Mark Richt, Georgia
“I personally thought it was a wise decision. ... If you grabbed a coordinator and said, ‘OK, you’re the head coach now,’ you’re really going to hurt his ability to be effective, in my opinion, to be a great coordinator and still try to do all the head coach’s duties. So to me, it makes sense.”
Nick Saban, Alabama
“Well, I don’t really like to comment on things that Idon’t really know a whole lot about. I just think we all have a responsibility and obligation to set a good example in terms of the things that we do. We’re going to try to continue to do that in a first-class way. Our profession is great because we have an opportunity to affect the lives of young people, and I think setting a good example is a very important part of that.”
Les Miles, LSU
“I’m certain that John L. Smith will provide the leadership and the direction that Arkansas needs. Certainly they’re a very fine school, a very capable football team. There’s a great future there at Arkansas. I know it’s a difficult situation there. I hope like heck that this gets behind all very quickly.”
Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
“John L. is obviously a very good coach, a great, great track record. And I think he’ll bring some stability to the program.”
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
“Bobby Petrino has got an excellent track record as a football coach. It was sad, the development. But sometimes stuff like that, I guess, happens. John L. is a proven coach. He’s been there. I guess he knows the guys. It seems from reading what the Arkansas players are saying, they’re very happy with him coming. So, it should be a good fit.”
Will Muschamp, Florida
“Obviously, it’s an unfortunate situation. We always tell our guys the choices and decisions you make, make you who you are, and it’s unfortunate, and obviously Jeff Long did what he thought was best for the program. I don’t know John L. personally. I know people that have great respect for him as a football coach and as a person. He’s inheriting a tough situation, but he’s been there, he’s familiar with their situation, and I think it was the best decision from the standpoint of schematically where they are and with the team they have coming back, you don’t want to go through a bunchof changes right now going into fall camp.”
Joker Phillips, Kentucky
“John L’s teams that I’ve competed against, they always were very competitive. We know Arkansas has a lot of good football players returning, and John L. will have those guys competing at a high level.”
Derek Dooley, Tennessee
“I have a lot of respect for Coach Smith, I always have. He’s done an outstanding job everywhere he’s been, and certainly he did a great job for them on special teams. So it was no surprise to me that they went in that direction. I’m sure he’ll do an outstanding job for the program.”
Sports, Pages 23 on 04/25/2012