Perhaps Aggies Kicking Tires on Petrino Could Inspire Hogs to Do the Same

Latest trend of bringing back disgraced former SEC coaches could give Arkansas an interesting choice

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – When the latest information on Bobby Petrino flashed across the computer screen it was painful. 

No, not emotional pain, nor the latest information about Petrino pondering a move to College Station where he and Jimbo Fisher will go together like grape jelly and gravel.

Nope. It was a physical pain that comes with jaw smacking against the sharp edge of the desk here in the allHogs offices. 

The jaw dropping was from the realization that one of the most brilliant offensive minds in college football history was a short motorcycle ride away from the University of Arkansas banking only $325,000 as the head coach of Missouri State.

And that's after a significant raise in summer of 2021.

Set aside the fact that Petrino put the university at potential risk by hiring his mistress to what is technically a government job over more qualified candidates. 

Set aside the awkwardness of having a former head coach in the Broyles Center giving that vibe of an ex-husband who just won't move out after his previous wife remarries. 

We live in a world where, had all that baggage not existed, Sam Pittman could have potentially the best offensive coordinator no one realized was on the market for half the price of current offensive coordinator Kendal Briles while still essentially doubling Petrino's salary with the perk of only selling his house and moving in the instance he's not a fan of the commute.

Arkansas was obviously not an option and it looks more and more like Petrino will get the chance to scoop up some of that Southeast Texas cash that's apparently sighted in giant piles around Brazos County like deer on the side of the road between Pine Bluff and ElDorado.

It's not good news for Arkansas in the sense that the offense that nearly shut down eight months worth of pent up Razorback bravado on a rowdy Saturday night in Fayetteville with Division I-AA talent will get a massive upgrade to all the shiny toys one of the world's largest collections of millionaires and billionaires can buy.

But what it also does is offer a different perspective on how to look at the search for assistants. After all, dusting off old SEC head coaches with big time SEC success only to end in self-sabotaged disgrace is getting so common around the league it's starting to feel like the newest Tik-Tok challenge. 

If Arkansas wants to join the latest trend, then maybe it's time to call someone in Tennessee for Jeremy Pruitt's number to see if he's tired of sitting around in the SEC doghouse. 

Tennessee Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt runs off the field after a game between Tennessee and Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018. Tennessee defeated Auburn 30-24. (Caitie McMekin – USA TODAY Sports)

After realizing everyone in Volunteer country simultaneously burned every cell phone and piece of paper with Pruitt's number in an ill-advised mass gathering during the peak of the pandemic, Pittman will have to ring Nick Saban for it.

With Pruitt no longer coaching, Arkansas can offer at a discounted rate and toss the extra cash in the direction of Dowell Loggains so long as the conference commissioner doesn't have another memo tucked in his desk drawer with the defensive coordinator-to-be's name on it.

If it's been long enough for Hugh Freeze to wander through the doors of desperation down in Auburn, then getting Pruitt admitted back into the SEC should be a breeze. After all, the $60,000 he and his wife shelled out was nothing more than a practice run to show the NCAA that a small NIL collective wouldn't cause a single team to get all the best players and run the table in their division.

These days, Arkansas could just set up their own collective for the Pruitts to promote. Rounding up cash for players above the table is not only acceptable now, it would most likely earn them a private booth down at the Catfish Hole for their dedication to the program and its athletes.

Pruitt even spent a year doing a bit of staff development with the New York Giants to get the ole brain perking up a bit with new ideas before taking a year off. 

Surely that free time was spent similar to Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy's hiatus, hanging out in a barn watching film and getting mentally refreshed.

Look at how it worked out for him.

Obviously, this isn't a true proposal. It's just a bit of sarcastic banter one may have heard over a plate of enchiladas while out with the boys at Casa Bonita back in the day. 

That is unless Arkansas does decide to follow Fisher's lead and kick the tires on Pruitt after all. 

If that's the case, then welcome to Northwest Arkansas Pruitt family.

Hope you enjoy the private booth. 

HOGS FEED:

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ISAIAH SATEGNA'S NIL DEAL SHOWS VALUE OF SOME OF THESE MINOR BOWL GAMES

STATUS OF TREVON BRAZILE UPDATED AND THE OUTLOOK ISN'T GOOD

KEY STAT SHOWS HOGS MISSING INGREDIENT PAST TEAMS HAD IN ABUNDANCE

BARRY ODOM APPARENTLY HEADED OUT OF TOWN AFTER ALL ... TO LAS VEGAS

SAM PITTMAN, LANE KIFFIN HAVE DIFFERENT APPROACH LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS

TRANSFER PORTAL: WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT IN THE SEC?

HOGS LAND IN TOP 25 AFTER STARTING SEASON 10-0 WITH TWO BLOWOUTS

SAMARA SPENCER, SAYLOR POFFENBARGER LEAD HOGS PAST ORAL ROBERTS

HOW KANSAS FOOTBALL SET THINGS IN MOTION FOR HOGS' EXPLODING IN FOOTBALL

FORMER HOGS, OLE MISS COACH TALKS HONESTLY ABOUT HUGH FREEZE

RAZORBACK FANS GET TO SEE WHAT MUSSELMAN ENVISION LAST SPRING

CRAZINESS IN TULSA JOB SEARCH OPENING DOOR FOR HOGS' DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR?

NEXT 47 DAYS WILL SAY A LOT ABOUT HOW HOGS STACK UP IN THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL WORLD

TEXAS WIDE RECEIVER INDICATES HE MIGHT BE HOGS' CHRISTMAS PRESENT NEXT YEAR

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