Jessica Dorrell: Resignation Means Arkansas Can Finally Move on

The University of Arkansas football team is so much bigger than one head coach, and it's certainly bigger than one student-athlete development coordinator.

Whatever that is.

But as long as Jessica Dorrell, who became part of one of the bigger scandals in recent history, was a part of this Razorbacks staff, it just felt as if it was going to be tough for the school to move on.

That's why the news of Dorrell officially resigning from her position should be seen as a breath of fresh air for Razorbacks fans. Like I said earlier, it's not like she was going to single-handedly bring this program down.

That would just be foolish to think.

But it's not a stretch, either, to say that Dorrell, who is now the face of a nationwide scandal, would have negative effects on the program, despite the fact she appeared to be at least qualified enough for the job. Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long stated (via Graham Watson of Yahoo's Dr. Saturday blog):

"

While Ms. Dorrell had a legitimate right to apply for and accept a position within the football program, the circumstances surrounding the former coach's decision to hire her compromised her ability to be effective in such a position.

"

She could have been the best in the business at her job and she could have been completely innocent. But the last thing Arkansas needs is casual fans looking at the program and immediately correlating it with "Dorrell" and "scandal."

She had to go. 

There's no question she would have received hostility from the rest of the staff, hostility from the fanbase and hostility from those who might have deserved the job more. Throw in the plain hatred everyone would have towards whatever she was involved with and, again, it was clear that Dorrell had to go.

Think of it this way: You're making a delicious buffalo chicken sandwich, one of the best sandwiches ever.

However, as you're making the sandwich, you realize one of the pieces of bread has a tiny bit of mold on it. The mold isn't going to kill you. Heck, it isn't even going to hurt you or really affect the sandwich's deliciousness at all. But you know it's there, and you just can't enjoy the sandwich.

Well, the sandwich is Arkansas football and the mold is Jessica Dorrell.

Or something like that.

As long as she was a part of this staff, it was going to be tough for the Arkansas football program to move forward in a positive direction and positive light. 

No worries, though, because the mold has resigned. 

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