What Hunter Yurachek and the Arkansas Razorbacks need to do first and foremost is quit being used by coaches who are looking for a raise and not to coach the Hogs.
It goes all the way back to when Eddie Sutton left for Kentucky in 1985 and Rollie Massimino, who had just won the national championship at Villanova, was going to be the next head Hog, until he got a raise.
It has continued with every coach hiring at Arkansas since and continued Friday when Jerome Tang got more money out of Kansas State.
The understanding is that is not what happened with Ole Miss' Chris Beard, who apparently had a deal with Arkansas and then didn't when a noncompete clause was added to the negotiation.
It is the opinion here the Razorbacks need, and the fans deserve, someone who wants to be in Arkansas. Not just knows it is part of the United States, but wants to be part of a school that is still rich in history and tradition.
As soon as it was learned that Eric Musselman's buyout was just $1 million it was obvious that he wasn't going to stay long, and his history had repeated itself with 14 previous moves during his career.
That doesn't make him a bad guy, he just got the better end of that 2021 contract.
However, going to Southern Cal was not a move up, maybe not even a lateral one. He's got his work cut out for him at a school that lives and breathes football. One that is moving to the Big Ten where football is king.
Tang's buyout was $6 million. Heck, Will Wade's at McNeese State is $1.25 million and he's still got a little more than a year on the NCAA's leash that limits him to five on campus recruiting visits a year.
It is being reported Wade interviewed with Yurachek.
Darrell Walker from Arkansas-Little Rock is on the short list for an interview, and to be honest, it would take Walker's alma mater, where he was an All-American, to lure him away from UALR. Walker was born in Chicago but he's been an Arkansan for 45 years.
He and is wife Lisa have always made Little Rock their home.
Yurachek is facing three major challenges in this job search.
First, Arkansas currently has only three scholarship players and one of those is an incoming freshman.
Second, the NIL money for basketball slipped during last season.
Third, the Razorbacks may be facing some Academic Progress Rating problems. When you have so many players coming and going it should always a concern some left without finishing their work.
Mike Anderson faced that when he became the head coach and fixed it in short order.
There is a fourth issue, every day that passes is one less day to recruit since this recruiting period ends May 1.
Speed is important, but getting the right guy is too.
Apparently Yurachek is getting some help from Ted Dickey, who is on the sports committee of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees.
Yurachek has been in the right place for interviewing, Phoenix, where the NCAA Final Four is being played and the National Association of Basketball Coaches is holding its annual meeting, which ends today.
Yurachek would probably have been forced to stay away from the official coaches hotel because the lobby is filled with several hundred assistant coaches looking to move up.
Out there somewhere is the right person for the job, someone who can coach, recruit and hopefully feel real Razorback passion.
It is a top 10 job with the facilities, pay and great quality of life of Northwest Arkansas. Not to mention one of the most loyal fan bases in the country.