Jeff Long: 2012 Arkansan of the year
by Beau Wilcox
Jeff Long spent much of 2012 on the fevered minds of Arkansans. His name was uttered often and in many contexts (and perhaps, as the search for a long-term fix dragged on, with some likely epithets in or around his name), and therefore it's difficult to fathom an occasion where any other agent of Razorback culture has been so frequently cussed or discussed.
In April, Long took the bold but necessary step to dismiss Bobby Petrino when the celebrated coach's imbroglios put the athletic department and university as a whole in the crosshairs. He followed shortly thereafter with the puzzling, but then-justifiable call to bring the Hogs' former special teams coach, John L. Smith, back to Fayetteville on a 10-month contract to be a Band-Aid for the 2012 season. Finally, he persuaded Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema to leave a cushy post to take over after Smith "guided" a team on the seeming cusp of greatness to its worst winning percentage in 22 years. For all those decisions and the attention they drew, Jeff Long is the Arkansas Times' 2012 Arkansan of the Year.
This was the second November of the six he has spent in the state of Arkansas where Long's shoulders were weighted with the irrationally scrutinized task of selecting a long-term head football coach for the Razorbacks. But the conditions under which the university's athletic director and vice chancellor worked in 2012 were markedly different than in 2007.
The pressure cooker in the fall of 2007 was set a bit more toward "simmer" as Long was engaged in a months-long transition into the throne being vacated by Frank Broyles. He was charged with finding some kind of salve for passionate boosters and fans who had grown weary of the football program's in-house strife. Broyles was exiting after an accomplished but polarizing 23-year run as AD, and Long had been plucked away from the same position at the University of Pittsburgh with the idea that he could help shed the department's thrifty image. Though Long had not officially taken the reins when Houston Nutt stepped aside, the onus was squarely on him to aggressively locate a viable replacement for Nutt, whose final months of a 10-year tenure had been riddled with off-field controversy and maddening on-field inconsistency.
That tenor, in retrospect, may have made Long's initial hire a little easier for the fan base to stomach. When the names of Jim Grobe and Tommy Bowden surfaced, no one was remotely inspired, but then again, Long probably wasn't expected to do much better. And then Petrino, desperate to flee the NFL that had become an albatross and beat a hasty path back to the college game, came calling, and Long became a regional rock star of sorts. Petrino's fast-track resuscitation of the program — Liberty Bowl win, Sugar Bowl berth, 11-win season in rapid-fire succession — validated the AD, even as some derisively observed that Petrino just descended from football heaven right into Long's lap. In 2012, natch, Hell soon followed.
The jerky rollercoaster that was 2012 is over, and Long is no doubt hopeful that calmer seas lie ahead. Bielema's selection was so unexpected that it was actually fitting after months of sordid happenings on the hill. The 42-year-old has been indisputably successful at Wisconsin — his 68-24 mark over seven seasons included three straight Big 10 titles — but his selection by Long also appeared to represent a sharp philosophical shift for a team that had grown into the gun-slinging shoes Petrino brought with him. Nonetheless, pundits like CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd embraced the hire, even if they subtly condemned Long's methods:
Speaking of...
-
Odds and ends in Hog land
April 11, 2013Nobody is likely to accuse Bret Bielema of being a renaissance man, and maybe that sounds like derision, but it's far from it. Pearls can and does appreciate the modern bravado that he employs, though Jeff Long may ultimately have to yank the reins on his ebullient coach. /more/
-
Spinning Bobby Petrino: The story of Jeff Long's speech
April 5, 2013Good story in Arkansas Business by Chris Bahn on the preparation and delivery of the speech by UA Athletic Director Jeff Long a year ago on the decision to fire successful coach Bobby Petrino after his motorcycle wreck and revelation of an affair with an athletic department subordinate. /more/
-
Bielema hits the right notes
February 28, 2013Bret Bielema's goodwill tour through the state of Arkansas has been a customarily fleet and spectacularly engaging one, and even though Pearls doesn't want to harp on the distinctions between the new lead Hog and his predecessors, it's an impossible one to simply ignore. /more/
-
High-flying Hogs
February 19, 2013I got a tip the other day that Jeff Long, University of Arkansas athletic director, wants the Razorback Foundation to buy a new jet. /more/
- More »
Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
More by Beau Wilcox
-
Football Hogs in transition mode
There isn't any reason to read tea leaves with searing scrutiny when there's a minor mass exodus of football players after spring practice ends, right?
- May 9, 2013
-
Odds and ends in Hog land
Nobody is likely to accuse Bret Bielema of being a renaissance man, and maybe that sounds like derision, but it's far from it. Pearls can and does appreciate the modern bravado that he employs, though Jeff Long may ultimately have to yank the reins on his ebullient coach.
- Apr 11, 2013
- More »
People who saved…
Latest in Cover Stories
-
A guide to the 2013 Little Rock Film Festival
With film picks, a survey of the Arkansas program, a complete schedule and more.
- May 16, 2013
-
A downtown dream realized for Little Rock Film Festival
Screens straddle the river.
- May 16, 2013
-
Ten to watch at the Little Rock Film Fest
Films not to miss.
- May 16, 2013
- More »
Event Calendar
-
Re: Efficiency program from Entergy Arkansas could save you money
What's the saying? If it sounds to good to be true - it usually is.
- on May 18, 2013
-
Re: More to watch at the Little Rock Film Fest
The police are beholden to & trained by fbi.
See my reports concerning…- on May 18, 2013
-
Re: It was a good week for celebrity visits to Little Rock
Mark Pryor's standing well with both the NRA and the IRS. After all, he got…
- on May 18, 2013
Site Index
News
Cover Story / Arkansas Reporter / The Week That Was / Smart Talk / The Insider / The Observer / Editorial / Max Brantley / Ernest Dumas / Gene Lyons / Bob Lancaster / Words / Guest Writer / Letters
Entertainment
A&E Feature / To-Do List / In Brief / Movie Reviews / Music Reviews / Theater Reviews / A&E News / Art Notes / Graham Gordy / Books / Media / Dining Reviews / Dining Guide / What's Cookin' / Calendar / The Televisionist / Movie Listings / Gallery Listings
This Week's Cover
Quick Links
Special Publications
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
