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Yes Hayden got fired with a better record than June Jones had during any one of his regular seasons. 7-4 and 3rd place in the SWC didn't get you a bowl in 1972

Stallion wrote:Yes Hayden got fired with a better record than June Jones had during any one of his regular seasons. 7-4 and 3rd place in the SWC didn't get you a bowl in 1972

But did it get you a Statue?

I remember Bob Hope, who was a big supporter of SMU, asking "Why the heck did they fire Hayden?". I heard back then that the powers thought he would never have a huge winning season and wanted someone who could do that. At least, back then they cared about winning.

I loved Hayden! A great coach and a really nice guy.

Trust me, I was there in the room. Hayden is one of my favorite people but he needed to go. He would have had a heart attack in another year.

Nice guy and a helluva better coach than Bill Meek.

Arkpony wrote:I remember Bob Hope, who was a big supporter of SMU, asking "Why the heck did they fire Hayden?". I heard back then that the powers thought he would never have a huge winning season and wanted someone who could do that. At least, back then they cared about winning.

I loved Hayden! A great coach and a really nice guy.

Enter the Dave Smith Era!!! lol

more like the Dave Smith Error

Stallion wrote:more like the Dave Smith Error

Was that as bad as the Phil Bennett error?


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PonySnob wrote:

Stallion wrote:more like the Dave Smith Error

Was that as bad as the Phil Bennett error?


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He coached SMU for three seasons and finished with a 16-15-2 record. His reign was not as long as Phil's but for me the lasting memory of the Dave Smith era will be his version of SMU's lookalike Ohio State uniforms he came up with:


Dave Smith lost his battle with cancer in 2009. RIP

Dave was the OL coach when I was there. Great coach and great man and an example that a good position coach does not automatically make you a good head coach. However there were issues other than coaching that led to his demise. I loved the man but in hindsight Bum Phillips most likely would have been the better choice.

As I recall, Dave Smith was one of the Aggie football players who quit Bear Bryant's grueling camp. That somewhat prejudiced me against him, but he was a nice person. I met him only once when SMU came to Little Rock to play ( and beat as I recall) Arkansas. He took the team to Arkansas Children's Hospital to visit the kids there the night before the game. A class act!

He lived a couple of blocks from my parents after they moved to Richardson. I would see him in his yard often playing basketball with I assume his son. I would stop and we had some good conversations. He was my lead coach when I coached the redshirts. He would help me organize the opposing team plays to run against the first team defense.

Arkpony wrote:As I recall, Dave Smith was one of the Aggie football players who quit Bear Bryant's grueling camp. That somewhat prejudiced me against him, but he was a nice person. I met him only once when SMU came to Little Rock to play ( and beat as I recall) Arkansas. He took the team to Arkansas Children's Hospital to visit the kids there the night before the game. A class act!

Why does Bear Bryant's camp get glorified when he likely would have been arrested for doing that today?

couch 'em wrote:

Arkpony wrote:As I recall, Dave Smith was one of the Aggie football players who quit Bear Bryant's grueling camp. That somewhat prejudiced me against him, but he was a nice person. I met him only once when SMU came to Little Rock to play ( and beat as I recall) Arkansas. He took the team to Arkansas Children's Hospital to visit the kids there the night before the game. A class act!

Why does Bear Bryant's camp get glorified when he likely would have been arrested for doing that today?

Could there have been a bigger difference in style of summer practice than June Jones and Bear Bryant?

couch 'em wrote:

Arkpony wrote:As I recall, Dave Smith was one of the Aggie football players who quit Bear Bryant's grueling camp. That somewhat prejudiced me against him, but he was a nice person. I met him only once when SMU came to Little Rock to play ( and beat as I recall) Arkansas. He took the team to Arkansas Children's Hospital to visit the kids there the night before the game. A class act!

Why does Bear Bryant's camp get glorified when he likely would have been arrested for doing that today?

Different time, different era. Its a great story