re: Has John L Smith gone on record about leaving his alma mater high and dry?

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So the answer to the original question is still no, right?

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And you probably won't get a statement from him and if you do it will be brief. As a HC, its a no-brainer to take the Arkansas job, especially if you've only been at your new job for less then 4 months. From a publicity standpoint, it isn't great. But Weber State is no Atlanta Falcons, so the outcry from the media won't nearly be as large.

THey say nothing about it being that in this Salt Lake City article...

I haven't read this thread, so sorry if germans, but they look pretty surprised and upset.

I don't know why Long made this hire. Bad PR move directly after huge scandal. I guess Arky BOT and administration just don't give a frick about the public image of the university.

Whatever the story, the press and the interviews are making Smith look really shitty.

It's definitely interesting that they seem to have a blind spot about plucking coaches from commitments.

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I doubt they ink a guy to coach with the understanding he retires after his first and only season at the helm.

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No, but how many coaches are running to coach at Weber State?

If you are 63 years old and you have coached at Michigan State and Louisville, Weber State is going to be your last stop. He wasn't going there to get noticed. He was from the area and he figured it'd be his last HC gig before he retired, plus he would already be in the area he was from.

Then the Arkansas job opened up and JLS suddenly will have 1 more year for a chance at glory at a high profile school. Pretty easy decision for a coach.

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Since when is it Arkansas's responsibility to take care of Weber State's upcoming season?

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It's not if you don't mind having that kind of coach. Clearly, it doesn't bother your administration, and they don't see the correlation between someone who would do that and who might make other egocentric decisions.

I've always thought it was humorous how people put football coaches on a higher pedestal than everyone else's jobs. If a sales manager bails on his brand new job 4 months in for a better opportunity no one bats an eye. What about all those poor sales reps he was mentoring? Happens all the time in the real world and yet people act like a coach committed a felony if he does it.

Everything after but is bullshite. Arkansas' justification or motivation is not in question. I doubt the claim Smith was hired with the understanding he would coach only one year.

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Then the Arkansas job opened up and JLS suddenly will have 1 more year for a chance at glory at a high profile school. Pretty easy decision for a coach.

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I just don't think Smith made enough of a difference between promoting someone from within the program to justify the bad publicity and obvious parallels that will be made. It's not like it's Gruden you are pulling away. It's John L. Smith.