Bielema agrees to leave Wisconsin for Arkansas
Photo
In this Nov. 24, 2012, file photo, Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema shouts from the sidelines during an NCAA college football game against Penn State in State College, Pa. . A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, that Bielema has agreed to become the new coach at Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. — Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema has agreed to become the new coach at Arkansas, taking over a program that stumbled from scandal into an awful season that had begun with hopes of challenging for a national championship.
Bielema has agreed to a deal between 5-7 years with the Razorbacks, according to a person familiar with the situation, which was first reported by Yahoo Sports. The person, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the school had not announced the hire, said a news conference was planned for Wednesday.
The move was the second stunning hire at Arkansas, which brought in John L. Smith after firing Bobby Petrino this year after he hired his mistress to work in the football department. Arkansas went 4-8 this season and athletic director Jeff Long announced after the season that Smith would not return.
Bielema is in his seventh season as Barry Alvarez's hand-picked successor at Wisconsin. He's 68-24 with the Badgers, with four double-digit win seasons, and he coached Wisconsin to a 17-14 win over Arkansas in his first season at the Capital One Bowl.
"He's the guy Jeff was after all along," the person said of Long. "It's hard to get these coaches to sit still."
The Badgers were down a bit this season, losing five close games. But they won the Big Ten championship game on Saturday in a 70-31 romp over Nebraska to secure their third straight trip to the Rose Bowl. They will play Stanford on Jan. 1.
The 42-year-old Bielema was the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin for two years before being promoted to head coach in 2006. He played for Iowa and started his coaching career there as an assistant under Hayden Fry and later Kirk Ferentz.
Bielema takes over an Arkansas program still reeling following the April scandal.
The Razorbacks had improved their win total in four straight seasons under Petrino, including a 21-5 mark in 2010-11, and finished last season ranked No. 5. They had talked openly in the spring about competing for the school's first SEC championship and perhaps a national championship.
Then came the April 1 motorcycle accident that led to Petrino's downfall. The former Atlanta Falcons' coach initially lied about being alone during the wreck, though the married father of four later admitted to riding with his mistress — a former Arkansas volleyball player he had hired to work in the athletic department.
Smith, who had been an assistant the last three seasons at Arkansas under Petrino, was chosen by Long to keep the same system intact for a team that returned first-team All-SEC quarterback Tyler Wilson and a host of other key playmakers. The decision was lauded by the Razorbacks, who welcomed the personable Smith back with open arms.
The season hit the skids with a stunning overtime loss to Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 8, starting a four-game losing streak that dropped Arkansas out of the rankings. The Razorbacks were unable to recover and finished with the school's lowest win total since 2005 — missing a bowl game for the first time since Petrino's first season in 2008.
"It's very difficult for me to believe that is not a bowl-eligible team," LSU coach Les Miles said following the Tigers' win over the Razorbacks in the season finale. "Watching the talent there, (it's) very capable."
Arkansas has yet to win the SEC since joining the league in 1992, though it's played in the conference's championship game three times. It lost to Florida in the title game in 1995 under then coach Danny Ford and lost twice (2002, 2006) there under Houston Nutt.
The school had struggled to find its identity in the SEC since leaving the former Southwest Conference, but it appeared to have finally found just that under Petrino, who was hired after leaving Atlanta during the season in 2007.
The Razorbacks turned into an offensive powerhouse under Petrino. After winning 10 games and reaching the school's first BCS bowl game in 2010, losing to Ohio State, Arkansas won 11 games in 2011, capped by a Cotton Bowl win over Kansas State.
While the country watched closely to see how Arkansas would react following Petrino's dismissal, Smith made headlines of his own throughout the season. The former Michigan State and Louisville coach told The Associated Press before the season that he would likely have to file for bankruptcy following land deals gone wrong in Kentucky. The 64-year-old filed in September — eventually revealing $40.7 million in debt — and came under fire from Arkansas fans for that and the mounting losses.
Bielema will look to end the turmoil and compete in an SEC West loaded with national powers Alabama and LSU, along with up-and-comer Texas A&M.
Long said during the season the new coach would be tasked with building on the recent success at the school, which is looking into expanding the 72,000-seat Razorback Stadium and is currently building an 80,000-square-foot football operations center.
"Our new coach will be an individual who shares the passion for success our fans do, and who is willing to work relentlessly to achieve our goals," Long said following the announcement of Smith's departure.
Dec 6, 2012 at 1:32 p.m.
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You can debate it all you want, but I personally will be betting the Arkansas team total for season wins UNDER, much as I did when the last clown took over there, in Bobby Petrino. If Beilima ever has a winning record in the SEC it will be one of the biggest miracles of all time, and I will be proven wrong. With the current elite teams in the SEC (all who have true top level coaches), Arkansas will be looked at much the way Indiana is now in the Big 10. Just a joke of a program, that you can pretty much just mark as a win on your schedule when the season starts.
Dec 5, 2012 at 4:47 p.m.
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So much of college winning football program success is recruiting-based. (Ron Zook Illini excluded -lol). HC Bielema is not necessary the recruiter -though he could take people with him.
Dec 5, 2012 at 4:18 p.m.
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Bring back Barry.
Dec 5, 2012 at 3:03 p.m.
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brotherkoch, maybe Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Hawkeyes coach - he didn't make what Bielema made but is a good coach. Another Iowa guy would be fine with me. Paul is getting established at Pitt, he'll stay. Forget Tressel or any other tarnished coaches at WI, we have more class!
Dec 5, 2012 at 2:02 p.m.
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So, prospects for the next Badger HC are?
Dec 5, 2012 at 12:51 p.m.
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Out of the shadow of Ohio State and Urban Meyer...into the shadow of Alabama and Nick Saban...and LSU and Les Miles.
Good luck with that!
We will never forget you Brent.
Dec 5, 2012 at 12:26 p.m.
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I've been a huge critic of BB and his game day decisions. The bottom line though is he put fans in the seats and that's what matters most to the University and the Athletic Dept.
Dec 5, 2012 at 10:50 a.m.
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Yada is absolutely right on this one. He rode in on the coattails of Alvarez in that Barry built WI into a name in College football, that on its own makes for easier recruiting. Bret's game time abilities are questionable at best, no loss in him leaving. The bigger issue is that the NCAA allows these coaching changes to happen before Bowl games are played that is ridiculous.
Dec 5, 2012 at 8 a.m.
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Surprise, Surprise! Yada is making stuff up again!
Dec 5, 2012 at 7:43 a.m.
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Tell your mama, tell your pa
I'm gonna send you back to Arkansas
Dec 5, 2012 at 7:39 a.m.
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I sure will miss that confused look on his face while he completely botches the time management at the end of a game.
Dec 5, 2012 at 7:23 a.m.
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Here are the poll results from ESPN sportsnation http://i47.tinypic.com/1f78cp.jpg
Dec 5, 2012 at 7:22 a.m.
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By the time Bielema took over the program, Barry had plateaued and left Bielema with a program that had lost its elite status. Barry's last 6 Big Ten seasons as a coach - 4-4, 3-5, 2-6, 3-5, 6-2, 5-3, 3 losing seasons in the Big Ten his last 6 years. He didn't ride anyone's coattails, he took Barry's plateau back to near the top of the mountain. Bielema had 1 losing season in conference. Sure, there was occasionally clock management in a couple of games, the same thing happened to Nick Saban in the SEC championship last week (though he won). Anyone calling Bielema a 'horrible coach' either doesn't understand success.
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And yada, try this one on, more than 2/3 of Wisconsin disagree with him leaving, and SEC states, including Arkansas, agree with him leaving. He's a respected coach, especially outside the half-baked Monday QBs we have running around these message boards.
Dec 5, 2012 at 6:04 a.m.
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What next? an article on the different colors of lint found in a dryer screen?
Dec 5, 2012 at 5:35 a.m.
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DWIGHT - Wrong in politics and wrong in football...lol Sorry to disagree with you, but Paul Chryst did a decent job when he was asked to help recruit. He is an excellent coach and so far has expressed that he will stay at PITT. They interviewed many fans about Brett leaving WI and most were happy he was leaving. I would agree with that also.
Pauk Chryst Release Statement
http://www.cardiachill.com/2012/12/4/372...
Dec 5, 2012 at 1:06 a.m.
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fear&rhetoric:
I totally agree. Bielima just rode the co-tails of a truly GREAT coach in Barry Alverez. Arkansas will get yet ANOTHER over rated CLOWN. This is the same program who was exorbitant to get Bobby freaking Petrino. Possible thee worse coach in the history of football (remember that guy leaving the Atlanta Falcons, not even having the courage to tell his own players, and simply leaving a note on their lockers? HAHAHA). Great hire Hogs, enjoy another decade of sub 500 teams, with another clown of a coach! I doubt Cryst will come back. I think he has established himself in Pittsburgh community. A good name I heard is Darrel Bevell. Former Badger QB, of course, who has had tons of assistant experience in the NFL now. I believe he is currently with Pete Carro'sl staff in Seattle.
Dec 5, 2012 at 12:40 a.m.
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Bielema was an awful coach. Glad he is gone. Time to bring back Paul Chryst. Local kid, loves Madison and wants to be here. Recruiting? Bielema simply is riding the coat tails of Alvarez and what he built. The real recruiter is the University, the environment, the Stadium, the facilities. Bret will most certainly fail in the SEC(which he ripped just this year). Bielema was an egomaniac(well known) and a bad clock manager and bad in game decision maker. I know people that have dealt directly with him and are not sad to see him go.
Paul Chryst is an offensive Guru(proven) and would be the best choice. He passed up many jobs because he wanted the job. When Bielema got the extension it was time to leave.
Dec 4, 2012 at 11:57 p.m.
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Chryst was never a great recruiter, I don't want him back, Bostad did all the recruiting on the offensive end. I think Bielema leaving will ultimately be a bad thing for Wisconsin football, the odds of bringing in a coach that can maintain the current level of success isn't that great - I hope we can, but I'm not holding my breath.
Dec 4, 2012 at 10:12 p.m.
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NVgrf, If Alvarez was going to fire Bielema why would the Badgers give him a contract extension Bielema, who got a raise to $2.5 million last February, had his five-year deal extended through Jan. 31, 2017???
I guess DwightKSchrute is right here, you really don't have a clue what you're talking about.
Dec 4, 2012 at 10:04 p.m.
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I'm with NVGF the program was sliding. He directly cost the team two games last year with his clock management. I'm glad he got out now, so the program didn't slide for two or three more years before he got fired. Let's book Barry a fligh to Pitt!
Dec 4, 2012 at 8:06 p.m.
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I'm sure NVgrf has no clue what he's talking about.
Dec 4, 2012 at 6:27 p.m.
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I am sure Barry said, "Find a job, because you won't be here next season."
Dec 4, 2012 at 6:03 p.m.
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Wonder what they're paying him. It must be a bundle to leave a pretty successful program for one that is reeling. He may regret this in a couple of years.
Dec 4, 2012 at 5:49 p.m.
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There really is a Santa!!!!!!
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