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| | Wommack out at Arkansas; Strong is mentioned
Thursday, Dec 2, 2004 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - Most Arkansas football fans will be satisfied with the head of defensive coordinator Dave Wommack and we'll probably never know if the athletic director wanted another sacrifice or two. That Tuesday meeting between head coach Houston Nutt and his boss, Frank Broyles, was top secret, but it's likely there was some give and take. When Arkansas finished 5-6 and failed to go to a bowl for the first time in Nutt's seven years, changes were expected. Right or wrong, a defense that was 10th of 12 in the Southeastern Conference pointed out Wommack. Evasive about staff changes on Sunday, Nutt said he wanted to talk with Broyles. Their meeting lasted 45 minutes and when Broyles was asked about the status of Nutt's assistants, he said, "that's completely (Nutt's) call." As hands-off as that sounds, it is difficult to swallow. In fact, the story making the rounds was that Broyles and Nutt also discussed the dismissal of at least two other coaches. If that's so, logic dictates other members of the defensive staff were in the line of fire. Wommack's staff included line coach Tracy Rocker, linebackers coach Chris Vaughn, and secondary coach Bobby Allen. People who know say that Rocker's guys are extremely good on fundamentals. Plus, the fact that he won the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Trophy gives him excellent credibility with recruits. Only 28, Vaughn has been on Nutt's staff for five years. He has been recruiting coordinator for the past two years and also played for Nutt at Murray State. Allen has been with Nutt for years and they are very good friends. At Arkansas, he has been willing to help out where needed, coaching both groups of linebackers and defensive linemen before switching to the secondary. Nutt would have gone to bat for any and all of the three. After Tuesday's meeting, Broyles said he expected Nutt to make a decision within a week, but there was so much gossip and speculation that the four-paragraph confirmation was released Wednesday. There were the usual good wishes and thanks from Nutt to Wommack and the polite and appropriate response from Wommack to Nutt. Even before Wommack's departure was announced, there was talk that Arkansas would try to hire Pat Jones, who coached high school football in Little Rock and who is with the Oakland Raiders. It is unclear how far those talks went although Jones might have felt an allegiance to the Raiders and the money might not have been right. Arkansas' coordinator might get $180,000-$200,000, but several assistants in the NFL are in the $300,000 range. Former Arkansas assistant Monte Kiffin is the highest paid coordinator in the league, making about $1.7 million per with Tampa Bay. Jones is also in his mid-50s and Broyles might have suggested somebody younger. Look at the top college teams in the country in scoring defense and it's difficult to imagine a coordinator leaving Auburn, Southern Cal, Virginia Tech, California, Florida State, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Alabama, LSU, Georgia, or Texas for Arkansas. Such a whiz kid could be willing to say bye to a middle-of-the-pack Division I school or even a Division I-A school for Fayetteville, but also might insist on bringing some of his assistants. There won't be any openings unless an Arkansas assistant lands a job elsewhere, but Nutt could counter with a two-year contract and the opportunity to get a foot in the door in the SEC. He also could just move on to another candidate. Charlie Strong is getting mentioned often and he is available since he was let go as defensive coordinator when Ron Zook was ousted at Florida. The 44-year-old Strong also has stout Arkansas ties - he grew up in Batesville, graduated from the University of Central Arkansas and obtained his master's from Henderson State University. With national signing day barely more than two months away, Nutt will hire somebody soon. Whoever is hired, there could be a shuffling of assignments, particularly with Vaughn and the versatile Allen. ----- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media Group's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
