Arkansas Football: Odds on the Next Hogs Coach

As the Arkansas Razorbacks continue to prepare for the spring game that takes place in a couple weeks, there are some off-field issues that may affect their season in a drastic way.

Bobby Petrino was involved in a motorcycle accident earlier this week. He said there were no other passengers, but that's not what the police report says, and now he has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Problem is that the person that was on the bike with him was Jessica Dorrell, who is a former Razorback volleyball player and the foundation assistant director for the school.

You can look at this however you'd like and come up with your own conclusions, but this may end up getting uglier as more details begin to come out. That, of course, could lead into the firing of Petrino and force the Razorbacks to hire somebody else before the regular season starts.

If Petrino ends up getting the boot, here are a few coaches who may end up replacing him.

Houston Nutt

Nutt has a lot of history with the Arkansas program. He's played for them back in the 70s, was a graduate assistant in 1983, was an assistant coach back in the early 90s and was even a head for them previously for 10 seasons. He led the Razorbacks to a 75-48 record, but only won two of the seven bowl games he got them to.

Nutt was recently let go by Ole Miss after leading the Rebels to a 6-18 record the last two seasons. But if Arkansas has to make a hire quickly before the season starts, they may very likely end up going with somebody they're comfortable with until they find a more permanent replacement.

A coach that has coached there for a decade fits the bill.

Odds: 1/5

Tommy Tuberville

Tuberville returning to the SEC? Anything is possible. Besides, why wouldn't he want to return to the top conference in college football, a more talented team (no offense Red Raider fans) and the chance for him to dominate the SEC West again.

Tuberville is from Camden, AR and has success in the SEC after leading Auburn to a 68 percent winning percentage and four SEC West divisions in five years. Bobby Petrino was also the offensive coordinator under Tuberville when he was the head coach at Auburn in 2002.

This may be a shot in the dark, but it's not too far-fetched to put it up here.

Odds: 1/5

Butch Davis

Remember the glory days when Butch Davis went 51-20 and 4-0 in bowl games when he was the head coach for the Miami Hurricanes? Just imagine if he was able to get some of that magic back and be able to get this talented team over the hump in the SEC.

Sure, he wasn't that successful in North Carolina, is a big reason for the scandal that took place and has set that football back a few years. But he does have a history of winning, and he actually played defensive end for the Razorbacks back in the 70s.

I'm sure Arkansas could do a lot worse than a guy who's won 68 percent of his games, is 5-2 in bowl games and has had time off to get his head together.

Odds: 1/4

Gus Malzahn

Remember back in December how nobody wanted Gus Malzahn to become the head coach of their program and he had to settle for Arkansas State? Let Petrino end up getting fired and see how quickly the Razorbacks come knocking on his door. Sure, he signed a contract with a team in the Sun Belt, but contracts are meant to be broken, and I guarantee he'll leave for better competition and certainly more money.

Malzahn played for the Razorbacks back in the 80s, and he was an offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach for them in 2006. You may know him as an offensive genius when he was with Auburn and Tulsa, and that's even more reason to make a run for him if Petrino is shown the door.

Just imagine Malzahn and his offensive mind coaching a team that returns seven starters on the offensive side of the ball from a team that averaged nearly 37 points a season ago. This is a coach that could get the Razorbacks over the hump if his head coaching is as great as his offensive coordinating.

Odds: 2/4

Somebody Else Already on the Squad

Let's say Bobby Petrino does end up getting fired within the next month or so. The most likely hire is going to be somebody that's already on the coaching staff.

This is a program that already has the talent in place to win the SEC right now. A coach that already knows the team would be the best fit to try and keep everything the same so Arkansas can continue to chase those goals.

You bring in a new head coach this season and everything changes, and there's a good possibility this season will experience way too many hiccups to compete. If Petrino is in fact fired, you can expect somebody like Paul Petrino, assistant head coach Taver Johnson (who's now in charge already) or defensive coordinator Paul Haynes to be the interim head coach until everything is figured out and the Razorbacks can buy more time to make a hire more permanently.

Odds: 3/4