John L. Smith: Why New Arkansas Football Coach Is Smart Play for One Year

For the sake of being honest I'm going to admit when I heard the big Arkansas news, I nearly fell out of my office chair. John L. Smith to the Razorbacks?

However, after the initial shock wore off and I let the situation sink in, the move is a smart play by the athletic director, Jeff Long. About a week ago, we discussed the addition of Phil Fulmer to the staff for a season to act as the shepherd to the program to get them through the tough times. Smith, for one season, does many of those same things.

What the Hogs are getting with Smith is a bevy of head coaching experience and the ability and understanding of how to operate a big-time program. That's what they need as they get ready to head into summer with a team many believe is capable of winning a national title in 2012.

Smith has worked in college football for almost 40 years; he was a head coach for 17 of those years. He understands the day-to-day job of a college football head coach. In addition to the head coaching experience, Smith spent three seasons working on this very Arkansas staff as a special teams coordinator. He knows these players, he recruited some of these players and he has worked with this team. He was there for the Sugar Bowl against Ohio State. He helped make some of those big special teams moments possible.

Now, in the wake of the Bobby Petrino scandal, Smith is getting the shot at the big time that has eluded him since being ousted by Michigan State. Once the initial shock subsides, the fact is, this hire is a play by Jeff Long to get a head start on his coaching search without the stress of hand holding an interim head coach through the season. Long can do his job, get the Hogs a quality head coach to secure their future without teaching Taver Johnson, or another staffer, how to be a head coach on the fly.

Is Smith a great hire? No. But, the Razorbacks were never going to get a "great hire" in April, after spring ball. What Long does get with Smith is a guy who he can trust to do the little things without rocking the boat when it comes to the rest of the staff. When you're a program in this situation, that's what you need—continuity.

Smith most certainly brings an air of continuity. The same continuity that we preached when we said the Hogs would be better served sticking with Taver Johnson than going to get a new coach. The same continuity that we discussed when we talked about staff retention and bringing Fulmer in to run the day-to-day head coaching minutiae for a year. That continuity is why this John L. Smith move is a solid play by Jeff Long.

The athletic director made the smart move: keep the boat together in 2012 and get a head start on the inevitable 2013 hiring circus. Everyone knows the Arkansas job is open. Everyone knows Arkansas just invested a lot of money into their program. If you're a mid-major coach or a big-time assistant, get your resume ready because, as it stands right now, Arkansas is the job that you're gunning for this season.