It hasn’t taken long for some eyebrow raising headlines after Jeff Long’s firing as several places are saying the Board of Trustees are pushing hard to bring Gus Malzahn from Auburn to Arkansas. Bruce Feldman was the first to put that out today.
Have heard there's been lots of push among #Arkansas BOT folks on the HC front. Some big money ppl driving for Gus Malzahn. Pretty messy there & Jeff Long got swept under in it.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 16, 2017
Big deal, Arkansas wants a big name hire, and wants to bring a local coach back to Northwest Arkansas. But is there mutual interest? According to Jason Kirk over at the main SB Nation site, says that there is a strong chance Malzahn would want to come to Arkansas if he doesn’t win the Iron Bowl in a couple of weeks.
So if all of that is correct, were looking at a scenario where it’s playoffs or bust at Auburn for Malzahn. And if that bust happens, then Arkansas is going to come calling and he will be willing to listen. Obviously Mazahn’s ties to the natural state are well known. But as Kirk points out as well, feelings between him and Auburn aren’t all that great. Plus there’s the uncertainty of their AD situation as well with Jay Jacobs leaving the program.
Now in addition to having SEC West and potential playoff implications, the Iron Bowl could have a whole lot of impact on Arkansas as well.