Arkansas Blog

I hope this pans out, but I find it difficult to believe that Tommy would not wait around for the LSU job. A coach barely has to recruit down there. Besides, he has until the end of December to decide on whatever contract renewal package Auburn offers. Here is a post I placed here a few days back in response to what HankRearden had written:

"Big money is on the coach from Auburn, if they can get him."

I think "they" cannot get him, Hank. One of Tuberville's relatives is a friend of one of my brothers and recently told him that Coach Tub is very happy at Auburn, as are his wife, Suzanne, and the two boys. The kids love their schools and friends and, in fact, can't remember a time when home was other than the village of Auburn, Alabama.

There are at least four other reasons, too, to believe that Tub would not be interested in making a move to Fayette Nam: (1) Nutt (against whom Tub is 5-5 in SEC play) got the job the first time Arkansas showed an interest in Tub, and wounded pride can be difficult to conquer; (2) Ken Hatfield and Houston Nutt have probably proved to Tub that a body can't "come home" to coach, at least not in Arkansas; (3) We, frankly, don't have the dollars required to lure Tub here; and (4) Arkansas would be Tub's third SEC school, and if he were to move to a third SEC school, that school would probably be Florida and only Florida.

Now, my having said all this, you can expect a press conference immediately after Auburn's bowl game where Tub will announce that he's leaving Auburn for Arkansas.

This has been talked about already on hogville.net. Yesterday, a member said it was already a done deal according to his sources. The moderators, who normally move such threads to the "rumors" section, kept it alive...since they hinted very clearly it was MORE than just a rumor and they apparently had corroborating evidence.

Tubby's coming to AR.

This is the same forum where it was revealed Nutt would be fired 2 weeks before it happened. (There were some issues with White wanting Nutt back, but it was basically done with.)

It's the forum where the anti-Nutt banners originated.

It's a happenin' place.

Here's who's plane Tuberville's flying on (remember, Nutt was flying on now-indicted Dicky Scruggs' plane):

David Griffin and his family own 40,000 acres of land in Helena, Arkansas, 30,000 of which is used to grow cotton.

Between 1995 and 2003, Tyler Farms, the operation in charge of the land, received $24,297,994 in cotton subsidies, according to the Environmental Working Group in the US.

The farm group was the biggest recipient of cotton subsidies in America, yet Mr Griffin hardly needs the cash. He lives in a 13,000 square foot, million-dollar home, runs several tractor dealerships and sits on the board of the local bank.

He set up the farm group in 1993. It is organised into a complex web of 66 "corporations" to limit liability and get the largest amount of payments.

Hogville has crashed due to the news.....

Little excited I guess.

To all you fans who remember every stat going back to Adam I need some info........
Who did Ark play in the Sugar Bowl in; ummmmmm 1962, 63, 64..........
my second son was a little fellow........old Tulane stadium
I want to say Kentucky but might have that mixed up with an LSU game in Baton Rouge.
We were there but for the life of me can't remember who we played.
Then the next yr we were losing bad in 4th qtr and pulled out a win at the last moment.
Thanks

It's amazing what constitutes news to people. Monkey Boy and Darth are about to start a new Cuban style crisis in Venezuela and nobody is noticing.

"On November 26, 2007 the Venezuelan government broadcast and circulated a confidential memo from the US embassy to the CIA which is devastatingly revealing of US clandestine operations and which will influence the referendum this Sunday (December 2, 2007)."

link at name

eLwood,

I have exactly as much influence over who the next Razorback coach is over how world affairs turn out. How much attention I pay to either makes no difference.

Maybe it is easier to be more involved in conversations about things that seem closer to home even when one can't influence them.

But maybe eLwood, you are a part of some elite who can influence events worldwide. Go for it!

I think it is folly to pretend that it is some kind of intellectual prurity to ignore college athletics, given the social and economic influence it has. But, I know there are people who by choice have no televisions and I assume others who have made other retreats from modern popular culture.

Let me know when I can vote for a candidate who advocates single payer national health insurance, and I will jump on board. Right now Dennis Kucinich foots the bill. Of course he will lose.

Meanwhile, what the hell is going on with the Hog coach recruiting?

jazzy, Alabama team beat us 10-3 in the 1962 Sugar Bowl. Johnny Vaught's Ole Miss Rebels whipped us 17-13 in the 1963 Sugar Bowl. And, Arkansas defeated Nebraska 10-7 in the 1965 Cotton Bowl.

Mongo, David Griffin sounds like my kind of guy. I see nothing illegal about his operation. More power to him. Cotton clothes the world.

eLwood, there's big cover story in today's USA Today about Venezuela and the referendum Sunday. It's very interesting. Click on my name.

Let's see now . . . a coach Arkansas publicly covets -- and who is negotiating an extension and has a nice agreement ready for his signature at his current school -- is all but on a plane to Fayetteville according to inside sources.

Deja vu all over again? Hope not. Coach Tuberville seems too nice to pull a Gillispie. I like him.

Oh, some interesting coaching clauses at the link, including Coach Tuberville's "no more November surprises clause." No non-competes though.

He pulled a Gillispie at Ole Miss, TAP. Blasted off to Auburn in the middle of the night without even telling his Ole Miss players goodbye. The Rebels whipped his butt the next year at Oxford.

Kid........what about 1964?????? New Orleans, Sugar...old Tulane stadium.........
most exciting come back from a sure loss..........
don't think I'm losing it......golly, could it be later than '65?????
I'm going by my son's age.....maybe he was older than my memory tells me.
Oh well, time to say goodnight and close this machine down till tomorrow.

Hey durango!! Missed your font. Glad that *other* thing is all over.

I had forgotten Tub's Ole Miss experience.

No bowl game for the Hogs in 1964, jazzy. We did not return to the Sugar Blowl until 1970 when Ole Miss skunked us again, this time 27-23. You are probably thnking about the '65 Cotton Bowl when we came back in the final minutes to beat the Cornhuskers.

Yes, TAP, perhaps the recent unpleasantness has subsided for now. The huggers and haters were actually speaking to one another this afternoon in the Little Rock Athletic Club men's locker room. Man, has it ever been tense around there.

I dunno durango...sometimes I wonder whether this iblog/message board age is just the tip of the iceberg of a seismic shift in the way the fan base perceives and impacts coaches -- something akin to the shift from whistlestop campaigning to TV campaigns for the presidency. Maybe Kennedy-Nixon?

And if so, is it just a matter of time before another rift, here and everywhere?

Hey durango--- you have kept up with Nutt v. Tuberville.

Do you remember Tub's "Nothing stinks worse than a wet hog!" locker room speech to the Ole Miss players on a rainy Saturday before the Hogs beat them early in Nutt's tenure? Not sure why cameras were in the locker room, but I remember thinking "What...? *That's* supposed to inspire the troops?" Well, Coach Tub has certainly got a lot of wins since then. Again, I like him.

TAP, I believe the breakdown in civility transcends football coaches and politics. It is pervasive throughout our society, road rage being just one quick example, and getting worse all the time. So many people; so much anger. Not just in America, but worldwide. Look at the riots in France in recent days; the animosity between Colombia and Venezuela; the Israelis vs. the Palestinians. The world is in a gin-u-wine mess. Tell you what, bud, I'm fixin' to pour another glass of pinot noir, come up with a solution to all of the craziness, and then I'll get backatcha.

But before I go, yes, I do remember the Tuberville "hogs stink" locker room speech. Tub was there five years, and the players were never enamored of him; however, they did respect him. I like him, too. I want to believe he's too smart to come here, but who knows. One thing I do know is that sooner or later, the armchairs (in all their glory and wisdom, and steeped in expertise) will be all over the new coach, no matter who he is. The honeymoon will be short lived. Hide and watch, partner.

TAP,
Do you remember Nutt's speech at Ole Miss? Seems to me that coaches, like politicians, say what is needed at the time? Loyalty belongs to those who pay the most $$$. Is the U of A still responsible for paying Danny's salary? Health expenses? Am I the only one who is rooting for Herring to stay as Head Coach or Head Defensive Coach? How many assistant coaches are going to go with mediocrity and fewer responsibilities with Houston? How many brave souls will really believe in the Razorbacks in the Athletic Department? Is it only about wins and losses or is it about making students out of athletes? Probably it is about the money, not the kids, graduation rate (please don't come back at me about Houston's rate - check out other years than the last one), the "Golden Hand Cuff Release" which is to be expected now?
Teachers/Professors would LOVE to have the salary guarantees that coaches have. Gees, I would have recorded more than 30 minutes a week for what the TV station was paying.WOW! a buy-out agreement after 10 years? I could do that and I was in LRSD for many more years than that. Wouldn't you?

Sorry, TAP
I meant to include Durango and any others who would like to respond.

DK: You reminded me of one of my FAVORITE items listed in Bob Lancaster's annual "Things we don't need" column: The assholes who cause road rage! ;>)

Night, night!

Hey Curious!

I had no problem with Tub's speech -- I just thought mentioning "wet hogs" wouldn't invoke any particular passion to win. Maybe "Let's kick some hillbilly tail!" or something like that.

Me, I don't begrudge folk getting health expenses paid when they have a serious condition; I wish all could get their expenses paid. But Lawdy, I am not gonna gripe about somebody getting medical care.

I would love for Herring to get the job. He's a fiery guy. He'd pick a good OC. He troops seem to get better as the weeks go on.

Curious, I think I read today that the Florida athletic department turns a $42 million *profit* with TV, licensing, etc. It's sad, but not all the school's or Athletic Department's fault.

I sure would like to have a buyout if I ever lose my job -- though I don't think I would sign a noncompete (unenforceable against me anyway) to get one.

Hey Curious -- we have succeeded in foisting Houston's non-coaching, non-academic-emphasizing, non-classy, talent-wasting, non-QB-developing, big-game choking, non detail-managing, cheesy song-singing, text-messaging, non-wife-controlling behind off on a division rival -- thereby ruining Ole Miss's prospect. All is well for those of you who hate HDN, right?

I'm ready to move on! But if you are not, I'll certainly read what you have to say.

I'm too lazy to scroll up.....KNWA is promising on their mama's grave that Tuberville has said yes and is the next golden parachute enabled head coach of the Arkansas Razorback football team.

Once again...we have an Arkansas legislator who wishes all blacks could be sent back to Africa, but the real news of the day is about millionaire football coaches......would Dimmy make exceptions for giant black football players or do they have to go back to Africa too?

"There are at least four other reasons, too, to believe that Tub would not be interested in making a move to Fayette Nam: (1) Nutt (against whom Tub is 5-5 in SEC play) got the job the first time Arkansas showed an interest in Tub, and wounded pride can be difficult to conquer; (2) Ken Hatfield and Houston Nutt have probably proved to Tub that a body can't "come home" to coach, at least not in Arkansas; (3) We, frankly, don't have the dollars required to lure Tub here; and (4) Arkansas would be Tub's third SEC school, and if he were to move to a third SEC school, that school would probably be Florida and only Florida."

Let's take these point by point. (1) Where there's smoke, there's fire. Tub may not come here, but there wouldn't be this much speculation if he wasn't at least mulling it over. Money can cure the most wounded ego. (2) Tubby can learn from those coaches mistakes, for one. And if he continues the kind of success he had at Auburn, Arkansas fans would probably put up with him being on a sex offender registry. (3) That's just silly. Arkansas is the fifteenth highest revenue generating athletic department in the country, and we can compete in the arms race that is college football. Heck, Mike Irwin just reported that Jimmy Johnson himself is willing to kick in a couple mil for Tubby. We've got the cash, without question. (4) This point makes no sense at all. LSU might be a better fit, since that job will be open soon. But Florida won't be. And neither Louisiana or Florida are "home." 3 different SEC schools are a lot, but I think that if he comes here this will be his last stop.

Hope you are right FreedomCounty...

Hey DBI...the giant blacks, or the really fast ones, and perhaps the ones with good singing voices, would not be required to return to Africa until their careers are over.

TAP,
I'm not a HDN hater. He is gone. Let's move on and improve on what is left for the new coach. Personally, I don't want another buy-out agreement. What a waste of $$$ that could go to scholarship (not the athletic kind), though I seriously doubt the Razorback Foundation would reward a Professor for leaving in the same way they reward a coach. I don't begrudge anyone health care. Though, you need to be aware that it is difficult as a retiree, so plan ahead for the cost.
I am now requesting $3.5 MILLION to no longer post here. C'mon Max. You got the cash. Buy me out of my password. PLEASE.PLEASE, PLEASE. TAP wants to get out of this post subject, too. TAP deserves more, as there is a need for a "Non-compete clause", and I don't need one). I am willing to concede TAP's need for more $$$$$. C'mon MAx! Make our dreams come true. Why not?

Curious, TAP or somebody else can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that while Danny resigned as an assistant coach, he stayed on under contract in an advisory role of some kind. If that's the case, I'm sure he's still being paid a salary and receiving benefits, including healthcare. I would think, however, that such an arrangement (if, indeed, it exists) would be ending soon.

In a state populated by 2.7 million people, it's doubtful that you're "the only one" who is rooting for Reggie to succeed Nutt as head coach. It's not gonna happen, though, unless a tsunami roars onto the beaches of Colorado. The lesson of "nothing but a successful head coach" was learned in the Jack Crowe chapter of Razorback history. It was the first and only time that Daddy Frank veered from his philosophy and practice of hiring only experienced head coaches at Fayette Nam.

Unfortunately, it seems to be "only about wins and losses" with the fans rather than about academics. You say not to come back at you about Nutt's graduation rate, but I'm going to, anyway. As I've posted previously, Nutt pushed for and monitored classroom attendance and academic performance. Dozens of his players graduated before their athletic eligibility expired, and at least 145 made the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Don't confuse Nutt and Stan Heath with Nolan when it comes to caring whether student athletes succeed academically.

You bet teachers/professors should have the salary guarantees that coaches have, and I have a plan for that. Unfortunately, the dear sweet sainted wife has just announced that she's going to knock me in the head if I don't get the trash container rolled out to the street. I'm already on her bad side about something I won't go into, so I'm outta here. My plan later, though.

Curious--

In case I have never said it, please know that I appreciate the sacrifices you have made for kids.

You know, maybe teaching should be like multi-level marketing -- each teacher gets a bit of income from every one of his or her students who go on to do successful things! No point in taking from the struggling ones.

What do you think?

Oh yeah; and here is what the Sporting News thinks--

LSU
If Les Miles leaves LSU, the talk is Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby Petrino could be the guy. And Steve Spurrier's name remains in the rumor mill. It's no secret he wants to win big. He can at LSU more so than at South Carolina.

ARKANSAS
This looks wide open. I was told by a good source that Texas Tech's Mike Leach isn't in the running. And North Carolina's Butch Davis and Auburn's Tommy Tuberville look committed to their schools. Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin? I'm told "no way." I even was told Bill Cowher was approached.
Then, who? Hog defensive coordinator Reggie Herring would like the job -- and would be a good guy.
But how about Petrino? I am told he may be willing to listen."

As I've noted before, FreedomCounty, what I was trying to say when I remarked several days ago that Arkansas doesn't have the money for Tuberville, is that tens of thousands of our good citizens would go into a rage if they learned we're going to pay a coach something like $3-$4 million a year. I think it would take that much to get Tuberville, don't you? I mean, look at all the bitching now about having paid Nutt $1.2 million a year. That's chickenfeed, of course, but explain it to the angered masses. Of all the names that have been mentioned, Tub would be one of my favorites.

Night, night, Larry!

The same member who broke the Tuberville news says:

"I'm here to reassure you that it is IN Fact official.
the only reason it has not been oficially announced is because TT is wanting the title of associate athletic director of football and to be in control of scheduling. this is reported to be a non-issue with everyone except the almighty john white. The salary & buyout numbers have been approved. Expect an announcement within 48 hours."

Hogville.net

No, I do not work for hogville, but reading the news there is like getting a fix....

Interesting - Ol Miss pays millions to get a coach who has irreparably divided his own home state fans, successfully extracted consistent inconsistent efforts from talented players, is saddled with an unmuzzled spouse who consistently undermines him . . . and he can't even lie to the press well. And this is worth millions?

Does Tuberville share these same qualities or are we stepping up the quality scale a little?

Chewed on this all night, Kid, and I believe it must have been '65 Cotton Bowl.....
I remember I walked out of the room, soooo dejected, when all hell broke lose,,,,,
Ark had scored to win the game.
Thanks for jogging my memory.

Ok, when you put it that way, that makes more sense. But I don't completely agree with you, only because if Tubby wins here no one will care how much we're paying him. We'll have to see how it pans out. There are rumor out there that Tubby wants a 10 year, 40 million dollar contract. But I have a feeling when and if the deal gets done it's not going to be that massive. I would hope not, but I'm willing to open the pocketbook for Tubby. In the last five years, the most winning team in college football is USC. Second place? Auburn. Sounds pretty appealing to me, big money or not.

I'm willing to open the pocketbook for Tubby. Freedom Country

Oh, Me, Oh, My. This statement is appalling! What? You are willing to expend hard earned money for a football coach? What about your teachers? What about your children's teachers? Were you happy with your education? Did you allocate funds from your overflowing cash flow to those who helped you succeed? You wouldn't have what you have without your teachers. I guess I have a very different set of values, FC. Football is an extra curricula (AFTER ACADEMICS) activity last time I checked. Is it more important than education? Why doesn't the University of Arkansas have a slush fund for academia? Nevermind, I know the answer to that one already.
I will ALWAYS pay attention to coaches salaries, stipends, perks. Obscene is the word that usually comes to mind.