FAYETTEVILLE -- After bringing in a thug and a clown, it seemed former University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Athletic Director Jeff Long hit a home run five years ago when he hired three-time Big Ten champion Bret Bielema away from Wisconsin to coach the Razorbacks.
That home run appears now to have been a foul tip caught by the catcher.
Just nine days after Long, who was Arkansas' athletic director since 2008, was fired, Bielema's dismissal was announced minutes after his Razorbacks closed their 4-8 season with a 48-45 loss to Missouri at D.W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The Hogs finished last in the SEC West with a 1-7 conference mark.
A brilliant coach in the Big Ten for his six seasons at Wisconsin (68-24 overall, 37-19 in Big Ten), Bielema's Arkansas ledger read 29-34 overall and 11-29 in the SEC from 2013-2017.
As Arkansas interim athletic director Julie Cromer Peoples said Friday night, Bielema didn't win enough to return for a sixth year, though she asserted he excelled in all other aspects.
For what Bielema brought to Arkansas at the time he was hired, he was indeed a home run.
Bielema brought stability to a program that was desperate for a foundation following the tenures of Bobby Petrino and John L. Smith. Petrino, an offensive genius who was 8-5, 10-3 and 11-2 in his final three years at the helm, had a past of boorish behavior that went unchecked at Arkansas until he was fired for egregious conduct. Smith followed as a pilot of a rudderless ship in 2012.
But the team's academic performance and overall team character improved immensely once Bielema was brought in.
After an initial 3-9 campaign that included an 0-8 SEC record while Bielema sorted out the shambles he inherited, the Razorbacks steadily improved. The Hogs went 7-6 with a bowl victory in 2014 and followed with an 8-5 mark in 2015 after winning a bowl game and going 5-3 in SEC play. Bielema's 2016 squad was 7-4 but would have finished 9-4 if not for blowing 24-7 and 24-0 halftime leads in losses to Missouri and Virginia Tech.
The mojo lost at the end of the 2016 season was never recovered in 2017.
"We were on a steady climb until we ran into a speed bump that we just never were really able to get back out of," Bielema said.
Why couldn't a heretofore successful coach like Bielema turn it around? Was it the change of leagues, changes in staffs, abounding injuries?
Maybe all of the above. Or maybe just fate that in some measure befalls most every coach.
Just think of renowned Arkansas baseball Dave Van Horn whose teams posted 40-25, 40-25 and 45-17 in 2014, 2015 and 2017, respectively, with a 2016 blip of 26-29 that included 13 consecutive losses to end the season.
Obviously Van Horn rebounded back to prime form.
Bielema, in a less forgiving sport and without Van Horn's Arkansas resume, couldn't get that second chance.
But Arkansans should appreciate what Bielema contributed to Arkansas and wish him well wherever his next opportunity takes him.
Sports on 11/26/2017