Arkansas Reportedly Hires John L. Smith to Replace Bobby Petrino

We finally have an answer to who will fill the huge hole left by the Bobby Petrino scandal, as reports assert John L. Smith will now lead the Arkansas football team on an interim basis.

The Associated Press reports via Twitter that Smith will take over the head coach vacancy left by the recently fired Petrino:

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Breaking: AP source: Arkansas hiring former assistant John L. Smith as interim coach to replace Bobby Petrino next season. #hogs #sec #wps

— AP_Top25 (@AP_Top25) April 23, 2012"

The Razorbacks will have a familiar face lead them through what may be a tumultuous transition in the wake of a scandal that rocked the college football world.

Smith, according to an Associated Press report, will be back on a one-year interim basis, which comes after leaving last season to coach at Weber State.

He will now take over a team that has been without a guaranteed leader since its famed head coach was fired.

Petrino was forced out after an affair he maintained with university employee Jessica Dorrell became public.

Soon after, Petrino was reported to have never fully disclosed his relationship with Dorrell, even when he had a hand in hiring her, via USA Today.

The 63-year-old Smith has held head coaching positions at Michigan State, Louisville, Utah State and Idaho. His lone bowl win came in 2001 when he led Louisville to a Liberty Bowl victory.

The program has a modicum of closure, as it now has a head coach that will serve as a transition from a messy end to the Petrino era.

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