John L. Smith's 10-Month Contract Won't Help Arkansas Recruiting in 2013

Jeff Long walked to the podium on April 10 and announced that Arkansas football head coach Bobby Petrino had been fired.

The reasons for Petrino's dismissal have been well documented, as he was in a motorcycle accident that led to him lying to his superiors and the uncovering of an affair.

I'm not here to discuss Petrino's firing. That drum has been beaten to death.

Today, Jeff Long will make another announcement—an announcement to officially introduce the new head coach for the Hogs, John L. Smith. Soon after Petrino's dismissal, linebackers coach Taver Johnson had been named interim coach.

However, Long presided over an immediate search for a new coach. Names like Butch Davis, Phillip Fulmer, Gus Malzahn and Garrick McGee all surfaced and were linked to the job.

Stability is uber-crucial in college athletics, as the leader of a program is the head coach. In the pros, you have an owner and a general manager to help the head coach with stability and leadership of a franchise.

In college sports, the head coach is all three wrapped in one. Stability is imperative because it settles a fanbase, support staff, boosters and faculty—and, most importantly, it is needed for recruiting.

Today, Long will announce that Smith, who had just left his post as Arkansas' special teams coordinator to return to his alma mater as head coach of Weber State, will be given a 10-month, $850,000 contract to be Arkansas' head coach.

Now, Smith is not a bad coach at all. He's 132-86 as a head coach and has coached at big-time programs like Michigan State and helped raise Louisville to relevancy before Petrino became the lead man there.

From a recruiting standpoint, to where my focus almost always is because it's my job, the problem here is the 10-month contract.

Sure, Long just needed a Band-Aid, if you will, for this season. He will likely conduct a national search for a head coach after the 2012 season is over.

However, I'm sure Davis, Fulmer and McGee would have been interested in the Arkansas job long-term. 

How are Smith and the leftover Razorbacks assistants going to recruit? They will have little to stand on when they walk into a recruit's home and tell him "come to Arkansas."

Because the recruit and his parents are going to bring up the question of "who's going to be the head coach next year? Are you still going to be there next year too?"

If Long had gotten a head coach now that would have signed a long-term contract, then this would not have been a problem in recruiting. Arkansas would have been able to move forward because recruits would know who the leader of the program was going to be for Arkansas going forward. 

Smith could lead Arkansas to a BCS bowl game, as I have a ton of confidence in quarterback Tyler Wilson. Smith is proven good coach, and the staff in Fayetteville is also very good.

However, don't expect Arkansas to make much headway in recruiting this year, because recruits won't know who they are really signing up to play for. Do they fit the next head coach's scheme? Will their position coach and recruiting coach even be there when they arrive on campus next year?

Recruiting is the lifeblood of college sports programs, and stability is the plasma. Good luck to Arkansas and John L. Smith.