December 27, 2004

Nutt denies contact from--but not interest in--LSU

Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt told the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas he has not been contacted by LSU officials about the Tigers' head coaching vacancy created by the resignation of Nick Saban. Notably, Nutt did not deny interest in the opening.

Said Nutt:

"I've had no contact whatsoever with LSU...I think it's just talk. I think it's all just rumors.

"It sounds like nothing to me."

Nutt's name surfaced near the top of a candidate list compiled by the New Orleans Times-Picayune. To date, there has no confirmation of official contact between LSU and any potential candidate. However, informal contact between LSU boosters and representatives of Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville (who happens to share the same agent--Jimmy Sexton of Memphis--with Nutt) has been reported.

Nutt has coached seven seasons at Arkansas, compiling a 53-33 record there. Last season, Nutt considered the then-vacant Nebraska head coaching job before signing an extension and remaining in Fayetteville.

UPDATE 12/28/04
LSU has recieved permission to interview Houston Nutt for the Head Coaching position.

Posted by Robert Knodell

Trackback

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.fanblogs.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2408

You can use this specified URL in a weblogging program that supports pinging, such as Movable Type. If your blog software does not support Trackback, click here to send a manual ping.

Comments & Trackbacks

1. dave frey says:

   posted on December 27, 2004 01:44 PM — link

   Houston Nutt??? I'd rather have Gerry Freakin' Dinardo back.

2. Rob Knodell says:

   posted on December 27, 2004 01:58 PM — link

   I think the Sexton connection will be interesting to watch here. Contact between LSU and him regarding Tubs, Nutt, or any other client of his could be mischaracterized toward one of the other coaches very easily.

   Nutt is a solid coach, though. He's generally done more with less at Arkansas since he arrived. His teams play hard and overachieve. Until Tuberville went unbeaten this season, Nutt's resume was the better of the two.

   Arkansas is a tough place to recruit to. Leaving the Texas connection of the Southwest Conference behind hurt recruiting in talent-rich Texas, as has the resurgence of both OU and Texas as national powers. The state of Arkansas isn't nearly as talent-rich as Louisiana and the Hogs must share the bordering (and corrupt) Memphis market with Tennessee, Ole Miss, Miss State, Bama, etc.

   I think Nutt could succeed at LSU but I doubt he'll be their top choice and I'm not convinced he would go. HOWEVER, if Les Miles went to LSU, I could see OSU throwing a pile of cash at Nutt (a former Cowboy player and alum). We'll see.

3. schmed says:

   posted on December 27, 2004 02:39 PM — link

   Then what was all that hogwash hooey that Nutt puked up about Arkansas bein' home, and fambly and spoonin' with Arnold Ziffle in the waller on Satiddys in the summer when the Nebraska Cornholsters came a'callin'?

   This whole SEC coaching-cross pollenation conspiracy theory is gettin' screwier and screwier. Who's next - Shula? Holtz? Hal Mumme?

4. Rob Knodell says:

   posted on December 27, 2004 02:59 PM — link

   Actually, Nutt has been pretty candid with Arkansas people about the fact he might someday move on to a different challenge. After turning down Nebraska, he stated in several interviews that the day would probably come when he would move on, but that the tugs of "home" were stronger in that instance than the allure of Lincoln and the Big Red.

   The bottom line is that Nutt knows better than anyone the limitations of football success in Fayetteville. He knows that the odds of him (or any coach, no matter how good he might be) retiring at Arkansas are much less likely than the odds of Arkansas people eventually turning on him, as they turned on Lou Holtz and Danny Ford.

   Talk of lateral moves within the always-boiling SEC, or "cross pollenation" as you call it, always makes for great copy. I don't, however, like the chances of Nutt to LSU very much. Again, LSU will likely turn to two or three other candidates before considering Nutt. Also, even if they did offer Nutt, he would have to consider the sting that an in-conference lateral move would leave at Arkansas (see Tuberville bolting Ole Miss). Tubs had no connection to Ole Miss prior to his employment, but Nutt has deep roots at UA and in Arkansas, which might make him think twice before jumping.

5. Kevin Donahue says:

   posted on December 28, 2004 09:40 AM — link

   Comments on the LSU Head Coach search? Share your thoughts here!