Breaking News: John L. Smith out at Arkansas, Hogs on the hunt for new coach
Arkansas Razorback head coach John L. Smith runs down the sideline to talk with a game official during the second half of a game against the Ole Miss Rebels at War Memorial Stadium. Ole Miss defeated Arkansas 30-27. (Beth Hall-US PRESSWIRE)
After former head coach Bobby Petrino decided to pull a Bill Clinton and get himself fired from Arkansas for having an affair with a much younger woman, the Razorbacks — in an act of pure desperation — brought in John L. Smith to head up the football program on an interim basis.
Now that the 2012 season has mercifully come to an end in Fayetteville (What? You thought these Hogs were making a bowl game??) so has the tenure of Smith with the Razorbacks.
The school’s administration, and athletic director Jeff Long specifically, has officially announced what most fans had assumed for months. John L. Smith will not return as the head football coach for the University of Arkansas.
“With our 2012 football season concluded, I met earlier today with Coach John L. Smith to inform him we would be making a change in leadership within our football program. I have great respect for Coach Smith and I thank him for the sincere commitment he has shown our program. He made a difficult decision in uncertain times to return from his alma mater to guide the young men in our football program, and I will always be grateful for his efforts.”
Smith signed a 10-month, $850,000 contract back in April. For those counting, it has not been ten months as of yet, and thus Smith will be retained in some capacity until February. Sources indicate that Smith will serve as a consultant until his contract is totally fulfilled.
After starting the season ranked No. 8-overall, Arkansas finished the regular season with a tough loss to LSU to finish the year with an extremely disappointing 4-8 overall record.
Arkansas will reportedly hire a new head coach within the next 10 days. Stay tuned here, we will bring you any new information that surfaces.
Quotes from Saturday Down South and CBSSports.com were used in this report.
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