Bowden Beamers Arkansas; Razorbacks to Consult with Lee Fowler on how to be used

Tommy Bowden is staying at Clemson. All of my Clemson friends are down the dumps after waking up this morning with dreams of new coaches on their mind.

Tommy Bowden agreed to a contract extension to remain Clemson’s coach Tuesday, school spokesman Tim Bourret said.

Monday, sources told ESPN.com that Arkansas had focused its coaching search on Bowden and was prepared to offer Bowden a contract in excess of $2 million annually.

“He was gone this morning,” a source told ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach. “He was just looking for more stability. He’s excited about the team he’s got coming back and the recruiting class coming in. They have good momentum and he and his family are happy there.”

Bowden agreed to an extension with Clemson that will run through at least the 2012 season. The new contract will pay him around $2.2 million annually.

“I’m very pleased with the contract extension agreement that we reached today,” Bowden said in a university release issued Tuesday.

Earlier, Clemson had offered Bowden a two-year extension and $400,000 raise that would increase his total package to approximately $1.6 million annually.

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30 Responses to Bowden Beamers Arkansas; Razorbacks to Consult with Lee Fowler on how to be used

  1. Sam92 12/04/2007 at 5:08 PM #

    It was insane for Arkansas to dump Nutt in the first place – decent season this year, 10 wins last year.

    Bowden’s performance over the years at clemson has not been appreciably better than Nutt’s tenure at Arkansas.

    Equally crazy for Bowden, and maybe anyone else, to step in to Arkansas’ expectations.

  2. noah 12/04/2007 at 5:13 PM #

    Arkansas didn’t fire Nutt because of wins and losses.

  3. Dr. BadgerPack 12/04/2007 at 5:14 PM #

    SFN owes me a new monitor after reading that headline… for some inexplicable reason mine has a hazelnut latte on it now…

  4. Pack92 12/04/2007 at 5:17 PM #

    2.2 million for what? Has it really become that bad? I guess you can say he has beat the in-state rival. I’d say TOB was worth 2 million for wearing out ‘ol butch-slap the way Dick Sheridan did whiner brown.

  5. thebigwood 12/04/2007 at 5:17 PM #

    Noah, what other reasons did Ark. fire Nutt?

  6. RickJ 12/04/2007 at 5:26 PM #

    Nutt resigned from Arkansas. In hindsight, it looks pretty clear that he had already agreed on the Ole Miss job when he resigned. There were certainly problems between Arkansas and Nutt and I suppose you could argue he was made uncomfortable enough to resign.

    SFN: Call it what you want. Nutt got paid $3.5MM to ‘resign’

  7. Dr. BadgerPack 12/04/2007 at 5:29 PM #

    One of Nutt’s big problems was win half his top recruits left (Mustain and a few receiver, maybe some more I am forgetting about) because Nutt had this crazy idea about using his best player (McFadden) as much as possible.

  8. bTHEredterror 12/04/2007 at 5:34 PM #

    Poor Clemson.

    Nutt had the alleged affair with a local reporter, I think he had his phone records released under a freedom of information policy for State government employees. Fans there were just ready for a change, kind of the TOB in BC proxy.

    Not bad returns, just the same returns. For a program with a long memory of past glory, and delusions of grandeur. it spelled let’s kiss and say goodbye.

  9. Wulfpack 12/04/2007 at 5:52 PM #

    Nutt was not fired. He resigned. Yes, there was pressure from the fans, but he was offered an extension and he chose to go to Ole Miss. So how Arkansas looks so dumb, I don’t know. They tried to keep him.

    SFN: How did they try to keep him while paying him $3.5MM to leave via his resignation?

    As far as Tommy goes, well, good for him. Not sure I’d want him around any longer if I were a Tiger. But luckily that’s not my worry.

  10. DixieBoy 12/04/2007 at 6:05 PM #

    So glad to hear that Tammy is staying! I eagerly anticipate his whining about us using “illegal” equipment up in Vaughn Towers. Plus, it’s always so fun to watch his team choke down the stretch. How many more years will he tread the thin line before they fire him? At least looks as if they are stuck with him to ’12 or else they”ll have to pay up.
    The national media usually likes to hound the ncsu basketball fan base as delusional. Well, to me the “Klimpsun” football fan base is the most delusional. All they ever talk about is their 81′ National Championship and Danny Ford. They need to accept that Tammy will never get them over the hump and just go buy some more orange overalls.

  11. StateFans 12/04/2007 at 6:16 PM #

    I’ll say this, I found myself scared to death that Skip Holtz would be coaching at Clemson for the next 15 years and did not like the way it projects out.

  12. Wulfpack 12/04/2007 at 6:21 PM #

    “SFN: How did they try to keep him while paying him $3.5MM to leave via his resignation?”

    A source told ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel that Nutt turned down a two-year extension from Arkansas worth $2.4 million annually after the Razorbacks upset No. 1 ranked LSU last week.

    http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3128404

  13. Trout 12/04/2007 at 6:25 PM #

    If that ESPN article is correct, Tommy got a $1 million dollar raise – from $1.2 to #2.2 million. Wow…..

    Speaking of coaches salary, if Duke can pull the trigger and land PJ, you know it will be for more than $1.1 million a year (which is what PJ earns at Navy). If so, then TOB will be the 3rd lowest paid coach in the ACC, ahead of only Randy Shannon of Miami and Jags “Im fun” of BC, and very close to Wake’s Grobe.

    TOB makes $1.1M.

    If true, Tommy, Bobby, and Butch will be the ACC coaches making over $2 million a season.

  14. Texpack 12/04/2007 at 6:25 PM #

    The Arkansas fan base didn’t like Nutt’s play calling in the 2005 season. He was by most accounts forced to hire an OC. Gus Malzahn ended up being that guy. He brought with him the Parade POY and 3-4 other nationally ranked recruits. It is alleged that said recruits were “promised” that Malzahn would be allowed to run his hurry up no huddle offense with the pigs. The QB wasn’t quite ready to carry the entire load against SEC level competition as a freshman and, as stated above, Nutt decided to cast his lot with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones instead.

    The Gus Malzahn love fest was more than Nutt’s ego could stand and at the end of the season, he hired a co-offensive coordinator to work with Malzahn. The QB had been benched around game 9 or 10 and decided to transfer to USC. All of the other hot shot recruits left Arkansas as well. Malzahn bolted for Tulsa to be the OC there.

    Nutt’s style is pretty obnoxious, at least to me. He does stuff like lead the band in the fight song after victories that is just pure “look at me” junk. He makes himself easy to hate. The anti-Nutt faction wanted him gone after a 10-4 year last year. They flew Fire Nutt banners over the stadium during games this season. He had polarized the Razorback fan base to the same degree as HWSNBN had polarized Wolfpack fans so there was a lot of happiness when he resigned. I do have to give the man credit for getting paid his buyout to go take another job paying 2.5 times what he was making at Arkansas.

  15. noah 12/04/2007 at 6:29 PM #

    TexPack has it. The affair and the phone stuff certainly didn’t help. He pretty much had to win the national championship this year to get people off his back.

  16. Dr. BadgerPack 12/04/2007 at 6:50 PM #

    OK, I could have elaborated more I suppose… I still think it is assinine for a coach to get pressure for utilizing his best player(s) too much.

    It’d be like somebody criticizing coach K a few years ago for letting Reddick shoot the ball too much…

  17. Texpack 12/04/2007 at 7:05 PM #

    ^I completely agree on the criticism of Nutt for running McFadden, its crazy. The Razorback fans drank the Kool-Aid on Malzahn and his HS players. They are still convinced that they would have won a NC if they had all stayed at Arkansas. Time will tell if they will regret running Nutt out of town.

  18. highstick 12/04/2007 at 7:24 PM #

    Here’s hoping Clempson’s decision haunts them for several more years!!

    Happy Halloween to the “Orange”!

  19. RickJ 12/04/2007 at 7:57 PM #

    This is what the Chancellor of the University of Arkansas (John White) said about Nutt’s resignation:

    “Houston’s decision to resign was neither forced, nor encouraged, nor requested. On multiple occasions, I have made it clear to him that I wanted him to remain as our head coach for our football team,” White said. “What I asked [the Razorback Foundation Monday morning] was that he be kept whole as though we had exercised the clause in his contract of termination for convenience, but I told him I can never bring myself to bring a termination on you. You don’t deserve it, it’s not appropriate, it’s not good for our program, and yet I believe you have earned the money that has been deferred for you.”

    Of course he could be lying but I don’t know why a Chancellor in the SEC would be worrying about looking bad about firing a football coach.

  20. GAWolf 12/04/2007 at 9:03 PM #

    Sounds like to me the school’s wishes and the money’s wishes differed on Nutt. Sounds familar to me… and I can’t say that I blame the approach of any involved. Chancellor seems to be deferring to the wishes of the alumni/boosters/money but believes Nutt should be provided with the money as if he was terminated not for a poor job but because of convenience of the money-that-be. I think as an objective outsider looking at Arkansas’ program and the relative success it’s enjoyed recently I can understand that.

    The boosters want more, the administration doesn’t think more is possible, administration ultimately succumbs to the pressure of the money donors but doesn’t go down without throwing a hissy fit…. coach resigns to take another job. Sounds like Herb to me guys….

  21. GAWolf 12/04/2007 at 9:16 PM #

    I just came across this quote on a pay recruiting site. I think I’ve taken enough out to not perpetrate a no-no. With that said, I believe this quote from a not-to-be named recruit from a not-to-be-named school is an EXCELLENT conversation piece on a level-headed forum like SFN. SFN, feel free to doctor up the quote, start a thread, whatever. I really think the conversation is limitless here:

    “[North Carolina] is a great program,” he said. “You’ve got John Blake there, and he’s all about getting people to the league… taking care of you. The coaching staff is friendly. Everything is like home.

    “Florida State… I met Chuck Amato when he was at State. I don’t really know too much… I’m going to take this visit and find out a little bit more about them. I know they do put players in the league, and they have a lot of people in the league currently. They do a good job defensive-wise, and I heard they let their ends go loose.

    “With [NC] State, they’ve got coach Willis, and he’s a hard man. He’s straightforward, and he gives you all the details. They are straight up. They don’t pressure you about coming and they just let you know how it is… what they are going to do for you there.”

    I could go on and on, but I’d love to know y’all’s thoughts first…..

  22. JimValvano 12/04/2007 at 9:33 PM #

    speaking of things to chew on…here’s a meaty little treat for you guys…

    http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=747509

    hmmmmmm…makes you wonder doesn’t it?

  23. GAWolf 12/04/2007 at 9:51 PM #

    You can’t trust what a college coach says these days. It’s gotten so ridiculous it’s taken a little heat off us lawyers…

    When out sick on monday I was watching Mike and Mike and they had Les on. While he sounded pretty convincing he was staying, he never outright said that he would be there next year. He said he hadn’t talk to Michigan and wouldn’t talk to Michigan (we’ve learned how that statement can be loaded with the various mercenaries involved in coaching hires these days) and he said he was the coach of LSU and that’s all he had on his mind… blah…blah…blah. Mike and Mike seemed to take it as cut and dry he was staying, but I never heard him say “I WILL NOT BE COACHING ANYWHERE NEXT SEASON BUT LSU.”

  24. MatSci94 12/04/2007 at 10:16 PM #

    (comment on the rivals article ^)

    I don’t think I’d sign a new contract right before a National Champ game either. If you win, you can ask for more.

    Here’s a conspiracy theory for you. What if Miles is setting up so that when they sit down to do his extension, talks will mysteriously “break down” and then he takes the Michigan job.

    How hard is it to say “I am withdrawing my name from consideration for the Michigan job.”

    He was also careful to say (in one of the Sat press confs) that he had not talked to anyone “official” at Michigan, while trying to say he had no interest. He may be telling the truth, but it just seems like he isn’t trying too hard to end the rumors.

  25. PackerInRussia 12/05/2007 at 12:08 AM #

    ^^^Also from the rivals article…
    “‘That is the same thing that Nick Saban said when he was the head coach of the Dolphins (before he left for Alabama),’ Johnson said.”

    I’ll bet it really ticks off an LSU fan to hear a recruit drop their school because he thinks Les Miles is leaving based on the precedent set by Saban.

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