AR Husker Fan

Sounds like a good choice - he has the background and the skills. I hope Alverez was correct about his recruiting...I think that is the most important thing at the moment. I do wonder what offensive scheme he will bring. I have trouble imagining Nebraska not relying on the option, and one thing I loved about the team since the early '60s was the precision of the option. On the one hand, I would like to see him announce what he intends to run. It might help lure or assure recruits who want a particular style. On the other hand, announcing early means he's wedded to a particular style, and not to finding something that fits the talent on hand. Still, I'm excited. Here's hoping for the best!

The hell of it is, he might have changed his mind again...until this happened.

I agree. My point was that letting Frank continue through the bowl game would not have hurt recruiting. Why let him go before then, unless it was to either improve recruiting, or from fear that under Frank the players would not play well enought to win (and thereby indirectly affect recruiting, possibly)? I just don't think that Frank's coaching would have resulted in a loss, and it's obvious that no one was waiting in the wings that would have given recruiting a boost, so why fire him before the bowl?

What worried me is that the failure to name someone now leaves kids up in the air as to what type of schemes will be run. Especially for offense, a kid wants to know that the program has the kind of scheme that suits his tastes and talent. If I'm an passing quarterback that can run, I have to wonder whether the search will result in a coach that is committed only to the run. If I'm a pure option quarterback, I have to wonder if the coach will run a passing offense. These are considerations for recruits.

I agree. What I saw from the defense reminded me of the best Nebraska has offered in that regard. I think they were, as a unit, a bit undersized in the line, but finding those 300+ pound studs is tough. Where I see a decline was not in the formations, or the QB (Lord is not necessarily a worse passer than some others with whom Nebraska has won). I see less talent in two places. Primarily, the offensive line, and secondarily, at tailback (although I thought Davis did a pretty damn good job, actually - fought for every yard he could). In years past, no one could touch Nebraska in the offensive line. Starters were fifth-year seniors or the absolute best of bred juniors. That's changed, from my distant vantage point. When the most talented lineman is a soph, well, that spells trouble for an offense like Nebraska's. That's where the swagger was lacking. I honestly feel that the o-line was not sure it could dominate, nor did the rest of the offense. To me, that comes from a realization that they were not more talented than the players across from them - and that's unheard of in Nebraska. That's one reason I think SP is looking for a master recruiter - to bring in "best of breed" talent. I know that living as far from Nebraska as I am, I don't have the insights other members of this board have. It just seems to me that when you look at everything, there is only one area lacking - recruiting. Nebraska's facilities? Top-notch. Fan base? Unrivaled. Tradition? Among the best in the nation. Resources? Whatever is needed the fans will give. Coaching? I don't see any obvious flaws in the game plan. What does that leave? The talent level.

Let him finish out the year, for one thing. Putting aside whether Frank represented the program correctly - I personally think he did - the one overriding negative of the way he was fired is that it raised the hackles of a lot of coaches. In their mind, bad enough that a 9-win coach is fired, but to not even let him finish the season... This could be one of the impediments to getting serious consideration from coaches...

I believe this point is precisely correct. From reports here in Arkansas, including from Nutt himself, Nutt was not actually offered the job. He was told of the amount of money and other aspects of the job, but the plane waiting to take him to Nebraska was - again, according to Nutt - to conduct an interview; not to announce Nutt as the new coach. I can't, of course, say that's correct for all candidates, but it fits. More interesting to me is the possibility that there was a high profile coach that was targeted, showed no interest, and left the AD scrambling. For some reason, I don't think this was the case. Can't prove it, but it seems to me that if that were so, some hint of it would have leaked. Beleive it or not, I think Nutt was the "first" choice, sort of. Meaning, he was top of the list, but not the sole candidate. I think the AD wanted to wait until the Razorbacks' bowl game to see how that turned out before going further. If Arkansas won - which they did - he could then say he was selecting a coach that had done something - with less resources - that Frank could not...beat Texas and Mizzou. I think the AD looked at the program, and felt that although Frank could handle the X's and O's aspect of it, and was a good administrator, the one difference between Nebraska and either Oklahoma or Kansas State recently was recruiting. I mean, think about it...does either OU or KSU have more to offer recruits than Nebraska? If so, what? No major urban areas, no "hot spots", no beaches, etc. So what was needed, in the AD's evaluation, was a good coach who could recruit. While Nutt is not well known outside the SEC, within it he is recognized as a guy that has managed to recruit a little better than would be expected given the NCAA sanctions and the negatives of Arkansas. Regardless, I think that's the direction the AD wanted to go - someone who was a whiz-bang recruiter. I imagine he thinks that this is all that's been lacking...and it may well be. But the way he fired Frank leaves a bad taste, regardless.

Yes, I'm in Arkasnas. Regarding my assessment of Nutt, see THEM HERE.

As of midnight, it was still "undecided". Arkansas AD Frank Broyles was initially saying he thought it was 90% certain Nutt would go, but is not saying more along the lines of 60%. Seems that Arkansas is now offering what amounts to an Assistant AD position that would place Nutt in line to become AD once Broyles retires. There was a news conference scheduled for 6:00 p.m., but it didn't come off. The word out of Fayetteville now is that there will be a news conference tomorrow, one way or the other. Apparently, Arkansas is still trying to sweeten the pot enough for Nutt to stay.

As a Husker fan living in Arkansas, I might be able to add some information about Houston Nutt. First, addressing what Nebraska can offer that Arkansas can't, the simple answer is...just about everything. The offer to Nutt is now beyond the monetary level that Arkansas can offer - well over 1 million dollars (Nutt receives about $800,000 currently, which places him in the middle tier of pay for SEC Western Division coaches). Arkansas has already said they can't match the money. Recruiting - Arkansas has no tradition to offer recruits, and has no major attractions - beaches, major cities, etc. Nebraska has the tradition. Facilities - While Arkansas AD Frank Broyles is constantly upgrading, Arkansas still lags behind. Elite status - Nebraska plays to a national stage; Arkansas does not. Fan Support - Arkansas is, like Nebraska, the only major program in its state. But Arkansans are not nearly as committed...hence the lack of money to offer Nutt. When Arkansas went through a few years of 4 win seasons (before Nutt arrived), the stadiums were not sell-outs. Even now, they aren't always. Depends on the status of the opponent. Not true for Nebraska. What can Arkansas offer that Nebraska can't? Just one thing - less pressure. That could be a problem if Nutt accepts. For the last three years, Nutt has been criticized for not taking Arkansas to the next level, and for the number of off-the-field problems from athletes. While Nebraska fans are forgiving, they are also demanding - far more so than Arkansas'. Nutt hasn't handled that well - he hasn't lashed out, but it has been clear that he has been hurt. Some of that may be due to the fact that he's Arkansas born and bred, but still... What are Nutt's strong points? 1. Recruiting - I will say this...he is a tireless and constant recruiter. He has not been as sucessful as he would like due to negative recruiting that resulted from some minor NCAA infractions and some scholarship reductions (all due to actions that occurred before Nutt arrived, I might add). 2. He adapts to the talent. For the last three years, with a quarterback that is a poor passer, Arkansas has been a leader in rushing in the conference and the nation. When Nutt first arrived, he had a passing quarterback, and was a conference leader in passing - at a time when Steve Spurrier was in the conference. 3. A players coach - Players generally love playing for Nutt, and defend him to the death. 4. He has improved every program at which he has been the head coach. In Arkansas' case, he took virutally the same team that had been 4 and 7 the year before (and for the last three years), and immediately won 8 games - and he routinely wins 8 or 9 games while at a school that lacks any of the resources Nebraska has. He's won the SEC Western Division two or three times in 6 years; he hasn't lost to Texas - beaten them twice, in fact; beaten most of the major programs in the SEC - Alabama, Tennessee, etc. Nutt's downsides? Well, other than the possible thin-skin, there is one potentially huge downside. One of Nutt's assistants is Mike Markeson (sp) - the offensive line coach. While Arkansas has had a good running game the last few years, I worry about Markeson following Nutt to Nebraska - he's been with Nutt at every stop. I don't see good fundementals from the Arkansas line. Not trying to promote Nutt - I want the best for Nebraska available. Just wanted to provide some information.