The news out of Fayetteville today is that AD Jeff Long is leading a $3 million project to upgrade Bud Walton Arena. Being the power players that we are, Stephen and I have already signed up for a block of eight courtside seats (a bargain at just $12,000 each per season). As the local equivalents to Jack and Spike, we’ll be part of a veritable celebrity row that includes luminaries such as Corin Nemec, Gil Gerard and that guy from the Father of the Bride movies. Watch for us on TV with sunglasses on and starlets in tow.

On a slightly less absurd note, I was extremely heartened to note to read that the enormous “salivating Hog” at halfcourt is being replaced by the classic Hog logo from the football helmets. Given that the classic image is one of the coolest sports logos around, and that the salivating one is goofy at best and embarrassing at worst, this seems like an excellent upgrade.

• Nolan Richardson won’t be coaching the ASU Indians Red Wolves. That’s disappointing.

• Jeff Long says the Hogs will likely continue to refuse to play in-state schools. That’s also disappointing.

• Done deal: the Hogs and Texas A&M Aggies will renew their football rivalry with an annual match-up in The House that Jerry Built. That’s not disappointing. (The series starts in October 2009.)

• Oh, the irony … what if John Pelphrey’s former team keeps his current team out of the field of 65? Well, that would be very, very disappointing.

Wow. Bobby Petrino is your new Arkansas Razorbacks football coach. It’s not just “sources” saying it anymore…they had a press conference and everything. (Do. Not. Mention. Dana Altman.) Although the reality of this still hasn’t quite sunk in yet, to say that this hire exceeds our expectations would certainly be a massive understatement.

And we admit it: we were a little off base on this one. We derided Jeff Long and definitively announced that there was no way that an NFL coach would wind up at Arkansas (thus proving, as we’ve said before, that we really know nothing). Big-time props are in order for Long, Chuck Neinas and everyone else who made this happen - this is a major coup for the Hogs.

Along with the rest of the Razorback blogosphere, we’ll certainly have plenty more Petrino coverage in the coming days. In the meantime, here’s a quick list of our early pros & cons (we always strive to present the complete picture, you know) of the new Head Hog:

Petrino pros:

* He wanted the job. That’s not quite as pathetic as it sounds…he actually took pay cut of well over $1 million/year to come to Arkansas. And after a depressing few weeks in which it seemed like every coach in America was using us to get a raise, the fact that a legitimate A-lister got on that Razorback Foundation plane is reason enough to celebrate.

* He wins. Ok, not in Atlanta, but he probably didn’t count on Michael Vick becoming a felon either. Before that, he compiled a 41-9 record with two top 10 finishes in four years at Louisville. Winning 80% of your games might be impossible in the murderer’s row of the SEC, but we still think he’ll do quite well with the Razorbacks.

* He knows a thing or two about offense. New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin called him “the best play-caller I’ve ever been around” (Petrino was offensive coordinator under Coughlin in Jacksonville) and Steve Spurrier is a noted admirer. He has a distinguished record dating back to the 80s, but really established his reputation as an offensive mastermind (and developer of QBs) at Louisville. Even a detractor like Pat Forde of ESPN.com calls him “the best offensive game-planner and tactician since Steve Spurrier’s heyday at Florida.” Think Casey Dick is feeling pretty good about life right now?

* Everybody else wanted him, we got him. Petrino has been one of the hottest names on the coaching rumor mill over the past few years, having been linked to jobs at Auburn, LSU and the Oakland Raiders, among other places. His winding up at Arkansas is probably mainly a matter of great timing (he gave the NFL a shot, hated it and wanted out all at the same time our job was becoming open and the LSU and Auburn jobs were closing up), but it’s still pretty sweet to be able to rub this in the noses of the many Hog-haters out there.

* His hiring will unite a fractured Razorback fan base. Frankly, Arkansas fans needed something they could agree on (besides the fact that D-Mac deserved the Heisman). For now, at least, Petrino has the support of all but the most hardened cynics (and/or Malzahn supporters) in Hogland.

* He’s used to banners flying overhead. On his first day at practice with the Falcons, he was greeted with a banner flying above that read “New team name? Dog Killers?” If that’s not great preparation for the Arkansas job, we don’t know what is.

The flip side:

* He was not well-liked by the Falcons team. He lost the team early on in the season and never got them back…the Falcons’ locker room has been in open revolt for weeks now. And a league source told SI’s Peter King that Petrino was “one of the worst communicators in pro sports.” While we’re in an optimistic mood, we’ll chalk it up to a matter of style…coaching a bunch of college kids is certainly a different animal than dealing with a team full of millionaires with their own agendas and egos.

* The Bobby Petrino era in Atlanta did not end well. He went 3-10 and then quit on the team mid-season. We don’t like the quitting part on principle (although it will certainly help with our recruiting schedule), but at least you can argue that he was dealt an unexpectedly tough hand in Atlanta. Does this foreshadow a bad ending to his time with the Hogs? Maybe, but why worry about that now…if you have a chance to go out with the prettiest girl in school, you take it without dwelling on the inevitable breakup.

* This is not a long-term situation. The down side to hiring any big name is that, if he wins, you’ll be dealing with rumors of him jumping ship to a bigger program every off-season. Petrino, in particular, is known for having very happy feet. But you know what? If he wins, we don’t care. Having your coach potentially hired away because he’s too successful is one of those good kinds of problems.

* Success is not guaranteed. Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire since returning to the SEC after their failed stints in the pros. Nonetheless, we’re more comfortable rolling the dice with Petrino than the buffet of ACC coaches who turned us down.

Our final analysis:

Even factoring in the cons, this is a great hire. Here at Razorback Expats HQ we’d been feeling down about the football team…with D-Mac and the other stars leaving and the uncertain coaching prospects for next year it was looking like a return to the “glory” days of the early 90s was inevitable. But no longer…we are officially very excited about the 2008 season. Go Hogs!

So, the latest rumor in the ongoing coaching search soap opera is that Jeff Long & crew are targeting Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Lord knows that we’re not putting too much stock in mere rumors at this point…the way things have gone lately, we won’t truly believe we have a new coach until 3-4 games into next season. If the new guy - whoever he may be - is still around by then, maybe we’ll start to get comfortable with the idea.

Anyway, if it really is Muschamp - meaning the Hogs are finally getting beyond that idiotic “no coordinators” mantra and he actually might want to take the job if offered (unlike 10-12 others we could mention) - that would be pretty damn sweet.

But, like anyone who’s been burned a few times too many, we’re definitely not getting our hopes up yet…we’re just passing along this rumor because that’s what we do best. Like we said yesterday, we’ll probably end up hiring Skip Holtz.

Update: on page 3 of this article, Jim Harris is reporting that Muschamp is “no longer in the mix”. And so it goes…

There hasn’t been much concrete news out of the football coaching search lately (meaning we haven’t made any ill-fated job offers in the last few days). It seems that Jeff Long has officially called a mulligan (NCAA statute 332.4.54, section B.14) and is basically starting over. As far as we can tell, that’s a good thing - the first few tries didn’t exactly go well, and the new list of rumored candidates seems (to this decidedly unexpert observer) the one we should have been working from in the first place.

The general theme of the new list is outstanding college coordinators plus a few NFL guys with extensive college experience. Here are the names we’ve seen, in alphabetical order so as not to imply an official Razorback Expats endorsement (lest you doubt our incredible influence, please note that the NFL head coaches representing both the Expats’ West Coast and East Coast offices - Oakland and Atlanta - are both in play. Coincidence? Hardly):

* Norm Chow (offensive coordinator, Tennesse Titans) - I’ve read reports that say he would jump at the chance to be the Hogs’ coach. Maybe, but I don’t see why. He has no Arkansas ties that I know of, and would he really want to trade Vince Young for Casey Dick? (no offense, Casey) But, if he really is interested, that’s fantastic…the dude is an acknowledged wizard of the offensive arts.

* Ron English (defensive coordinator, Michigan) - the two main things that I know about him are that the announcers were raving about his abilities during the 2006 Michigan-Ohio State game (as OSU was lighting up the Wolverines, for what it’s worth) and that Appalachian State put up 34 points on his team. I’m 100% in favor of pursuing minority candidates, but what about Charlie Strong of Florida? He has a great resume and is from Batesville, of all places.

* Reggie Herring (interim head coach, Arkansas) - I have to admit, I have a soft spot for Reggie. The players love him, his intensity is great and he’s handled himself really well during this incredibly awkward transition period. On the down side, opposing teams scored about 40 points per game on us this season. In fact, I think Andre Woodson just threw another TD pass against the Hogs while I was typing this.

* Skip Holtz (head coach, East Carolina) - I know almost nothing about him besides the fact that his first name is Skip and his last name is Holtz. Neither one really counts as a positive in my book. Forgive my well-earned cynicism, but my guess is that we end up hiring this guy.

(Read on …)

I just had a breakthrough thought on how to handle the coaching search: structure it as a nationally televised game show called “Who Wants to Coach the Razorbacks?” with Jeff Long as your affable and charming host. Don’t laugh…it could work.

Meanwhile, the search itself has settled into a bit of a post-Tommy T/Tommy B lull. Since we don’t have too much insight to add at this point, instead allow us to direct you to some of the latest and greatest coaching search links:

* Arkansas Sports 360 points out that our search is making a lot of other coaches rich…all it takes is the Razorback Foundation’s plane to land in town and - boom! - it’s time for a fat contract extension. While they’re jetting around the country, I wonder if the they would mind stopping by my office?

* Speaking of that, will Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe be the next one to hit the Razorback search jackpot? (smart money says yes)

* It’s been awhile since I read Revelations, but I seem to recall that this is the 6th sign of the apocalypse: Wally Hall’s column today provides an extremely clear-headed and well-reasoned breakdown of the situation and what should happen next. Quibbles about his notorious single sentence paragraphs aside, I basically agree with him 100%. Better start stocking up on canned goods and bottled water, folks…things are getting weird.

* Harry King makes a similar point to Wally about where we should go from here. Another good article.

* If you’re like me, you’ve been wondering what Groucho Marx, Pete Townshend and Abe Lincoln could teach us about the current mess. The Razorbloggers have the answer, along with an insightful assessment of the situation.

Tommy, we hardly knew ye: just when I was about to write a blog post lamenting the apparently inevitability of the Tommy Bowden hire, my eye caught this report that he’s apparently signed a contract extension with Clemson.

My first thought was definitely relief: Tommy Bowden seems like a fair-to-decent coach, but definitely not what the Hogs need right now. More than anything, his potential hiring was troubling because he signified a disturbing willingness on Jeff Long’s part to go the retread route rather than trying for something more creative or inspiring.

After processing all that, my second thought was that this really has become the basketball coaching search all over again…it’d be kind of funny if it weren’t so frustrating. First we go after a big name and get rejected, then we go after successively less impressive names and get rejected by those guys too. The bball search wound up with a great hire almost by accident…I’m not optimistic that we’ll get that lucky again.

Perhaps worse than anything is the increasing obviousness of the fact that no one on the Hill really seems to know what they’re doing. Jeff Long seems to be locked into hiring (or trying to hire) his mediocre old buddies, and as for Chancellor John White, when Wally Hall is successfully calling you out on multiple occasions, you know you’re in trouble. Not good times for Razorback fans.

Wholehogsports.com is reporting that Arkansas AD Jeff Long has interviewed Clemson coach Tommy Bowden, Tulsa co-offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and Michigan defensive coordinator Ron English for the Razorbacks’ head coaching vacancy. Also, Arkansas Sports 360’s Jim Harris has a post up about an ESPN report that says the same thing. And this article from the Morning News says Bowden may in fact now be the leading candidate.

Ugh. I plead all kinds of ignorance on the pros and cons of English, but the first two names on the list don’t inspire me at all. Nothing wrong with exploring all of your options, but the idea of Malzahn as the head coach leaves me particularly cold, mainly because it would ensure that the blood feud between pro-Nutt and pro-Springdale Razorback fans would continue for awhile. I’m ready to leave that behind.

In other coaching search news, some members of the Alabama press note that Tommy Tuberville hasn’t done much to distance himself from rumors of him taking the Razorbacks’ job.

With Arkansas’ disappointing season having knocked the Hogs out of the Top 25, the most entertaining poll watching (well, for me anyway) has been following Houston Nutt’s position in coacheshotseat.com’s weekly ranking of the coaches facing the most job jeopardy. Thanks to the Hogs’ impressive win over South Carolina and the super-duper-human effort of Darren McFadden and the super-human effort of Felix Jones, Nutt tumbled all the way from No. 4 to No. 11 in this week’s poll.

Here’s what the site’s blog page had to say about HDN: “If Nutt wins 1 of the remaining games Arkansas would finish with a 7-5 record, and with all of the talent on this Arkansas team, you would have to consider that a massive underachievement. Can Nutt survive a 7-5 record in 2007? If he can, then Arkansas football is not that important anymore.”

Three weeks ago, after the heartbreaking loss to Auburn, I felt that Nutt’s time at Arkansas had passed the point of no return. That seems a little premature now, with the team playing better and having reeled off three straight wins. This is purely a gut feeling, but I’m guessing that losing two out of the next three means he’s gone, while winning two of those means he’s back.

The big X factors, of course, are what kind of support he has from the Board of Trustees and what incoming AD Jeff Long thinks of him. Anyone with any insight on those two factors, please chime in.

What record do you think Houston has to finish with to stay on the Hill?

Wally Watch: Where we read Wally Hall so you don’t have to.

Oct. 18, 2007: Only White knows what future holds for Nutt.

Primary Theme: Chancellor John White is the only person who knows what record the Hogs have to finish with for Houston Nutt to keep his job.

For the “Hard to Argue with” File: “Soon-to-be athletic director Jeff Long might know [if a 7-5 record would save Nutt’s job], but since he is currently an adviser to White, he might not know.”

We Get It: ” … Nutt’s contract is good to 2012. That’s 2012. If you missed it, 2012.”

Choice Analogy (Three for One Special): “The Razorbacks should roll through the Grove like Sherman did Atlanta. Like Appalachian State did Michigan. Like Bill Callahan did Steve Pederson.”

What Team Have You Been Watching?: “The Rebels rank 76th in defending the pass, and since the promise was made to open up the offense this week, the Hogs should be in fine form there.”

Our Analysis: A classic Wally effort, one in which he once again careens from point to point. After stating his thesis, he says the Hogs should adopt the spread offense for the next two seasons. Then, he compares Stan Heath’s winning percentage to Nutt’s and says allowing Nutt to stick around after this year may hurt White’s effort to hire more minorities. Then, it’s off to a detailed comparison of Ole Miss and Arkansas’ stats and to a glance at Arkansas’ chances against its remaining opponents. Finally, like a high school student ending a paper, he closes the article by restating a point he made way back at the beginning: “Of course, only Chancellor John White knows if there is even a magic number Houston Nutt needs to win.” Our heads are spinning.

Oct. 19, 2007: Grab a pencil for Hogs-Rebels entrance exam.

Primary Theme: Professor Hall gives his audience bad flashbacks to school by crafting his column in the form of a multiple choice test about the Arkansas-Ole Miss matchup.

Sample Question: If [Ole Miss Coach Ed] Orgeron and Reggie Herring got in a fight before the game, it would: A. Give the Hogs an advantage. B. Give the Rebels an advantage. C. Be worthy of HBO pay-per-view. D. Be a mild surprise.” Answer, according to Wally: C.

Sample Question, No. 2: “If [Marcus] Monk plays Saturday, he will have missed: A. Some bad football. B. Some team meetings. C. Two months. D. Breakfast.” Answer: C. Um, okay.

Our Analysis: A completely random and bizarre effort. We appreciate his attempt to shake things up, and we love a good game of trivia, but this column feels like Wally found himself slammed up against his deadline without the slightest idea of what he should write about. But, as we think more about it, don’t most of Wally’s columns seem that way?