OT: Unofficially Official - Peterson To Be Named Arkansas Head Coach

Submitted by MJ14 on

Looks like Arkansas is set to hire Chris Peterson to be the new head coach of the Razorbacks.

As of Saturday evening, multiple sources have said that Boise State coach Chris Petersen is expected to be named the new Razorbacks coach Tuesday. Considering the Hogs will play Oklahoma in basketball that evening at Bud Walton Arena, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could be formally introduced to the fans then.

That’s assuming, of course, nothing changes. After the Dana Altman experience of 2007, Arkansas fans have seen just about the strangest of the strange things happen when it comes to new coaching hires. That was when the Creighton coach was hired to replace the fired Stan Heath, took the job and backed out the next day.

Link: http://www.hogcountryonline.com/?p=7955

ChopBlock

December 1st, 2012 at 8:54 PM ^

If true, this is pretty inexplicable IMO. Based on his resume, Chris Peterson has a guaranteed job in a power conference anytime he wants one, and to take on the Arkansas shitshow is not somethign I'd want to willingly go through.

BUT... at least it's not Auburn.

Phoenix

December 1st, 2012 at 10:08 PM ^

... what a year without Kellen Moore was like. (Ok, ok, so they were good without him this year, but still. that type of talent is tough to replace.)

I'm with a previous poster, perhaps he's tired of never being able to bust through to the top echelon and decided he had a better chance to break through at a team in the SEC. As a coach, there's no better conference to prove yourself than the ESS EEE SEE.

EGD

December 2nd, 2012 at 12:39 PM ^

Also, I'm not sure there are a whole lot of better opportunities than the Arkansas job.  Maybe if a coach like Saban heads for the NFL again or USC pulls the plug on Kiffin, there might be.  But most teams looking for new head coaches are doing so because the last guy left the team in a shambles--not because a new hire failed to produce despite copious talent on the roster.

angry byrne

December 1st, 2012 at 8:54 PM ^

Why would he hold out for Arkansas of all places?  Peterson's had plenty of other opportunities that were much better in my opinion.  If true, he must see some writing on the wall at BSU or perhaps he's just tired of trying to break into the BCS/new plus-4 stuff.

BeatOSU52

December 2nd, 2012 at 2:06 AM ^

I'm not seeing eye to eye with everyone here that thinks Arkansas is such a bad place to land a gig.  They've had a really rough year, but they were just in the Sugar Bowl two seasons ago.  It's not a bad program and now Peterson just made the SEC became even more scary good in the future.

Bill in Birmingham

December 1st, 2012 at 9:10 PM ^

That was my reaction too. And then I remembered, many a mystery can be resolved by the old phrase: Follow the money. If they were going to pay Miles between $5 and $6M per year, they probably opened the vault. He certainly could have had his pick of better opportunities.

Don

December 1st, 2012 at 9:02 PM ^

I would think he'd hold out for a prime job on the west coast, like Oregon if Kelly leaves.

But it would set up an interesting set of games with us.

JT4104

December 1st, 2012 at 9:05 PM ^

Yea...not sure what Peterson would see in Ark...first and foremost having to recruit against Saban, Miles etc...can't be a fun thought.

If he wanted to go to the SEC and possibly win quickly it seems to be that  Tenn would be a better choice with some of the talent they have on offense.

G0B1U3

December 1st, 2012 at 9:07 PM ^

I think this would have more to do with his talent pool decreasing at Boise than "holding out" for Arkansas. Maybe he feels it's the right time to jump ship.

BlueTimesTwo

December 1st, 2012 at 9:49 PM ^

Most likely he is frustrated at having to jump around to different conferences just to try and find quality competition.  Right after they agreed to move to the Mountain West, the MW lost some of its best teams.  Then they agree to join the Big East for football and then the BE implodes.  I do feel bad for BSU because they missed a chance to play the big boys in a bowl game at a time when they actually could have competed with them.

Hopefully they will make a good hire to replace him.  Even before BSU became my hometown team, it always kind of bugged me that so many people were so hateful towards a team that had marginal talent and still managed to go toe to toe with many of the big boys.  

Jeff09

December 1st, 2012 at 9:11 PM ^

Great hire for Ark.  I'll be interested to see what he does with 3/4/5 stars instead of 2/3 stars going forward.  Seems like one of the best Xs and Os coach out there.

LSAClassOf2000

December 1st, 2012 at 9:19 PM ^

There are a few sites (including the one I linked here) which are saying that while Chris Peterson is the first choice for Arkansas, they are willing to go with James Franklin if Peterson says no to the position (link to another blog). Lots of rumor flying around, of course. Gary Patterson and Mike Gundy were supposedly apprached as well, but not a lot of evidence that they ever took it seriously.

Belisarius

December 1st, 2012 at 9:15 PM ^

Could be he hoped BSU would wind up in a better situation than it has: in the Pac-12, for instance. Now that it hasn't, he might be thinking more about greener pastures.

snarling wolverine

December 1st, 2012 at 9:17 PM ^

This is the biggest difference between the SEC and the Big Ten.  Arkansas is what, the 6th or 7th best program in that league?  The equivalent program in the B1G would never aim this high.  Only the historic powers (U-M, Ohio, PSU, Neb) would even dream of landing a guy like Petersen - and even then they'd probably low-ball him.  Well, maybe not Ohio.

 

 

Leaders And Best

December 1st, 2012 at 9:30 PM ^

Not even a rumor of an interview. I'm calling this rumor as bogus as the Gruden to Tennessee rumors. This sounds like absurd fantasy coming from program boosters.

Especially with the California job open and even possibly Oregon if Chip Kelly bolts to the NFL, I highly doubt Petersen would jump to Arkansas considering the potential available jobs on the West Coast.

BlueinLansing

December 1st, 2012 at 9:20 PM ^

you'll never recruit better than LSU or Alabama and you'll have a very hard time keeping up with TAM and Auburn(assuming auburn doesn' get burned to the ground).  To say nothing of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee

 

He'd do better in the Pac 10 or Big 12 in my opinion.

ghost

December 1st, 2012 at 9:33 PM ^

This could be true, but for me to believe it I'll need to see it on something other than a message board.  Why go there, especially with Cal (which was rumored to be a spot he'd consider) available and Oregon likely available.

steve sharik

December 1st, 2012 at 9:38 PM ^

...this is the kind of thing that B1G schools need to start doing with their football programs.  About 5-10 years ago, the league started hiring a who's who for hoop coaches, and look where it is now.

When the Purdues and Illinois of the world go big and hire guys like Peterson instead of Danny Hope, that's when it will get back to being one of, if not the, best conference in the country.  With BTN dollars, schools certainly should be able to open the bank and give top coaches a virtual blank check.

Seriously, if Peterson was willing to go to Arkansas, why wouldn't Purdue go to him and say, "Name your price.  Ohio will be up there, but there's no reason we can't be a Wisconsin, and Penn State's headed toward irrelevance."  Now, there's certainly good reasons for a Peterson to pick Arkansas or Tennessee over a Purdue, but that shouldn't stop Purdue from trying.  Look at Arkansas.  They went after Miles, and while it was never going to happen, it was verified by Les as legitimate, which probably made the job a little more attractive.

So when Purdue gives Kevin Sumlin a $5M/yr. offer, and when TA&M matches it, it opens up the eyes of top coaches on the market.

WolverineFanatic6

December 1st, 2012 at 10:45 PM ^

He is very pro style. He molds his offense around the players he has. Jon Gruden said it himself. He orchestrates a multitude of formation shifts, and motions to gain an advantage in leverage, angles, and numbers. We all know he is a great game planner and isn't afraid of calling every play in his playbook. The guy is a genius. I think if he gets a good defensive coordinator they could be a very dangerous team going forward. I love this hire!!