By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — While the 65-field team for the 2010 NCAA Tournament was being finalized on Sunday afternoon, Arkansas coach John Pelphrey was apparently making an offseason decision.
Isaac Brown isn’t expected to return as an Arkansas assistant coach next season after spending three years on Pelphrey’s staff. Neither Pelphrey nor Brown returned messages from the Arkansas News Bureau seeking comment Sunday night, but Brown told Hawgs Illustrated he had been “reassigned.”
Brown is working under a three-year contract set to expire on June 30. He is earning $132,500 annually, the lowest salary among Pelphrey’s three assistant coaches, according to information obtained through a Freedom of Information request earlier this month.
Like Brown, the three-year contracts for Arkansas two other assistants — Rob Evans and Tom Ostrom — also expire at the end of the fiscal year. The status for Pelphrey’s two other assistants have not been determined.
Pelphrey spoke about his staff after Arkansas’ loss to Georgia in the first-round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, saying he was “very comfortable” with the group.
“I think continuity helps you continue to grow and get better,” Pelphrey said of his staff. “I think we have that with our staff. Those guys obviously work very hard. As a coaching staff, I think we put ourselves in a situation to compete for a championship this year.”
Brown has been on Pelphrey’s staff for eight seasons, dating back to a five-year run at South Alabama from 2003-2007. Previously, Brown coached at Okaloosa-Walton Community College in Florida from 2000-02. He also worked at Pascagoula High in 1999 and as an assistant at Pearl River (Miss.) Community College (1997-98).
