 2.
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So, we’ll be paying him $450k not to coach for us next year? Hopefully that NFL thingy works out for our pocketbook.
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I don’t think he was on a multi-year contract. We would owe him the balance on this year, possibly with offset from the NFL gig or wherever he lands.
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Thanks, Matt.
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Wrong.
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And merry Christmas to you too, Mr. Personality. I can see I gave you too much benefit of the doubt, Won’t make that mistake again
When you can’t beat them, attack them, lol.
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All of the assistant coaches are on multi-year contracts. That has been the case since Yurachek was hired.
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Aloha,
Please help me here. UA gave U.K. $100K for LeBlanc and then signed LeBlanc to a two-year contract for $450K+ Per year only to fire him after one season? I am assuming he was Odom’s choice. That’s a bad return on investment.
Will anyone step up and state the reasons he was fired at such great expense?
GHG!
He was a Pittman choice.
No kidding. Geez the guy can flat out be wrong and just can’t deal with it. It’s a complex but absolutely hilarious. And then he judges who should be given the benefit of the doubt. Ha. Oh there’s a name for this type of person…
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Maybe a bad return, but would be worse two lose the next two years of coaching and recruiting if he’s not the right person. Sometimes you eat it and move forward.
Hey, it could be lots worse. If Morris was still here he would have given all of them a big raise and extensions for winning 3 games. I like it that Sam was not happy with our 3-7 record even though it was an all SEC schedule. Morris would have broken his arm patting himself on the back. Of course, we all know he would have never won 3 games.
I think it’s important to set the tone we are here to win and work hard and if you do that, you’ll make a lot of money. If you want to bounce around for pay raises or sit around getting a fat check, this place aint for you. It aint about the money. It’s about the work ethic and mentality.
Not to drag up a touchy subject…
Jeff Long was seen by many I trust as a “trransitional hire.” That he lasted a decade is somewhat amazing. He was set up to fail. He had a moment where it looked like he was going to be a stellar hire than the wheels on programs started to fall off.
Some of these position coaches might be looked at as “transition hires”. Easier to do that after the fact. Learning after two recruiting cycles (or a truncated one and this signing year) that a coach can’t cut it on the recruiting trail is a “bail now” situation. Probably more elite coaching technicians than elite recruiters. We don’t know the culture in the coaches’ room, either. If a coach didn’t “fit” then the HC has to make a move.
Perhaps it’s a good thing in the coaching industry to know that you’re going to work for a HC that, if it doesn’t work out, will not broadcast your firing/shortcomings to the world. Would imagine that’s a good reputation to have, and not lost on Sam.
Aloha,
Just trying to be objective in the matter. Was LeBlanc a bad hire? Why would CSP spend so much $$ for LeBlanc only to fire him a year later? Perhaps its not his skill set but something else which led to the termination? Why was he and the other assistant coaches replaced? What are the upgrades of the new coaches compared to the ones they replaced? These are legit questions which should be asked and answered without fear of loss of access. It’s responsible journalism.
GHG!
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Sam hasn’t had a press conference in forever. We’ll hear about all of this soon enough, but I am curious as well.
I think LeBlanc is a very good coach. Pittman wants more, apparently. Maybe some philosophical differences that we’ll not know about?