The one that got away

Now, I know everyone assumes with that title I should start with a gif of Bert chasing a twinkie with the caption "Get in mah bellah." Tempting mind you, but not quite what I was going for here.

I was just reading up on the football program at Southern Miss and noticed where Jeff Bower was run off by the AD for the unforgivable sin of posting 14 straight winning seasons. Granted Bower never put together a double digit win total during his stay but I'm fairly certain there are some programs in the SEC that would sell their soul for 14 straight winning seasons and a handful of conference titles.

So the question is what coach or coaches did your school run off that you wished had stayed longer? Not counting the ones who were begging to get fired, Petrino hiring his mistress to a state job, Price letting the Tide roll at strip club, or the like.

Sadly as an Arkansas fan I can point to quite a collection of coaches we ushered out the door. Ken Hatfield put up a gaudy 55-17-1 record with the hogs during his stay at the U of A but he and Frank Broyles (our AD at the time) so despised one another Hatfield left for Clemson right after Broyles contract was renewed.

For a non-football sport we also managed to get rid of Gary Blair when we refused to at least come within shouting distance of a low contract offer from Texas A&M. He had built the Lady Razorback basketball team into a perennial tournament team and even got us to the Final Four. Thankfully his career was a bust down at Texas A&M so we don't have to feel bad about... what was that you said? Oh, turned them into a national power and won the NCAA tournament? Well crud.

You can probably throw out a few more coaching names from Arkansas. So which ones got away that you wish your school had kept?