so, if R. Smith is gone, who?

I have a feeling this hire is going to come from left field...

I've been doing some reading on Diaco and he sounds like the perfect fit for Bielema. However, not a great fit for what fans want.

He lines up with Bielema well because he runs a 3-4 "bend don't break" defense. The front 7 responsibilities and personnel would obviously be different than under Smith but he primarily runs a Cover 2 or 3 shell on the back end like Smith. Fans aren't going to be happy when they see the same cushion they've grown to hate.

I think Rhoads as well. Not sure if he gets rid of Segrest, but I would assume so.

quote:

---

next season may make him quit

---

Alternatively, he could give a damn and be a great coach again.

Left field..... John Thompson is available..... just saying.

Isn't he retired?

quote:

---

he said on DTS that he's on a "sabbatical" ....
I guess he would only come out of retirement for the right fit...... not saying he should be our guy at all.... but I always liked him.

---

His parents were good family friends and wonderful people, and I've known Johnny for a long time. However, he's just psychologically unable to stay anywhere more than a year or two before getting antsy for greener pastures. I do know his family was a bit upset when he left the UCA AD job after a year to get back into coaching as DC for Orgeron's final year at Ole Miss when it was obvious he was heading into a lame duck season.

quote:

---

I feel this season kicked Bert's arse, next season may make him quit when he realizes he's just not an SEC caliber coach after all.

---

I held onto Bert's rope until this season. Next season will either be his renaissance or the final nail in his coffin at Arkansas (tentative on that absurdly stupid buyout).

It's completely unacceptable that the SEC was absolute trash this year and we still somehow managed a losing record in conference play. Two of the three SEC teams we beat finished with a losing record.

To make matters worse, we lost to A&M, Auburn and LSU by a combined 102 points. To repeat, that's not the combined number of points we gave up, that's the combined margin of those three losses. And let's not act like those teams were stalwarts this year - they all won 8 games.

What if I told yall it probably doesn't matter as long as we keep Herb cause we'll always be a step slow and completely inflexible.

TIFWIW, but...

LINK /

quote:

---

Former UConn head coach Bob Diaco is a candidate for Arkansas’ open defensive coordinator position and has interviewed for the job, sources told Sports Talk.

Diaco, the former defensive coordinator at Notre Dame from 2010-13 and Broyles Award winner in 2012, has experience with the 3-4 defense, something Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema plans to move forward with in 2017.

In his four years leading the Irish defense, Diaco’s unit never ranked worse than 27th nationally in scoring defense, and in 2012, Notre Dame ranked second in the country, allowing only 12.8 points per game.

Diaco and Bielema were teammates at Iowa for a year, with the Arkansas head coach then serving as a graduate assistant with the Hawkeyes for Diaco’s final two seasons.

Sources indicate current Arkansas defensive backs coach Paul Rhoads is expected to be at least a co-defensive coordinator with the Razorbacks next season, and that there could be another change to the defensive staff.

Current Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith’s new deal with Minnesota is expected to become official as early as today.

On the offensive side of the ball, sources say Razorback offensive coordinator Dan Enos has received interest from both NFL teams and other colleges. If Enos were to leave, those sources tell Sports Talk that current Arkansas tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. is believed to be the front-runner to replace him.

---