I live in Texas and thus have not seen or heard if the BOT has issued a statement on the firing of Jeff Long?
Since the Board represents the entire university including its alumni I believe they owe everyone a formal statement on the reasons for the firing of Long. We all deserve to know why, not just the rich people who are on the inside for no reason other than they have money.
If they do not do this then you know they have something to hide.
I am currently embarrassed by university’s leaders and perhaps they are the ones needing replacing.
The Chancellor is the one responsible for firing the Vice Chancellor (unless you do not have a chancellor). The BOT could but because the Chancellor did they don’t have to (and the Chancellor lives to decide his own future).
You might get a generic “thanks for your service” note but not the details of termination.
Given that the real reasons are likely subjective, personal, and unmeasurable by most performance metrics…I don’t expect a peep from the BOT.
Hyneman, Waldrip and Gibson commented on it to the ADG. It is in the top story on our front page.
I think its funny they are saying the Chancellor made this decision
It’s always a chain of command situation. The board gave opinions, but did not take a vote. They would have had to report a vote. Chancellor read them and acted.
The more I read the more it feels like there is more to this story than meets the eye. This smells bad and I fear it gets worse before it gets better. Feels like there is a hidden issue or that the people in charge are petty good ole boys… or both. It does not feel like there is even a beginning of a comprehensive well thought out plan. I’ve learned the hard way that perspective improves with time, so I’m reserving final judgement… please please tell me someone has a plan… and that it’s not just to hold the “yankee” and the “fat man” “accountable”.
Sometimes you just know a guy needs replacing. His job performance is just not what you want it to be. You don’t have to be completely incompetent to get fired. The Chancellor and the BOT may have just felt they could find somebody better suited for the job. It doesn’t have to be a scandal or a huge financial matter to get a guy fired. Sometimes a person is not popular and his performance is just not up to certain standards. There are many mitigating factors which cause a person to be replaced. Sometimes that person is just not the right fit for the job going forward. The Chancellor and the Board of Trustees are smart people. Let’s trust them to do their job.
Just as there were people on this board who had doubts that Jeff Long could do his job, I have severe doubts about the chancellor and BoT’s doing their job. Even though the people have changed, anybody who has been around Arkansas sports in the last 25 years should have the same doubts.
Over time, if you are having to make enough tough decisions, you can make enough people mad at you that the sum total of the anger is enough to make your bosses think it would just be easier to move you on to eliminate the nagging. The fact that no one can cite one single bad decision (at the time it was made) that is justification for firing him and they are paying him almost $5,000,000 to leave, all makes it sound like a cumulative thing brought him down. Maybe a less qualified individual with more local ties and more “glad handing & butt kissing” ability will do OK. I hope so because this firing without cause will make it very hard for us to go out and get a top AD. They will see this as a great AD doing a good job just got canned for no good reason. Our credibility with them will be shot. Hope those donors pony up lots more than they have in the past to help pay for this mess. JMVVVVVVHO
I’ve heard this said in my profession and I believe it’s true in lots of jobs.
“If you do the job the way it needs to be done, you’re going to piss off 5% every year. In 10 years, you’ve pissed off 50% and it’s time to go.” My boss who told me that got fired in his 11th year. I’m taking no chances; I’ve been changing jobs every 3-5 years 