Sportsline rips Arkansas' Nutt and Broyles -- wow

ARTiger · Dec 19, 2006

SabanFan said: ↑

Like most problems, this one began with Nutt playing with his Dick.:hihi:
Click to expand...

HA, it also got his contract extended and Broyles looking to give the man a raise.

MeauxJeaux · Dec 19, 2006

BlackJack said: ↑

To rips the kids and parents without knowing the whole story is bullchit.

Sounds like the kids were lied to during their recruitment. Nothing wrong with parents helping their kids get to the bottom of a situation. Kids want to play. They made their decision based upon information that was/is untrue.

The excuse that Arkansas has a great season is meaningless. I'm sure most players would rather play for 4 years and have good seasons with bad than sit on a bench a win a ring they had no part in earning.

If someone deceived and lied to my children with regards to such an important decision in their life you're damned right I'm going to be on their side in getting to the bottom of it.
Click to expand...

That's the way i'm looking at it also.

As for Mustain throwing for ever how many yards, I think most of that was earlier on in the season. It looks to me like something happened and Nutt benched the kid to show who was in charge? I can't think of any other reason, the kid looked head's above the other QB. Nutt cut his nose off to spite his face. I think if Mustain plays we lose that game. Just my opinion, please be gentle.

saltyone · Dec 19, 2006

I read this entire article below. The only thing I can say is, it must really suck to be a hog fan.

Coming off the disastrous 2005 football season, Houston Nutt’s position as Razorback Head Coach was tenuous at best. After two successive losing years heaped on top of perpetual mediocrity in Southeastern Conference play, the Arkansas football team was at its modern nadir. Despite being a prideful man who tightly controlled the offensive reigns for his entire career as Head Coach, Nutt had little choice when Athletic Director Frank Broyles “suggested” that he tap Gus Malzahn as Offensive Coordinator.

Many eyebrows were raised across the college football scene with Malzahn’s hire to the lofty position of OC. Having just led the Springdale Bulldogs, a high school about 15 minutes away from Razorback Stadium, to an undefeated season, a national ranking and a state championship, Gus Malzahn is an Arkansas high school football coaching legend and is widely respected nationwide for his high scoring and efficient offensive schemes. However, Malzahn had no real college coaching experience when Nutt brought him onboard.

It was easy to take Nutt’s move skeptically since recruiting the “Springdale 5” was crucial to Nutt’s chances at remaining at Arkansas.

Two of the Springdale 5 had already verbally committed to Florida. Urban Meyer’s Gators deployed a spread offensive that was a natural fit for receivers Ben Cleveland and Damian Williams who were accustomed to Malzahn’s similar schemes at Springdale. Furthermore, quarterback Mitch Mustain, the most decorated player in the history of Arkansas high school football, had just backed out of his commitment to Arkansas after Nutt sacked Roy Witke, the quarterback coach who had originally recruited Mustain.

Losing Mustain, the home-grown Gatorade and Parade Magazine National Player of the Year, as well as three others from the Springdale 5 would have been a public relations fiasco for Nutt. After the misery of the 2005 Razorback football season, Nutt simply could not afford such a setback.

Prior to Malzahn’s hire, it appeared that only receiver Andrew Norman would be donning the Razorback cardinal the upcoming fall. However, with Malzahn now at his side, Nutt achieved a coup when a desperate last minute recruiting push landed four of the vaunted Springdale handful. All four of these Springdale players played key roles in Malzahn’s high flying, Hurry-Up-No-Huddle (HUNH) spread offense.

In a matter of a few short weeks, the Razorback following went from the depths of despair to giddy optimism. After years of stagnant passing and a woefully predictable offense, Razorback fans saw Malzahn and the new recruits as just the medicine to get Arkansas’s offense back on its feet.

For the months leading up to the 2006 season opening contest against the University of Southern California, the media pumped up the promise of Gus Malzahn’s pass happy, unpredictable offense. The point starved Razorback fans enthusiastically ate up all of the hype.

But, mystifyingly to many fans, Malzahn’s offense was MIA in the USC game aside from two tantalizing drives. While the first drive ended in a Felix Jones’ fumble, the Razorbacks had USC “on its heels” according to Southern Cal’s coach, Pete Carroll. From that point until USC turned the contest into a rout in the second half, the Arkansas spectators saw a return of what Razorback fans have derisively labeled over the years as “Nuttball.”

Nuttball is characterized by off-tackle running plays on first and second down with third down split evenly between draw plays and short passes.

Apparently out of desperation, Houston Nutt benched his starting quarterback, Robert Johnson, and burned Mitch Mustain’s chances at a redshirt season by sending the youngster in to salvage fan interest. In a dazzlingly smooth and efficient performance, the young man promptly marched the Hog football team to a touchdown on his first series. More importantly to many, the Razorbacks returned to Malzahn’s style of play. But it would only last a series.

For the rest of the season, it became clear that Nutt was putting Malzahn on a short leash. While Malzahn called most of the plays, the playbook was Nutt’s, focusing on a running heavy scheme all too familiar to Arkansas Football fans.

Moreover, Nutt could be seen on the sideline overruling Malzahn during critical plays of several games.

With his job on the line, it appeared that Nutt did not want to let go of the offense despite his declarations to the contrary leading up to the season.

Fans felt betrayed. As Internet message boards reflected, many fans were outraged. “Nutt lied to us,” was the common sentiment.

But, after wins against Vanderbilt and Alabama that were both gifts of Divine generosity, something unexpected began happening. Even though Gus Malzahn was limited to half an offensive playbook, he began to confound his opponents with unpredictable play calling designed to laterally stretch out the defense, opening holes for Arkansas’ loaded backfield of Felix Jones, Peyton Hillis and the phenomenal sophomore tailback Darren McFadden.

Gus Malzahn has demonstrated that he knows how to fully utilize an offensive team's strengths. For players, this has the benefit of boosting their stats to gaudy numbers. Only the year before, Malzahn coached Mitch Mustain to both the Gatorade and Parade Magazine National Player of the Year awards. With his 2006 coaching debut in the college ranks, Malzahn crafted an offense that propelled Darren McFadden to a Doak Walker award and a second place finish for the Heisman Trophy.

With Malzahn’s help and consistent defensive play, as the season progressed Arkansas became stronger and stronger, until, at 10-1, the Razorbacks had only LSU and Florida between them and a possible National Championship berth.

But all was not roses.

Soon after spring football practice opened, rumors began to emerge from the “Hill” that Nutt resented Gus Malzahn. Nutt resented having to hire an Offensive Coordinator and that resentment was made more acute because that coach was a “golden boy” hired straight out of the high school 15 miles down the road.

When Nutt spoke of his new Offensive Coordinator, bitterness sometimes seemed just below the surface. “Mal-a-zahn” and “high school coach” were unflattering monikers that Nutt publicly pressed on Malzahn. These utterances lent credence to rumors that Nutt was indeed harboring bitterness towards his new OC.

Heated arguments with Nutt on the Arkansas sideline also showed that, while Nutt might fight with him, Malzahn would not wilt under these unfavorable conditions.

But even as the Arkansas Football team gained momentum on the field of play, the cancer within the program grew.

After the Southern Cal game, Houston Nutt named Mitch Mustain as the new starter and the heralded freshman responded by leading the Razorbacks to seven straight victories. The freshman's heroics during this time included tossing the dramatic winning pass to Ben Cleveland in overtime against Alabama. Mustain's play during the monumental Auburn upset merited a national freshman of the week nod.
Click to expand...

The other half is below.....

http://www.sportsline.com/mcc/messages/chrono/812589

islstl · Dec 19, 2006

Can anybody think of a precedent to this extraordinarily dysfunctional situation?

I can't. Not on this level.

I have no idea how you even go about fixing it.

goldengirlfan · Dec 19, 2006

islstl said: ↑

Can anybody think of a precedent to this extraordinarily dysfunctional situation?

I can't. Not on this level.

I have no idea how you even go about fixing it.
Click to expand...

No. Hiring coaches to get the kids ain't new. Been a few cases at the Ole War Skule. But in the world of public relations nightmares, this one is a masterpiece.

I think it boils down to this. All those people are kin to each other, no different than everybody else in Arkansas. It's a dysfunctional family. Simple as that. Nothing should be suprising. :hihi:

gumborue · Dec 20, 2006

nutt's ego got in the way of the team. he cares more for his pride than the university, fans and players. he was spiteful towards the oc and sat the qb and essentially stopped using the three players the oc brought with him. all this just so the oc wouldnt get all the credit for the season. of course in doing this they lost their last two games. i hope they fire nutt and let the oc take his place.

red55 · Dec 20, 2006

Arkansas won't fire Nutt after a 10-win season. But I suspect his OC and what's left of the Springdale Five will be leaving soon. They'll fire him after next season.

islstl · Dec 20, 2006

i think this will spur mcfadden to leave for the 2008 nfl draft

LSUTiga · Dec 20, 2006

islstl said: ↑

i think this will spur mcfadden to leave for the 2007 nfl draft
Click to expand...

No complaints here! :grin: :thumb:

bhelmLSU · Dec 20, 2006

Malzahn wont be fired anytime soon. I read the other day that he won OC of the year by a few publications. Players might go but they wont let him go anywhere after his success in his first season in CFB.

Log in or Sign up

Sportsline rips Arkansas' Nutt and Broyles -- wow

ARTiger Founding Member

MeauxJeaux Founding Member

saltyone So Mote It Be

islstl Playoff committee is a group of great football men Staff Member

goldengirlfan simple man

gumborue Throwin Ched

red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

islstl Playoff committee is a group of great football men Staff Member

LSUTiga TF Pubic Relations

bhelmLSU Founding Member Staff Member

Share This Page