John L. Smith Introduced As Arkansas Coach For Next 10 Months

Last month, Arkansas contacted soon-to-be College Football Hall of Fame inductee Phillip Fulmer about its open coaching position. Tuesday, Fulmer said the following:

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That’s no surprise, of course, but please read more on Arkansas Razorbacks players sorting out the differences between the two coaches:

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John L. Smith, via KFSM-TV.

Smith insisted on no stupid questions, then noted one reporter was looking “fat and sloppy” before openly yearning for a mountain to climb and insisting his staff not remain “in this little ivory tower.” He also joked that Jeff Long shot down his initial request to be considered for the interim job. The contrast between the clammed-up Bobby Petrino and Smith couldn’t be more immediately apparent.

“Are you going to kiss me?” is how Bobby Petrino says Jessica Dorrell began their affair. It was all her idea, he claimed. Mike Slive made a point of saying Missouri and Texas A&M propositioned the SEC, and not the other way around. Nick Saban has been known to offer scholarships to recruits on the condition that the offer is preemptively accepted somehow.

So of course Arkansas’ official release on new interim-ish head coach John L. Smith insists that the whole thing was Smith’s idea -- and not athletic director Jeff Long’s. Everything in the SEC has its own severe gravity, absorbing all sorts of stuff, and it can’t help it if a home or two ends up wrecked. Leaving his post as Weber State head coach nine days after spring practice ended and only four months on the job? It was all Smith’s idea.

Projecting forward on the recruiting trail, however, the news isn’t so positive, even in a best-case scenario. That’s illustrated by the recruiting rankings from Smith’s previous high-level stops, as shared by Dave Bartoo of College Football Matrix, the proprietor of the site that tracks trends in recruiting and coaching:

Looking at Smith’s tenure in East Lansing as the head football Spartan yields only slightly more optimistic projections:

The university announced the hiring in a release on Monday, and Smith will be formally introduced as the interim head coach at a press conference on Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET. Athletic director Jeff Long was unsurprisingly thrilled to at least temporarily resolve his head coaching problem.

Smith was the outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Arkansas from 2009-2011 before he left to take the head coaching job at Weber State, where he did not coach a game before coming back to Arkansas. Smith’s deal will be worth $850,000 with performance and academic incentives that could cause that salary to increase.

Smith was Arkansas’ special teams coach from 2009 through last season, after which he left for the head job at Weber State.

Linebacker Matt Marshall:

Smith left Arkansas as special teams coach just months ago to take over the head coaching job at Weber State, his alma mater. If Arkansas was hoping to switch up the reputation it got by swiping Bobby Petrino away from another job ... this won’t do it. While even a temporary head coaching job in the SEC surpasses just about any non-FBS job, this is still quite a surprising move all around.

Just about Arkansas’ entire coaching staff is familiar with Smith, and his hire will enable coordinators to focus on coordinatin’, but this is a name nobody predicted.

Smith, 63, left the Hogs after the 2011 season to take over at WSU. Previously, he’s worked as the head coach of Michigan State, Louisville, Utah State and Idaho, with other coaching stops throughout the country. He went 132-86 as a head coach, with a 4-11 mark in postseason games.

Smith left the Louisville job amid some controversy, as he bolted for the Spartans before the Cardinals’ bowl game. He was replaced by Bobby Petrino, and now my brain hurts. He also leaves Weber State, his alma mater, without having coached a game there.

However, here’s an additional report that the process is moving along:

The only widely rumored candidate, Bud Foster, won’t be the subject of either an Arkansas press conference or the one at Virginia Tech, which will reportedly mark the end of basketball coach Seth Greenberg’s time in Blacksburg. But now we’re talking about ACC basketball somehow. Many had wondered if Foster would be the Razorbacks hire, you see.

(And, no, it’s not Bud Foster, despite the Hokies scheduling a likely coincidental surprise press conference.)

In possibly related news, a Razorbacks football banquet has been delayed.

From the Sporting News, Petrino discusses the trickiest opportunity of his career:

Saturday, Arkansas welcomed a school-record 45,000 to its spring game as Wilson led the first team to 65 points against the backups. Scoring 65 points on your own teammates is only sort of like getting a possible promotion after your brother temporarily ruins his career, but it’s the only metaphor available.

If Arkansas had not taken any action, Slive would not comment on whether he would have suspended Petrino himself, enacting a power he has as the head of the conference. He would not address the hypothetical, according to Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News:

Arkansas will play its spring game on Saturday with Taver Johnson as interim head coach. Long has said he will make an update announcement on the school’s search to replace Petrino early next week.

Previously, McGee more or less refused to talk about the situation, and FootballScoop reported McGee was set to be announced on Monday. Vegas has liked McGee’s name all along.

For more on Hogs football, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats, plus SEC blog Team Speed Kills.

Carroll, a noted prankster since way back, followed up on the rumor by tweeting the following:

That’s in reference to an earlier report that Steve Mariucci was floating his name for the job. Seems like Carroll having himself a good time, but just in case we’d like to see a newsman on the matter, here was Chris Mortensen:

Carroll’s success at USC is well-documented, but Arkansas fans likely remember Carroll’s Trojans teams better than most. In 2005 and 2006, USC handed Arkansas teams two beatdowns by a combined score of 120-31.

In addition to reporting that Carroll turned down Arkansas, the station reports that NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci contacted Arkansas about the coaching vacancy. Mariucci was reportedly interested in the job earlier this week.

McGee was the OC for the Hogs until taking the UAB job after last season. To this point, he’s sort of denied looking into the Arkansas job, but mostly just wants reporters to not ask him after they’ve already asked him once.

For more on Hogs football, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats, plus SEC blog Team Speed Kills.

Fulmer, who’s been vocal about coaching again since being fired in 2008, denies he’s been in touch, but certainly sounds like he’s open to the idea:

Athletic director Jeff Long advises everyone to settle down and ignore the flashing orange lights:

Assistant head coach Taver Johnson was named the interim for the remainder of spring upon Bobby Petrino’s suspension, and he’s been seeing the program through even after his boss was fired. He, running backs coach Tim Horton and offensive coordinator Paul Petrino have been the most frequently named potential interim coaches, if Jeff Long chooses to keep the staff intact for the season itself.

Hiring a whole new coach is highly unlikely, as the new guy would have virtually no time to install a new system before the season begins. Players have called for the staff to remain as intact as possible, with some lobbying for a particular position coach or another.

Fulmer has made it clear he wants to get back into coaching since being fired by the Vols in 2008. He hasn’t worked for a school besides Tennessee since his year with Vanderbilt in 1979, with that and a four-year stint at Wichita State bookended by lots and lots of time spent with the Vols. His Tennessee teams went 152-52 and won a national title.

Arkansas seems likely to name an interim coach this go-round, and may be wise to next choose a coach who can carry on Bobby Petrino’s points-happy tradition, since the Hogs are set up with lots of speed at their offensive skill positions for the time being.

If the Hogs do end up going the interim route for 2012, it’s interesting to note several members of the staff are getting to take turns being the most talked about candidate for a spell. It’s been running backs coach Tim Horton and Johnson himself, and right now it’s offensive coordinator Paul Petrino (yes, relation).

For more on Hogs football, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats, plus SEC blog Team Speed Kills.

I suppose the Razorbacks could do worse than having a former Coach of the Year and the holder of a lifetime 152-52 record take over their program. I had a joke written down that says, “The first question during the interview will be, ‘Do you own a motorcycle?’” but I’m not sure what that means, since this is the first I’m hearing about Arkansas and a head-coaching vacancy.

For all news and information regarding the Arkansas Razorbacks, please visit Arkansas Expats.

When it came out that Bobby Petrino was partially done in by using his work phone to conduct illicit romantic activity, we all had the same reaction at the same time: Remember when Houston Nutt was state public enemy No. 1 for doing way, way less than that on his work phone? Though the irony was certainly not lost on Nutt himself, he didn’t make an outward show of enjoying the news during a Hogs-centric appearance with Tim Brando.

Even beyond schadenfreude, it’s worthwhile to watch Nutt talk about the Arkansas situation, especially when it comes to the future. Nutt praises potential interim coach Tim Horton for the job he did holding together recruiting when Nutt himself was fired by the Razorbacks.

Until Glen Campbell, Bill Clinton and Joey Lauren Adams send in their recommendations (Dave Wannstedt, Bill Clinton and Sam Winters, respectively), life enthusiast John Daly’s choice will hereby be listed as the common Arkansan’s favorite for the vacant Razorbacks coaching job.

The golfing great’s argument, as tweeted:

The coaching job of the Arkansas Razorbacks is still open but, according to Pete Roussel of CoachingSearch.com, some NFL names are intrigued by the job:

Not exactly the most important news -- no word on whether Arkansas has mutual interest, or whether Mariucci or McDaniels would actually take the job, just the ever-present “interest.”