Arkansas Football: Garrick McGee Should Get the Call to Replace Bobby Petrino

Unless you've been living under a rock, you have heard by now that Arkansas fired head coach Bobby Petrino following Petrino's motorcycle wreck and subsequent cover-up to the Arkansas athletic department.

It's not the worst timing in the world, but it's close.

So who's going to replace Petrino?

One of the names that is surely going to be at or near the top of every Hog fan's wishlist is current Arkansas State head coach Gus Malzahn.

Let's pump the brakes on the Malzahn-to-Fayetteville talk. There are plenty of better, more qualified candidates.

Garrick McGee, in particular.

McGee left Arkansas after the 2011 season to take over as head coach at UAB. He spent four seasons working with Petrino as an assistant on the Arkansas staff, including the last two seasons as the Razorback offensive coordinator. 

The Razorbacks finished with the SEC's best offense in 2011, when they averaged 438.1 yards per game. The previous season, the Hogs trailed only Auburn in total offense with an average of 482.5 yards per game. 

The obvious response is that the Arkansas offense was really Petrino's offense, and McGee is as much, if not more of a risk than Malzahn.

That's a valid concern, but there's more to McGee's appeal than just statistics.

He's familiar with the area, familiar with the program, familiar with the players, familiar with everything. There will be minimal disruption. He's barely two steps out of the door, but he's far enough away to be considered a breath of fresh air to a program that desperately needs some good news.

Sure, he'd burn a few bridges at UAB if he left now—but it's UAB, and football isn't exactly a high priority at UAB.

I still question whether or not Malzahn is really cut out to be a head coach. His Auburn offense finished ranked No. 100 out of 120 in total offense last season, and defensive coordinators seemed to be one step ahead of him at all times last season. Malzahn is from Arkansas, has coached in northwest Arkansas and spent one season as the Arkansas offensive coordinator; but McGee's ties to the current Arkansas football program are of more importance to the program in this particular situation.

Malzahn is the sizzle, but McGee is the steak. Arkansas should go with the steak.

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