Bret Bielema to Arkansas

Who saw this coming?
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--sources--arkansas-to-hire-bret-bielema-195732340.html

 

Yes, that is a surprise. I am happy to see him leave our conference! He is nothing but a cry baby.

 

Nobody in my office. Even though Bielema is taking the Badgers to their third straight RB, I do not think too many tears will be shed. The Wisky faithful worship Alverez and, in their eyes, Bielema never measured up to Barry.

Their reactions to Bielema are perhaps similar to how the older Michigan fans measured Lloyd against Bo or how ND fans measured Devine against Ara.

Barry, Bo, and Ara were icons to their fans and even though the coaches who followed them were very solid coaches with outstanding acomplishments, they never won over the hearts of the fans.

 

Interesting post Bob. Guess it doesn't take too much to follow John L. Smith. :lol:

 

He certainly had some excellent teams at Wisconsin. But maybe the money was a big attraction and like Bobda posted I've seen that he wasn't all that popular inspite of his success.

 

I wonder if Diaco will be a candidate, he has Iowa roots.

Actually I hope Diaco doesn't interview well and stays with ND.

 

You get offers from other schools for one of 2 things.
1. You're looking for a HC job.
2. You're looking for leverage to get paid more to stay. (Sound familiar Charley?)

I'm hoping it's the later.

 

Wow....Barry's handpicked successor, consistent record of success. I would love to have been in the room for that conversation. My guess is that the fat boy called on Barry with news that he had been approached by Arky and others and wanted to know how much Barry really loved him ($$$$) and Barry gentle soul and soft-spoken sophisticate that he is - told him to get f'ed and don't let the door hit you in the ass.....

I have a hard time seeing the Arky job as superior to Wisky, but we'll see how he does in rebuilding that program....I won't miss him

 

Agreed, BT, re: the comparison of the two programs. The difference IMO is that in Arky, college football is the only game in town, similar to Nebraska. A winning coach can be a statewide hero. Ask Lou Holtz.

Speaking of Bob Diaco, he has received the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach.

 

I'll be interested to see how he recruits.
There aren't nearly enough players in Arkansas, and he surely doesn't have many ties to high schools in Texas...
I guess we will see.

 

From what I have seen he has a strong recruiting line into S. Florida as does much of the northeast, he may attempt to transition into Texas as time goes by. With Miami waiting for almost one year on the guillotine I don't see that changing in the next year...

 

As well as Broyles before him.....

 

Well he can hire assistants with ties to Texas, La, Oklahoma, Missouri and Tenn for recruiting.

 

This hire surprised me, but it immediately brought up a single point to me.. and it boils down to SEC vs Pac12..

Which conference has more assh*les for head coaches? I still think the P12 leads the way in A-hole head coaches, but the SEC made a major power play by bringing in this biggest a-hole from the B1G.

Interesting enough, while A&M, Ole Miss and Auburn will have the ball flying all over the place... Arkansas will now transition from one of those pass happy teams to one that is going to pound you for 4 quarters.

 

Bielema = Boss Hog.... I can see it. :twisted:

 

Interesting article on the move of Bielema to Arkansas and the Big10/SEC debate.

Big10/SEC Bielema

 

I think he's chosen a really tough row to hoe.
Trying to out smash-mouth Bama and LSU is going to be tough.
And it's not like he's starting out with a roster built for that kind of game.

I'm actually kind of relieved.
I was much more worried about them hiring someone like Art Briles who has big recruiting links in Texas...

 

It'll be interesting to be sure.

The head coach isn't everything. If he hires the right assistants to recruit, he may be on track. I can't see him being the type of guy to go in and throw the ball all over the place.

 

I agree that Brett's hire will be interesting to follow. Trying to read between the lines Barry Alverez apparently did not make any bold moves to keep him at Wisconsin. He was successful there, but had some personal issues.

Time wil tell, but I have my reservations if this was a good move for him.

 

yeah, I agree. I think a lot of things are going to have to go his way for this move to work out for him. Looking at what he does, it's going to take time because the last 2 coaches haven't stocked the cupboard with guys who will fit anything remotely resembling what he wants to do. Time is something that you don't get in the SEC.