Arkansas Razorback football program. No shat!
Why can’t a coach do both, get rid of the bad apples and also coach! Do you remember what Holtz did when hired by Notre Dame? His first day when he met his team he told them put your feet on the floor, I’m your football coach! The message, you’re not in Kansas anymore.
Even our beloved Nutt took over a 4-7 team with his change of crazy excitement he got those players to overachieve. Now Bielema says I don’t need the players to play like Superman, but play like they practice. Have any of you played football? You were told to practice hard because you’ll play like you practice. Well apparently there’s some pathetic practices going on the Hill and we get to see it on game day.
We need a coach who’s not going to be these kids best friend. We need a coach who can push them to be the best they can be!
He doesn’t try to be their best friend. If that was the case you would see more off the field trouble. I can’t recall another UA coach with less off the field issues than Bielema. That’s because he won’t put up with it.
We were winning with Petrino and we haven’t won since. Sometimes we win a game and may go to a bowl which all SEC teams do, but since Petrino we are always near the bottom of the SEC.
I suppose a coach could do both, but what bad apples; and when and how has the results of his coaching ever even resembled something equal to “saving” the program? The AD has certainly not done anything that saved the football program. He’s built some nice things that should have helped to keep the program at the Petrino level of winning but Bielema has not been able to capitalize on them. The dude-writer must have been napping for the last four-and-a-half years.
And, if the self-serving AD had not mounted his bully-pulpit and fired his coach on national TV the university would not have had the degree of embarrassment it was subjected to. Went into great detail of the coaches transgressions, shed a few tears to show his humility, and obviously his highest degree of integrity.
I’ve never seen anything like it before or since and I’m near the end of my eighth decade. About 70 of those years spent avidly following Razorback football.
Another thing, you have to understand that for some and maybe many Razorback football fans have no emotional tie to the university. Folks born and raised in Arkansas but have college degrees from another university, may only have a passing interest in APR, GPA, and graduation rates. Primarily just want to see a successful Razorback football team on the field.
It is certainly possible that a coach could clean up a program and build a successful winning team. Bielema has just fallen significantly short of the winning part. He needs to look for ways to keep the best RB from a couple years ago and the best DT from last year ending up on the Missouri roster. Grades and character issues are things a coach should be able to help a youngster with.
So, in a sense, Long had as much or more to do with the embarrassment surrounding Petrino’s firing as the coach did. It likely could have been handled in a more private manner. The scheduled press and national TV thing certainly didn’t have to happen to get Petrino fired and one his way.
I don’t see, in any way, how Long or Bielema has been the savior of the Razorback football program.
Bobby Petrino did two things while at Arkansas - won and also made the program a national joke at the end of his tenure.
I have know idea what type of guy he is now, but he was certainly the worst individual person with the least character to ever coach here in my 36 years here at Arkansas
The columnist at the Arkansas Times hit the nail on the head. Several times.
Long held a press conference to fire Petrino because he knew there would be media questions. If he had done it with a press release and never answered questions you’d be criticizing him for ducking the media.
A lot of people act like we should be hugely embarrassed because we only scored seven points Saturday. That’s nothing. What was hugely embarrassing is a coach who thought he could get away with putting his girlfriend on the payroll in an adjoining office so he could get a quickie at lunch time. The Arkansas program was a national joke in April 2012 and we’re still recovering from that.
Did Petrino learn from his mistakes? I don’t know. It seems like the Louisville Athletic Director would look the other way if he hadn’t, just like he did when Pitino got the woman pregnant and paid for her abortion, or when the basketball staff was bringing in hookers for the recruits
Excellent Post. I could not agree any more with your view that “in a sense, Long had as much or more to do with the embarrassment surrounding Petrino’s firing as the coach did. It likely could have been handled in a more private manner. The scheduled press and national TV thing certainly didn’t have to happen to get Petrino fired and one his way.”
I have watched so call fans pile on Coaches and Players alike when they are down. I add Brandon Allen to this equation of humiliation. But to the credit of both they moved on and are having successful careers. The only real victims are the players of the program, and the fans. It appears as a whole; Razorback nation has stopped blaming Bobby Petrino for all that is wrong, so maybe the eyes that matter are now looking at the program objectively. It should start with Long. It is his responsibility for the program. He can hire and fire as we wish as any Executive can do, but a decision to fire does not give you free pass to underperform. Stockholders don’t care why a CEO decides to replace a senior executive, they just expect the results.
Without integrity you are nothing!
With Petrino you had nothing.
When in charge take charge and setting a good example is the most important thing a leader must do! You demand the same from your players.
The face of our program. Petrino neck brace what a wonderful example! No sir I don’t think he should have ever been allowed to coach again!
Coach B takes cares of his players and wants them to be successful on the field and after football is over. The majority of those young men will not play in the NFL.
I’d say it’s important for them to graduate and have positive role models that they can learn from.
I’m not happy when we get beat. Beat I want to see my hogs have respect on and off the field. Period!