Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long continues to evaluate his options for a new football coach.

All options seems to be on the table for Long, but in talking with him last week it seems his preference is to hire an existing college head coach. Long has not written off hiring a college coordinator or NFL coach/coordinator (or TV commentator — wink!), but college head coaching experience is the priority.

"It is very early and we are looking at a lot of things," Long said. "I am not carrying a list in my back pocket. When you are in this business, and this is my life, this is my job, this is what I do every single day of the week. So I know who is out there. You just have to look and research see who fits you and who is the right fit for what we have to offer. We will get to that point. Obviously we are doing a lot of research now."

What have the most recent hires in the Southeastern Conference looked like? Below we review the hires made by the Razorbacks’ peers:

2012
Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Previous Stop: Coach, Arkansas State (10-2)
Hired For: $1.5 million
Previous Salary: $202,160
How He’s Fared: Ole Miss is 3-2 this season. They are coming off a 33-14 loss to Alabama.
What Was Said: “Watch Freeze on a practice field in the ear of his quarterbacks, or speaking at an alumni function, or tweeting on his phone, and he's totally comfortable embracing all the facets of being a modern day major college head coach. There's not a lot of guesswork for his players who understand accountability and commitment extend outside the playing field.” —Ron Higgins, Commercial Appeal

Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Previous Stop: Houston (35-17)
Hired For: $2 million
Previous Salary: $1 million
How He's Fared: Texas A&M is 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the SEC. The Aggies are fresh off a 58-10 victory against Arkansas for their first win as members of the SEC.
What Was Said: "Sumlin, who has an excellent reputation among Texas high school coaches, will help A&M challenge Texas and Oklahoma for top recruits in the state. Players like him. He understands today’s players and gets this generation. Don’t take that to mean he is buddy, buddy, or soft with players. The opposite is the case." — Jerome Solomon, Houston Chronicle

2011
Will Muschamp, Florida
Previous Stop: Defensive coordinator, Texas
Hired For: $2.75 million
Previous Salary: $907,000
How He’s Fared: Florida enters this week’s game against No. 4 LSU ranked 10^th in the country. Mushamp is 11-6 overall.
What Was Said: “They hired a Gainesville guy who knows defense, has an Urban quality and will bring fire to the program. They hired a guy who knows the league. They hired a guy who has won in The Swamp. They hired a guy who has learned from two of the best — Nick Saban and Mack Brown, not to mention Bill Oliver. I know the Gator Nation had its mind set on other possibilities, but they never were realities. Jeremy Foley set his sights on one guy and one guy only.” —Pat Dooley Gainesville Sun

James Franklin, Vanderbilt
Previous Stop Offensive coordinator, Maryland
Hired For: $—
Previous Salary: $486,500
How He’s Fared: Vanderbilt has struggled to a 1-3 start to 2012. The Commodores were 6-7 in Franklin’s first season, but are viewed as one of the nation’s best recruiting programs since his arrival.
What Was Said: “The thing about “coaches in waiting” is they get sick of waiting. Mere days after Texas’ protégé Will Muschamp was poached by Florida, Vanderbilt did the same to Maryland, hiring offensive coordinator James Franklin. Franklin had been slated to take over the Terps in 2011. The Commodores must have a savvy social networker in its PR department. They announced the decision on its facebook page. Forty-five people like it.  They will be posting photos of the coordinator hires on their Tumblr page.” —The Big Lead

2010
Joker Phillips, Kentucky
Previous Stop: Offensive coordinator/coaching in waiting Kentucky
Hired For: $1.7 million
Previous Salary: $323,460
How He’s Fared: Phillips and the Wildcats are off to a 1-4 start this season. Kentucky is 12-18 under Phillips.
What Was Said: “Rich Brooks officially retired as the Wildcats’ head coach this past week after much speculation the last two years. But Kentucky’s recruiting has been virtually unaffected by the news. In fact, it may have actually been bolstered a bit. That’s because Joker Phillips was designated the Wildcats’ head coach of the future back in January of 2008. As a result, there will be no protracted search for Brooks’ replacement and Kentucky’s 2010 recruiting class — which has a heavy Georgia influence — remains intact."—Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Derek Dooley, Tennessee
Previous Stop: Louisiana Tech
Hired For: $1.8 million
Previous Salary: $350,000
What Was Said: “Put it this way, if a girl breaks up with you, the first thing you want to do is get a hotter girl and make sure everyone knows about it. Is that the best standard for a successful relationship, finding a hotter girl? No, but it makes you feel better. Well, Dooley is the plain girl.” —Clay Travis
How He’s Fared: Dooley is among the SEC coaches most often mentioned as being on the hot seat. He’s 14-16 at Tennessee, though the Volunteers are off to a 3-2 start in 2012.