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What now in coaching search? Wednesday, Dec 5, 2007 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - Casting about for the word to describe reaction to Tommy Bowden's flirtation with Arkansas and his decision to stay home, the newsroom consultant offered up indifferent, apathetic, bland, and I added ho-hum. On Monday evening, signing up Bowden to replace Houston Nutt was done except for the Razorback Foundation's rubber-stamp approval of a salary supplement for the Clemson coach. A 7 p.m. conference call to do the deed was postponed and so was another one at 9 p.m., signs that Bowden had cold feet or that Clemson was sweetening the pot. A call scheduled for 9 a.m. on Tuesday never happened and members of the foundation board were told there was no reason to call them together "at this time." At mid-morning, The Associated Press quoted a Clemson release as saying that Bowden had agreed to a contract extension and that caused nary a ripple. Simply, the word that Bowden was going to be the next coach failed to trigger any passion so there was little or no fallout when the deal fell through. In a way, that is a positive, an indicator that the fans have not panicked. Another few days and that will change and a hire would be appreciated only if to halt the proliferation of some of the most bizarre rumors ever repeated in any coaching search. As for a timetable, it is worth noting that Mike Shula was fired as the Alabama coach in late November 2006 and it was January 2007 before Nick Saban was hired as his replacement. Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long should be aware of public opinion, but there can't be a referendum on the next coach and the burden is on Long to identify the man and sell him. Long expended great energy trying to sway his friend of 20 years, so he might need to take a deep breath before diving back into the search. Enough of Bowden. Who's next? How about a young guy with pizzazz who will get people talking. Just Tuesday, a Fayetteville-area man shared that he had friends in Little Rock who were interested in coming up for Razorback basketball games for the first time in a couple of years. John Pelphrey, who is 39 and looks younger, ginned that feeling with his enthusiasm and intensity. Five football coordinators were in Little Rock on Tuesday for the Broyles Award and somebody suggested researching the finalists from the past three years and zeroing in on some of those gentlemen. Since the inception of the Broyles Award, the nominees have been a fertile ground for stars-on-the-rise. During the previous 11 years, 14 Broyles Award finalists have become head coaches. Four are no longer active, but Greg Schiano (Rutgers), Larry Coker (Miami), Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia) and Bret Bilema (Wisconsin) are head coaches who were nominated and did not make the final cut for the award. And, Steve Spurrier failed to nominate Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) the year that Florida won the national championship. Some of the finalists from 2005-2007 are too old or are no longer active, but Auburn's Will Muschamp, Oklahoma's Brent Venables, Missouri's Dave Christensen and the Atlanta Falcons' Paul Petrino are in their 30s or early 40s and qualify. Those are just names, nothing more. How about this? Instead of paying $2.5 million to Bowden or somebody else who has had similar success, hire a young gun for $1.5 million or so and use the other $1 million to pay top-grade coordinators $350,000 to $400,000 and pad the salaries of other assistants. Defensive coordinator Reggie Herring, the interim head coach of the Razorbacks for the Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl, makes $350,000 per year. Offensive coordinator David Lee, who went with Nutt to Mississippi, was making $300,000. Other assistants on Nutt's staff at Arkansas made between $120,000 and $200,000. Now, all Long has to do is figure out who will be the next Stoops or Mark Richt and hire him. ------- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
