I enjoyed your article in Hawgs Illustrated about Jimmy Johnson and his new book Swagger. What do you believe would have been the future for both Jimmy and Jerry, and the Razorbacks, if Frank had hired Jimmy instead of Lou Holtz.
Not Clay. But lots of winning and probation. Lou won but didnāt get us on probation in an era of rampant SWC cheating and NCAA investigations. Jimmy probably would have gotten us in recruiting hot water, many think. Iām pretty sure Broyles thought that.
Welcome to the board Bluff City. A lot of great information to be gained on this board. Feel free to interact with us.
Welcome BluffCityRazorback. Good to have you on board.
Welcome Bluff City. I see KB also listed ==you did not just move to Ft Worth Texas did you? I kid.
Welcome to our bunch of HogFanatics.
Welcome!!
Welcome BluffCity!
Since you are new here, Iāll point out a useful reference thread on the front page:
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That, in a nutshell, is what I think as well.
I will say that Jimmy was not loyal to anyone or anything but . . . Jimmy. He was not āin loveā with the U of A.
Sure, heād have like to have coached here. It was his alma mater, but it was also one of the 10 best jobs in the country (at that time, without a doubt). But he was known for playing fast and loose with recruiting rules. He even got us a mild hand-slap for some irregularities recruiting a QB out of S. Oak Cliff that eventually went to Ohio State (Rex Gerald), and that happened when he was an assistant under Broyles. Iām not sure the two would have coexisted well in an Athletic Director/Head Coach dynamic. So, I expect Jimmy would have left for someplace else within a few years.
Jimmy was too young that time.
Broyles was 33 when he was hired as coach at Arkansas and Jimmy Johnson was 36 when he was hired at OSU.
You can argue JJ had a better career \ experience before he got his job compared to Broyles (he did start and coach for Broyles as well).
Broyles was the face of the franchise and responsible for much of the vision and success but he has also gotten a pass on many things as well.
We will never know what would have happened to the program but we would have won games. Same with Barry Switzer or even the Paul Bryant when he was mentioned as potential coach. Lou Holtz won and they would have as well.
Probably. We were a top ten program during that time, and we were not playing in the SEC. A bunch of the āchurchā schools and Rice were mostly weak which helped.
Itās all a pure guess.
Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer were linemen playing in the dirt. JFB was Quarterback always wearing a button collar and tie. Both were colorful characters as players and young coaches. I suspect JFB might have been described highly mature 2-year-old. JFB would never be described as a colorful character beyond his shirt tail hanging loose. h coming from the Bobby Dodd coaching tree. In '58-'59 JFB would have been described as somewhat aloof and very matureā¦he was probably a mature 2-year-old. JFB was born, bred, and died a Methodist in the highest tradition of that denomination where Jimmy and Barry would likely occasionally attend a church for a social purpose. I recall the old saying of watching where the students walk before putting in your sidewalksā¦Jimmy and Barry never saw a corner that might not be cut. It was not age or intelligence but maturity and judgement where the line was marked.
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