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Mrydel,
Even if he kills it in recruiting, what has he shown in his years as a head coach that he can coach up a team and make good in game coaching decisions? Especially given he is going up against SEC West teams each year? I just don’t see him beating anyone other than maybe Ole Miss - especially the next 2-3 years. That’s 5 or 6 losses plus at least one if not 2 losses against sec east teams. That means 5 wins a year for the next 2-3 years and that gets him fired.......

I don’t know what will happen but many here compare him to Houston Nutt. And say what you will about Nutt, while with Arkansas in the SEC West, his record against Saban was 5-5. And I do not think Saban will coach much longer so that can open up an opportunity for the SEC West to get a little more competitive.

Knowing I could be way off base, I think those comparing recruiting and play at SMU to any P5 school is wrong. At P5 you get better players which can make a coach look a lot better.

Sure he may be another Todd Dodge but he may also be another Dabo. The good thing is that time will tell.

No Quarter wrote:Further to myrdel's 2nd paragraph, is it possible that a higher salaried DC and special teams coach will help?

They have the higher paid DC but still suck from the ST perspective.

mrydel wrote:I don’t know what will happen but many here compare him to Houston Nutt. And say what you will about Nutt, while with Arkansas in the SEC West, his record against Saban was 5-5.

Nutt's record at Arkansas vs Saban was 2-4. His overall record versus Saban was 2-8.

Arkansas

2000- W 14-3
2001- L 38-41
2002- W 21-20
2003- L 24-55
2004- L 14-43
2007- L 38-41

Ole Miss

2008- L 20-24
2009- L 3-22
2010- L 10-23
2011- L 7-52

sbsmith wrote:

mrydel wrote:I don’t know what will happen but many here compare him to Houston Nutt. And say what you will about Nutt, while with Arkansas in the SEC West, his record against Saban was 5-5.

Nutt's record at Arkansas vs Saban was 2-4. His overall record versus Saban was 2-8.

Arkansas

2000- W 14-3
2001- L 38-41
2002- W 21-20
2003- L 24-55
2004- L 14-43
2007- L 38-41

Ole Miss

2008- L 20-24
2009- L 3-22
2010- L 10-23
2011- L 7-52

Saban was also at LSU

mrydel wrote:Saban was also at LSU not Ole Miss

The listing was Nutt's games vs Saban while Nutt coached Arkansas and Ole Miss.

Yeah. Caught that late and edited. But my original statement specifically stated while at Arkansas, Nutt vs Saban was 5-5. We are talking about Arkansas’ opportunity going forward.

Timothythegreat wrote:

Rebel10 wrote:As soon as he gets some players I think he will do well.

How is t you have come to think that he doesn’t have good players at Arkansas?

By watching the games. But, there are a lot more issues in the locker room right now than just talent too. Arkansas’ WRs are significantly worse than what he had at SMU last year...that doesn’t show up on recruiting rankings. Mike Woods pretty much became an instant starter the minute he got to campus. Last year was the worst OL in Arkansas history and they lost first round pick Frank Ragnow from it, so it’s hard to do much on offense when your OL is a sieve.

Time will tell if his recruiting will pay off but having more talent can cover up a lot of questionable coaching - just ask Orgeron.

gohogs14 wrote:

Timothythegreat wrote:

Rebel10 wrote:As soon as he gets some players I think he will do well.

How is t you have come to think that he doesn’t have good players at Arkansas?

By watching the games. But, there are a lot more issues in the locker room right now than just talent too. Arkansas’ WRs are significantly worse than what he had at SMU last year...that doesn’t show up on recruiting rankings. Mike Woods pretty much became an instant starter the minute he got to campus. Last year was the worst OL in Arkansas history and they lost first round pick Frank Ragnow from it, so it’s hard to do much on offense when your OL is a sieve.

Time will tell if his recruiting will pay off but having more talent can cover up a lot of questionable coaching - just ask Orgeron.

There are two things to keep in mind when looking at his team.

1) The philosophy is athletic linemen who can move and redirect rather than physically dominant linemen. When you get into the SEC, that doesn't work because they will get bullied around. I've said this from the moment he was hired is that the philosophies of the Morris system are not a good fit for the SEC on both sides of the line This will be at the heart of the inconsistencies on offense and struggles on defense for as long as he is there. It doesn't matter how many 4 star receivers you have if you are getting killed at the line of scrimmage. At some point in the SEC you have to be able to run for a first down on 4th and 1 and Morris' teams have never been able to do that.

2) Morris comes from the coaching trees that don't allow a lot of hitting in practice because they prioritize keeping the skill position players and offense healthy. Van Malone was not a good defensive coordinator, no question about it. But you look at the hitting and activity in practice now as compared to Morris, it is night and day. Sumlin had to adapt his style at A&M. Herman and Orlando changed to more hitting half way through the season this year at UT and it improved things drastically. Dykes changed his system after a year at TCU.

The question is whether or not Morris will alter his style to allow his teams to compete physically at the line of scrimmage and allow his defense to actually practice defense at practice. That is going to drive his success at Arkansas over anything else.

mrydel wrote:Yeah. Caught that late and edited. But my original statement specifically stated while at Arkansas, Nutt vs Saban was 5-5. We are talking about Arkansas’ opportunity going forward.

Going forward, it's possible Morris could make Arkansas into a pain in the [deleted] for Saban much like Freeze did for Ole Miss. Morris will have to absolutely wreck shop on the recruiting trail for a few cycles though.

JasonB wrote:

Timothythegreat wrote:

Rebel10 wrote:As soon as he gets some players I think he will do well.

How is t you have come to think that he doesn’t have good players at Arkansas?

By watching the games. But, there are a lot more issues in the locker room right now than just talent too. Arkansas’ WRs are significantly worse than what he had at SMU last year...that doesn’t show up on recruiting rankings. Mike Woods pretty much became an instant starter the minute he got to campus. Last year was the worst OL in Arkansas history and they lost first round pick Frank Ragnow from it, so it’s hard to do much on offense when your OL is a sieve.

Time will tell if his recruiting will pay off but having more talent can cover up a lot of questionable coaching - just ask Orgeron.

The question is whether or not Morris will alter his style to allow his teams to compete physically at the line of scrimmage and allow his defense to actually practice defense at practice. That is going to drive his success at Arkansas over anything else.

When Petrino was at Arkansas he cussed out the defense for making plays in practice, worked out ok for him. Don’t see Morris as the drill sergeant type though. Petrino would make you run laps for your route being off by 1/5 of an inch.

gohogs14 wrote:

Timothythegreat wrote:

Rebel10 wrote:As soon as he gets some players I think he will do well.

How is t you have come to think that he doesn’t have good players at Arkansas?

By watching the games. But, there are a lot more issues in the locker room right now than just talent too. Arkansas’ WRs are significantly worse than what he had at SMU last year...that doesn’t show up on recruiting rankings. Mike Woods pretty much became an instant starter the minute he got to campus. Last year was the worst OL in Arkansas history and they lost first round pick Frank Ragnow from it, so it’s hard to do much on offense when your OL is a sieve.

Some Hog fans, (not the 2 on ponyfans) claim there is near mutiny in the locker room, against the Chadster and his staff.

ALEX LIFESON wrote:Some Hog fans, (not the 2 on ponyfans) claim there is near mutiny in the locker room, against the Chadster and his staff.

To be fair, can you imagine being 20 and thinking you are in a great spot being able to play in the SEC West and then you have to play for Hogman? #WPS #FullTiltBoogie

ALEX LIFESON wrote:

Timothythegreat wrote:

Rebel10 wrote:As soon as he gets some players I think he will do well.

How is t you have come to think that he doesn’t have good players at Arkansas?

Some Hog fans, (not the 2 on ponyfans) claim there is near mutiny in the locker room, against the Chadster and his staff.

After losing the last game against Missouri 38-0, a lot of the seniors were seen leaving the locker room laughing and saying stuff like "thank God this season is over" while the younger players were mad about it. Pretty drastic difference in personalities from the previous staff/players and the new ones. Bielema was very much a players coach who would wear flip flops and listen to reggae while going out for a drink every other night.