This column originally appeared in the November 6, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.
I was talking to my grandfather Sunday afternoon when naturally, our conversation drifted to the most important topic of the day: Arkansas football.
Like many fans, he is having some serious doubts as to whether head coach Bret Bielema’s system will translate to wins in the Southeastern Conference.
As our conversation slowly developed into a debate, I found myself defending Bielema.
My main argument is that he hasn’t had time to get the players to fit his system. When he was hired in December, Bielema was able to throw together a pretty good recruiting class, but he cannot build an entire team in one year.
Almost all of the players on this year’s team were recruited by former head coach Bobby Petrino, whose high-octane spread offense is completely different than Bielema’s power running game.
Imagine you are trying to build a 4x100 meter relay team, so you recruit the fastest sprinters in the country and train them for two to three years to compete in that event. Then suddenly one year the athletes are forced to switch to a cross country race.
These athletes are neither equipped nor prepared for such a change. That is similar to what Bielema is trying to do at Arkansas.
Uneducated fans think that Jeff Long should have hired Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn instead. They think that if Malzahn can lead the Tigers to an 8-1 record and No. 9 ranking in the BCS in one season, he could do the same thing at Arkansas.
However, what these fans are forgetting is that most of the players Malzahn has at Auburn are players he recruited while he was the offensive coordinator there from 2009 to 2011.
If Malzahn was hired at Wisconsin, he would be having the same struggles Bielema is having at Arkansas because the players at Wisconsin would not fit his system.
Despite the six-game losing streak, Razorback fans should calm down and give Bielema some time. If he still isn’t winning after three years, then you can start the “Fire Bielema” campaign.
You cannot judge a coach’s success based on one season.
In 2008, Petrino’s first season, Arkansas finished 5-7 overall and 2-6 in the SEC. That was even coming off of 10- and eight-win seasons in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
Along the way, the Razorbacks had a three-game losing streak in which they lost by an average margin of 36 points. They also had an embarrassing 21-20 come-from-behind loss to Kentucky.
I also reminded my grandfather that when he was only 18 years old, Arkansas hired a young 33-year-old coach that lost his first six games as the head coach of the Razorbacks before finishing the season 4-6.
That coach turned out to be Frank Broyles, and after that 1958 season, he led Arkansas to a 140-52-5 record and the 1964 National Championship.
I am not saying Bielema will be the next Broyles, but my grandfather and the rest of the fan base need to let him get his system fully implemented before jumping to conclusions.
Only time will tell if he will be successful.
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