It was not a surprise Chad Morris was fired, or that University of Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek termed it “a change in leadership."
For months Morris has been meeting with Yurachek weekly, and not all the talk was about football. Yurachek spoke regularly on the subject of leadership.
There is a difference in being a leader at SMU - a small, private Methodist school in Dallas - and being a leader in the SEC. It's especially difficult in the SEC West.
Morris could never bridge the gap between his recruits and Bret Bielema’s.
There was no team unity. No team spirit. No team pride.
Just a widening division.
Which explains a lot, like losing to San Jose State; to Kentucky, which had a wide receiver playing quarterback; and then spanked three consecutive Saturdays by SEC brethren.
But the biggest mistake of all was losing to Western Kentucky, which is a decent team for Conference USA with the fifth best league record.
Losing to a quarterback who gave his blood, sweat and tears for the Razorbacks until he, Ty Storey, was told the Hogs' future at quarterback was in the transfer portal.
So he went there, transferred and came away with a win over his old team on what should have been his senior day.
Morris is a good man. He just wasn’t a good SEC coach. He’ll land on his feet making seven figures as an offensive coordinator for someone.
Apparently he negotiated a cash settlement with the UA for less than the $10 million that would have been paid out to him over a course of years, meaning he can coach again without worrying about Arkansas money.
Now the UA has to look to the future.
The recent past speaks for itself. In less than two years, two football coaches, a basketball coach and an athletic director have been fired.
That’s unheard of.
It is time for the board of trustees to flex some muscle and make sure the mistakes stop.
There is no real rush to find a new head coach. Any coach worth having has two or three games left, and he’s not coming until the season is over.
Yurachek is about to make the biggest hire of his career. Advice should be welcomed.