With all of this "Straight Talk" . . .

Football Insider Board
#1

. . . here is the original post/thread about this season under that “branding”, if you will . . .

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=20676&p=145891#p145891

I posted that a couple of hours after the CSU loss. Not that it’s been a long time, but it kind of seems so with the subsequent disaster against N. Texas and the Auburn road loss.

I still believe everything I posted above, and was encouraged to see a little bit of that improvement I mentioned in the post above (in the Auburn game). I’m realistic enough to know and accept that it won’t be a straight line up; we’re likely to have some up’s and downs the rest of the year. But if we are better at the end of the year than we are today, and know who we can depend on and build around going forward, I’ll be OK.

What I see here is that more and more are gradually adopting the same philosophy about the 2018 season. Oh, you have the elmo’s of the world who have always thought CCM was a bad hire from day 1, continue to think so and will until (and unless) he wins the SEC West. They will either be proven to be right, or wrong, over the next 3-4 years. I’m not digging in on either side of that issue, other than to say I still believe that CCM has a good chance of succeeding, and I won’t know for another 2-3 years if he will, or won’t. At this point, he has my full support because that gives us the best chance of succeeding in the short AND long term. I WANT him to succeed. But if he doesn’t - after he’s been given enough time (and, IMO that’s 3-4 years), I’ll have no problem admitting that his hire was a mistake/setback, etc. But I’m a LONG way from that now.

#2

Wiz,

I wouldn’t bet on this…

I asked elmo, point blank, what minimum accomplishment by the football program it would take for him change his mind about CM. He chose NOT to answer. His motive? Could be that he simply does NOT like CM and never will, no matter what he’s able to accomplish here. Could be that he didn’t want to put an answer in writing, have CM accomplish it, and have to admit he was wrong. Point being, it’s rare for a fan to have a change of mind … especially after coming out so strongly on one particular side of an issue.

#3

Elmo has been asked to back up a lot of his statements but has basically only responded with a list of other coaches he would rather have gone after.
He also must have some ill will towards Jerry Jones as well, whom he says was the main instrument in the CCM hire. But again without providing any proof. Who cares if Jerry had some input, he is an AR man and pretty knowledgeable in this sport.
Must be an ax to grind somewhere.

#4

A rather dull ax.

#5

CCM can change my opinion if he can:

  1. Win some games. Like the ones we are supposed to win. Look like a coach that actually knows what he’s doing.
  2. Don’t lose the recruits we already have committed.
  3. Get into the upper half of the SEC in recruiting.
  4. No more moral victories.
  5. Live up to your promises that you told all the players and fans when you gave that lame speech.
  6. Stop all the media propaganda and catch phrases.
  7. Get rid of Craddock. Or take over the play calling, before he costs you your job.

And no, I do not like him as our coach. But we are stuck with him. I’m tired of losing, and he’s done nothing to change the narrative, or the perception of the program.

No ill will towards JJ. I think he’s been amazing for our program and he’s a big part of keeping us visible. Other than him forcing this hire so he could get his grandson in a Razorback uniform, it’s all good. What’s Jimmy Johnson done? What’s Switzer done? Jerry is a great guy. Met him a few times. He loves talking about airplanes. And that’s what I do for a living. But there is no ax to grind with Jerry, trust me.

If you guys think 3-5 years of losing is ok, just to see if this MIGHT work, cool. I don’t.

#6

I couldn’t agree more. I am tired of losing & being the laughable punching bag of the SEC.

If y’all think Elmo is the only majorly disgusted fan on this board & across the fan base, you’re sadly mistaken. He’s just the loudest one here…

WPS!!

#7

There are lots of fans who are just sick and tired of the program being down and want it to be fixed NOW. They are long time fans who yearn for the days when we were competitive in the SEC. Please don’t be fooled into thinking Elmo is one of those.

He was never and still is not a Razorback fan. He has a hate for Chad Morris that stems from one of his relatives being a scrub on SMU’s defense and blaming Chad for that. He wants Chad to fail, doesn’t care if that failing hurts the Hogs, he just hates Chad and that is all he has got to contribute. If Chad Morris was not our coach, you would never have heard of Elmo. He never came to a Razorback board until he decided to hurt Chad and to hell if it hurts the Razorbacks for him to pursue his little vendetta. Not an opinion. That is a fact.

#8

I don’t have any relatives that go to SMU.

I don’t like CCM as the head coach. As a person, he seems like a good guy.

And trust me. I am just a big of a fan as the next person. Been one for 42 years. And during that time, I have seen it all from this program. And, I feel this has got to be the worst decision in the history of our proud program.

Hurt Chad? Hurt the Hogs? Oh please. That’s what you think.

What hurts CCM and the Hogs is the product that he’s putting on the field. That’s what is a FACT.

And yes, I joined this board, to vent to say I wasn’t buying the whole act he puts on. And I still don’t. But’s what has reinforced it is what he does on the sideline. And it’s not a very good job. That is also a FACT.

Again, many of you were so bent out of shape about CBB getting paid off, and made personal attacks about his weight, his wife, his social life, etc. None of that matters. All of y’all wanted change so bad. Now you’ve got it.

But what does matter now? The performance of the current coach. And, if he doesn’t perform better, and quickly, he will be the next one we have to pay off.

#9

It took a special kind of dysfunction for Arkansas to

  1. Fail running the football against Eastern Illinois.
  2. Give up a big lead and lose to Colorado State.
  3. Melt down at home against North Texas.

Everyone was surprised by these results. Nobody expected them. Arkansas - on offense and special teams - looked about as broken as it could get. It was a complete failure of preparation and planning.

Ya know, I’d really like to know why it happened, but that’s about it. Should we take the bad beginning as a harbinger of doom? I insist that the skills a coach needs to build a team have little to do with the skills required to take somebody else’s roster and make a team out of it.

Houston Nutt was perfect for a job like this. He was not much of a program builder, but he could adapt to the available talent. Did that make him a great coach? No. Did that keep him from auguring into the ground at Ole Miss? No.

Lou Holtz was perfect for a job like this. Same thing, not a real program builder, but he knew what to do with that roster Frank Broyles handed him. Damn.

This is what we bought when we hired Chad Morris. We did not go for the quick fix. No one expected a collapse right out of the gate, but hey, we knew the range of possibilities was very wide. Just the thesis “take Bret Bielema’s players and put them in a HUNH scheme” sounds difficult.

The optimism people had about the defense being instantly competent has proven OK. This defense would look awesome if the offense could hold up its end of the bargain.

Development of the offense was hindered greatly by injuries that led to frequent reshuffling and the battlefield promotion of August-reporting true freshmen into the playing rotation. It also was slowed by whatever was going on in the QB room + the fact that we didn’t leave spring practice with a starter. I don’t know what the heck is going on with the wide receivers. Apparently, some of the Bielema holdovers felt like Morris was giving preference to his recruit (Woods), and that has led to some bickering and infighting.

Nobody wants to see the Razorbacks play a home game the way they played North Texas. That was awful. It was hard for us to get that kind of a catch-up on the internal situation of the football team. They began to respond when thrown into the fire at Auburn, and maybe that will continue.

Know this for sure: A new coach is going to squander some inherited talent. It’s going to happen. Some players are skilled but don’t fit the new systems, or don’t fit as well as others do. It will cause dissension, and the coach has to kill that brush fire ASAP. Not everything will be clean and efficient. This is why we want to avoid coaching changes.

But these are Chad Morris’s Razorbacks now, and everybody needs to get used to the idea.

#10

The one about Jerry Jones pushing Chad Morris to Arkansas so John Stephen Jones could be on the team.

As John Stephen Jones told me, he was virtually certain to come here whether it was Bielema, Morris or anybody else.

It’s about the Razorbacks with him, not about the coach - again per the kid.

The only other real option he considered was Texas Tech because he really likes KK.

If your Jones theory was correct, he would have pushed KK.

#11

Very well said Randy. You make some good points.

He’s still gonna be a no name coach, with a losing record from SMU. It was bought in by people that were sold a fake bill of goods by CCM, and was good ole boy “networked” by Jerry and Terry Don. He had no idea about the players, and jumped into the deep end. CCM said he could adapt with these players and make it work, as he had to “do the same in high school”. It looks like his thought process was that he’d come in, say some lame speech, throw around some flashy catch phrases to wow the media and public, while all the while not really knowing what he was gonna do. I guess he has taken the “fake it til you make it” approach.

I will credit them in recruiting. They have tried hard, and made some great gains. But again, NSD is not here yet. Those kids committed without seeing one game played by the Hogs. I am afraid that if one kid de-commits, and opens his recruiting back up, it could cause an avalanche.

Defense, looking a bit better. One game doesn’t make a season.

Good coaches can make a team out of some else’s players. There are plenty of examples out there to back it up. It’s been proven for decades in college football. Even at Arkansas, as you’ve stated. The difference is that CCM has not shown he knows what to do with this roster. That is apparent and evident. The same with Craddock.

The bickering and infighting is gonna continue. He’s squandered the talent we have to prove that is gonna run this HUNH, by hook or by crook. But it has backfired on him. Badly. He’s done nothing to show that fire is out.

And we should have gone with the quick fix. Wasn’t losing for as long as we have enough to convince the BOT? With a stadium and facilities as good as we have, why not get a coach to match, IMMEDIATELY? We should have laid it out there, and followed what TAMU did. Pay the money, and get the best coach money can buy. And please don’t give me that garbage about the money. It isn’t about the money. We have plenty.

Nobody either will, or can say who we offered this job to. But there were many who would have taken it, if the money was right. That is a fact.

I won’t get used to it. No matter how long he’s here. He’s not my coach. He is just occupying the office.

#12

Dudley,
One question - Did JSJ have a scholly offer from CBB?

#13

It’s important to note that Bobby Petrino’s first Arkansas team opened with four abysmal performances.

Arkansas won its first two that season, but they were 28-24 over Western Illinois and 28-27 vs. Louisiana-Monroe (which had been wiped out the previous week by Auburn in Tuberville’s last season). Those games were every bit as ugly as anything we have seen so far this season. Really ugly performances.

Then it was 49-14 at home against Alabama and 52-10 at Texas. Game five’s 38-7 home loss to Florida seemed relatively better.

Petrino had the same problems as Morris is having, finding players who can play the roles his offense needs and dealing with internal dissension / disruption from players with mixed loyalties.

After five games in 2008, message boards had a furious war between Nutt loyalists and Petrino supporters. Somehow, we all survived. Heh.

#14

Item #3 from the OP of the “original” Straight Talk thread, as linked in the OP of this current thread:

#15