Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

John L. Smith is a big personality. He’s a good storyteller. He’ll stay out of the offensive and defensive coordinators' way and leave the systems installed this spring in place. And, Smith knows the staff and players at Arkansas.

For those reasons, the Razorbacks love Smith as coach for the 2012 season. Players, current and former, are on board with Smith in control for the next 10 or so months.

Outside the program the hire has been met with mixed reviews. Some are critical of Smith's poor record at Michigan State, his last big-time head coaching gig. Others are more upset at the timing of Smith's hiring. He was at Weber State less than five months before leaving for Arkansas. And a handful of writers aren't quite sure what to make of it all just yet.

Below we roundup some of the national media reaction:

Stewart Mandel, SI.com

Fascinating.

That's the only word to describe Arkansas' decision to replace the disgraced and departed Bobby Petrino by hiring John L. Smith as its interim coach. It's not good or bad, smart or dumb. We can't apply traditional adjectives to such a unique coaching experiment.

By bringing in an outsider who might as well be an insider, who has 18 years of experience as a college head coach and who was willing to jilt alma mater Weber State for a tenuous and likely temporary position, Arkansas AD Jeff Long has achieved the impossible. He's managed to make a hire that is somehow both ludicrous and inspired, unforeseen yet obvious in many ways.

Gregg Doyel, CBSSports.com

John L. Smith was never going to turn down this job. Not out of loyalty to Weber State. Not even out of decency. Decency, John L. Smith? This is the same guy who left Louisville for Michigan State late in the 2002 season. How late? Well, it was like this. Louisville was playing Marshall in the GMAC Bowl when the news broke that Smith, coaching there on the sideline, had taken the Michigan State job. TV cameras showed Louisville players learning -- during the game -- that their coach had taken another job.

That's John L. Smith. As Weber State just learned, that will always be John L. Smith.

This is your new coach, Arkansas. Same as the old coach.