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Long Faces Even Tougher Decision
Published: 4/11/2012 1:33 PM
Last Modified: 4/11/2012 1:33 PM

Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long has several different options available in filling the vacancy of the fired Bobby Petrino.
All of it is complicated by the prospects for what many Arkansas fans had hoped what would be a dream season next fall.
Certainly, if nothing had happened, the prospects for a super season are in place. The Razorbacks have the key players back from an 11-victory season and a schedule that includes Alabama and LSU coming to Arkansas.
However, the question now pops up whether the Razorbacks should follow the example of Ohio State.
When Jim Tressel was pushed out, the Buckeyes went with an interim coach and suffered through a 6-7 season.
Then, Ohio State went through a proper coach search and landed Urban Meyer, winner of two national titles as the coach at Florida.
So, does Arkansas go with an interim coach? None of the candidates seem like a good choice. All three of the primary candidates on the current staff are new this spring.
The top two candidates with Arkansas ties are in their first jobs as head coach and haven’t even finished their first spring drills - Garrick McGee at UAB and Gus Malzahn at Arkansas State.
Then, there is Arkansas alum Butch Davis, a Bixby native, who was a popular choice when Petrino was hired. Davis went on to North Carolina and even though not mentioned in recent NCAA violations announced for UNC he is tainted by them and was pushed out because of them.
If Arkansas waits until after this upcoming season, it gives the Razorbacks time to see if the interim is a possibility.
And, at the end of the season, other coaches at high-profile programs might be available. For instance, Arkansas would seem to be an attractive job for coaches like TCU’s Gary Patterson or Baylor’s Art Briles.
Whatever the decision, it is a tough one. Long, who handled Petrino’s ouster well, is getting another tougher test in the coaching hire.



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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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