LITTLE ROCK — John L. Smith should not be fired as the interim head football coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks for several reasons, but first and foremost because of the players.
They have been through enough upheaval and turmoil.
Yes, a precedent was set in 1992 when Frank Broyles fired Jack Crowe after losing the opening game to The Citadel.
Truth is, that was a mistake, too. Broyles should have waited until the end of the season.
From 1992 through 1997, encompassing Joe Kines’ season and five under Danny Ford, the Razorbacks were 29-37-2 with two winning seasons.
Ford was slowly but surely putting it back together, but it was an uphill battle from the start.
Granted, there have been reasons to be disappointed with Smith, and because of the disappointment there are fingers being pointed at Jeff Long for not hiring Phil Fulmer, Butch Davis or Ken Hatfield as the interim head coach.
Look, the one thing everyone, especially the media, expected was that Smith would win all the news conferences.
He hasn’t.
There is a time for humor, and it is not after losing to Louisiana-Monroe and getting shut out at home by Alabama.
The fans want to know, deserve to know, what Smith and his staff are going to do to stop the bleeding and win some games.
The last thing the fans wanted to hear Smith say was that he didn’t know what to say to his team, or the media, after the 52-0 loss to Alabama.
The bit in the last news conference about telling the media to smile made national news, and it wasn’t good news.
It has gotten so bad for Smith with some of the fans that they are referring to him as Gilligan, as in the character played by Bob Denver from the old TV show Gilligan’s Island. It started with the fishing hat that, for whatever reason, Smith decided to make uglier by taking scissors to the crown of the hat and making it really short.
After that it didn’t take long for people to say he sounds like Gilligan.
Despite all that, and the two losses, Smith should not be fired. The last thing this team needs is more chaos and confusion. Just think what they’ve been through since last April.
If not for the leadership of Tyler Wilson, which showed up in a positive way again last Saturday night, and Tenarius Wright, this season might have started with little hope or enthusiasm.
Smith was hired to keep the staff together, make the players happy and keep everyone on the same page.
If Wilson doesn’t get hurt, the Razorbacks are sitting at 2-1 and people are talking about the Cotton Bowl instead of firing Smith.
Does Smith need to get serious and understand the hurt and confusion of his team and their fans? Heck yes.
This is not a laughing matter to people who spend hundreds and even thousands of hard-earned dollars to see their football team play, and they want them to be competitive, or at least be told why they aren’t and what it is going to be done in practice to make the team better.
No, they don’t need to point fingers, but a group hug might not be in order either.
At this point the fans need to remember, and Smith needs to understand, this is a college football game. It is not just fun, but entertainment, too.
Get rid of the hat, quit cracking jokes and crack the whip.
Sports, Pages 19 on 09/20/2012