LITTLE ROCK — There is a small movement, a minor groundswell, to reassign John L. Smith immediately and, before he can clear the door, hire Butch Davis.
Monday would have been too soon.
It shouldn’t happen. Period.
There is, no doubt, more than one reason why Jeff Long is going to play this season out, but No. 1 is he if ditched John L. in the middle of the season it might scare off prospective coaches who would think the same thing could happen to them if they came to Arkansas.
Before going any further, the only way this season is going to be salvaged - and making a bowl game seems about as likely as Christmas bonuses for the NFL replacement officials - is if the offense becomes the defense and outscores everyone.
No offense to the defense, no pun intended, but the defense was always the question mark going into this season.
When you lose Jerry Franklin, the leading tackler for four consecutive years; Jake Bequette, who pressured quarterbacks; Tramain Thomas, who had 12 career interceptions; Jerico Nelson, the best blitzer on the team, and Elton Ford, who didn’t start much but may have been the best open-field tackler, you have lost the core of your defense.
When Ross Rasner, who has played admirably, had to move from linebacker to safety, and Tank Wright from defensive end to linebacker, well, those were huge red flags.
And injuries have taken a toll, especially in the secondary.
Plus, this group of Razorbacks, on both sides of the ball, is not as disciplined as it was under Bobby Petrino and doesn’t appear to be in as good of physical shape.
As said in this space Sunday, this was never going to be a great season. All those blowhards who were predicting the BCS championship should now be forced to sit through an entire Razorbacks game that kicks off at 11 a.m.and have to report on it.
Obviously, John L. was not the answer.
He’s under heavy emotional stress and was when he took the job. Financial problems, especially bankruptcy, are an enormous distraction, which was why it was a bit surprising Long said he knew about it and still hired him.
Butch Davis was not interested in being the interim head coach. He is making $600,000 per year from his buyout at North Carolina, which would have been forfeited if he became a head coach, which is why he is a highly paid consultant for the Tampa Bay Bucs, who have a first-year head coach.
Davis has always been a local favorite when the Arkansas job comes open. He graduated from the UA and was a Razorbacks football player until a knee injury ended his career.
He had success as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys, picking up two Super Bowl rings, and that might give him some street cred for recruiting Texas, which is critical for the Hogs.
Davis became head coach of the Miami Hurricanes in 1995, just before they were placed on NCAA probation. His last team went 11-1 and beat Florida State, but the quirky BCS formula put the Seminoles in the national championship game, where they lost to Oklahoma.
Davis then went back to the NFL (Cleveland Browns) in 2001, where he became one of just many - Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Petrino, to name a few - who were not cut out for the pros.
He was turning North Carolina around when one of his top assistants was nailed for several NCAA violations and Davis, who was exonerated by the NCAA, was fired so that the Tar Heels could start fresh.
That’s why he’s getting two paychecks. That’s why he wasn’t going to be interim anything last spring or now.
It would take a five-year contract to get Davis - a good guy, by the way - to forgo his UNC money.
At this point, Davis should be on the short list, but he isn’t going to agree to be here a few weeks.
Sports, Pages 15 on 10/02/2012