Question about Gus M

[Uncle Ruckus]

I know that he left on bad terms with Nutt, but was he not a candidate for the Arkansas job last year? He's from Arkansas, coached high school and collegiate it there so he should be able to mop up in recruiting. I know there's other things to factor in and maybe he knew how empty their roster was and he knew about the talent at auburn because he recruited the players but it's just something I got to thinking about today.

 

[esplanade91]

I'm sure he was, but Auburn was pretty quick on hiring him while Arkansas took a while to finally announce one. Regardless of that he probably had his choice of a school with a roster he built or a school with a pass heavy spread roster with a weak D and offensive line.

Not to mention their AD thinks Arkansas is an Ohio State-level school. I'm sure he thought he could do better than ASU's coach.

 

[harrydawg.sixpack]

Furthermore, what exactly did the brass at Arky see in that dairy farmer they hired from Wisconsin?
He looks like an idiot and from what I saw yesterday, coaches like one as well. If they had just run the ball, they beat UM......

I would not be surprised if Ark was back searching again this year - word from many of there fans I know it is not a happy union.

 

[jakldawg]

Furthermore, what exactly did the brass at Arky see in that dairy farmer they hired from Wisconsin?

Maybe this

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	Coaches[SUP]#[/SUP]	AP[SUP]°[/SUP]
Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten Conference) <small>(2006–2012)</small>
2006	Wisconsin	12–1	7–1	T–2nd	W Capital One	5	7
2007	Wisconsin	9–4	5–3	T–4th	L Outback	21	24
2008	Wisconsin	7–6	3–5	T–6th	L Champs Sports
2009	Wisconsin	10–3	5–3	T–4th	W Champs Sports	16	16
2010	Wisconsin	11–2	7–1	T–1st	L Rose[SUP]†[/SUP]	8	7
2011	Wisconsin	11–3	6–2	1st <small>(Leaders)</small>	L Rose[SUP]†[/SUP]	11	10
2012	Wisconsin	8–5	4–4	3rd <small>(Leaders)</small>*	Rose‡[SUP]†[/SUP]	23‡
Wisconsin:	68–24	37–19	<small>‡Did not coach bowl game.</small>

<tbody>
</tbody>

or, if his wife is any indication, he really must "interview well"

 

[PBRME]

It I remember correctly, politics played a big role in AR not being able to hire Malzahn.

 

[UIUCDog]

What I don’t understand is why Bielema left Wisconsin to go to Arkansas.

 

[hogfan14]

What I don’t understand is why Bielema left Wisconsin to go to Arkansas.

Better money, facilities, conference and recruiting area. He really wanted to be able to pay his assistants more. It would have been easier in the big 10 though if he had stayed at a well-stocked program.

i think Malzahn really wanted the job, but at the time we had a guy who had wisconsin as one of the top schools in the NCAA for NFL draft picks and had been to 3 BCS bowls, vs. a one year sun belt coach who would have divided the fanbase. It's easy to look back on now but Bielema had by far the better track record at the time. Malzahn was hired just after we hired Bielema.

It will be interesting to see if we go after him if Bielema doesnt work out though

 

[GhostOfJackie]

What I don’t understand is why Bielema left Wisconsin to go to Arkansas.

Have you ever spent a winter in Wisconsin?

 

[patdog]

I think there must have been some bad blood brewing between Bielema and Alvarez too. Either that or it really blew up quickly when he left. As for the decision being easy now, it's probably a little too soon to say for sure. Sometimes a coach starts out with a great season and then doesn't do much afterwards, and sometimes a coach takes a while to get things going and then does fine. I thought from the beginning that it would take Bielema a while since the personnel he inherited didn't really fit his style of play at all. Which is why I thought it was a strange hire, not that he wasn't a proven coach.

 

[RebelAlumnus]

Would you rather be at AU or ARK? I would pick AU every day because over the years they have been more successful, especially recently. Easier to recruit to, better area, equal at worst facilities and support, rabid fan base that will do anything to beat Bama.

 

[hogfan14]

Would you rather be at AU or ARK? I would pick AU every day because over the years they have been more successful, especially recently. Easier to recruit to, better area, equal at worst facilities and support, rabid fan base that will do anything to beat Bama.

It's an easier area to recruit but i would much rather live in Fayetteville over Auburn

One factor could be if you'd mind sharing the state with another big time program vs. having the whole state behind you but that might not be a big deal to some people

 

[RebelAlumnus]

You could also compare having a fanbase that just wants you fired immediately if you fail but will be 100% behind you if you win, versus the most batshit crazy fanbase in America that will get all into your personal life in a second if you don't meet some absurd expectations.

Considering you're likely from Arkansas, I don't think you're the person to judge where is best to live. Anywhere in Arkansas is one of the last places I would pick in the US.

 

[hogfan14]

You could also compare having a fanbase that just wants you fired immediately if you fail but will be 100% behind you if you win, versus the most batshit crazy fanbase in America that will get all into your personal life in a second if you don't meet some absurd expectations.

Considering you're likely from Arkansas, I don't think you're the person to judge where is best to live. Anywhere in Arkansas is one of the last places I would pick in the US.

I've consistently seen people rate fayetteville as one of the top 5 SEC towns, there are 3 fortune 500 companies here so there is a lot of money in northwest arkansas. The rest of the state may not have much but NWA is very nice.

Glass houses

 

[UIUCDog]

I live in Illinois, so I’ve got the general idea.

It just seems like he had things rolling pretty well there and then decided to take a much more difficult gig.

 

[UIUCDog]

I lived in northwest Arkansas for a time and I agree with you that I’d much rather live there than Auburn, AL.

Obviously, though, Auburn is the better football program.