FOX Sports reporter thinks Bielema is still right fit for Arkansas
Four years into his tenure with Arkansas and coach Bret Bielema has finished with more wins than losses in SEC play just once.
With a 7-5 (3-5) in 2016, Bielema enters the bowl season with an even mark of 25-25 overall and 10-22 against conference competition. The Hogs have reached as high as No. 16 in the AP rankings since his arrival in 2013, but have spent most of their time in the bottom half of the West division standings.
Still, as the coaching carousel continues to spin and more and more coaches are seemingly let go after only a few years implementing their culture and system, Bielema looks to be one of the lucky ones as he is expected to get another shot at returning Arkansas to contention status in 2017.
He is, of course, contracted through the 2020 season — for whatever that is worth. And it is somewhere in between that FOX Sports college football reporter Bruce Feldman believes Bielema will take the Razorbacks to the next level.
Feldman: "I still have a lot of confidence that Bret Bielema is the guy to lead Arkansas back to being a top-15 type of team."
— Bo Mattingly (@SportsTalkwBo) November 29, 2016
Arkansas hasn’t won more than eight games in a season since it went 11-2 with a Cotton Bowl win in 2011 — Bobby Petrino’s final year in Fayetteville.
Since taking over in 2013, Bielema has 11 losses that have come by a touchdown or less. Next season will be the moment of truth for the 46-year-old coach.
I think he is. Hell, I think under him Arkansas might compete for a Conference title a few years down the road, if not a CFP slot. From what I’ve read and seen, Coach Bielema is a good guy with a great personality that if I was an athlete I would definitely want to play for. Arkansas did right to hire him and would do good to keep him around for several years.
yes, I agree with you 100%
A lot of the people do not really understand just what a dumpster fire Arkansas was in when he got there. Basically next year will be the first one with athletes he recruited. Its hard to take over a program, even harder to rebuild the whole character of the program from bottom to top. I have been paying attention to the recruiting rankings and each year Arkansas has improved in the quality of athlete its been able to attract, and one aspect of that has been stability in the coaching position. You can see that at Alabama, there was turmoil at Alabama till they finally got Saban and he rebuilt them. Now every kid out there KNOWS Alabama and what Saban and that staff stand for, that same kind of awareness is growing for the Arkansas brand as well.
excuses, excuses! that’s all Arkansas fans have. Bielema didn’t walk into a horrible situation, it wasn’t that bad and he certainly hasn’t turned anything around. 25-25 overall and a conference record of 10-22. That’s pathetic! He will be fired after next year.
Once again I will say. GET THE F$&K OFF THIS SITE YOU STUPID PIECE OF SH!T!!
you are a f n POS, go stick a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger
I Like Bret. I Said it the other day. The Only reason I’m mad is the inconsistency. Losing to Toledo last year, barely beating La Tech this year and then beating the crap out of the east champion to getting beat by the worst team in the conference. Also the horrible defense. it’s gotten worse ever since flowers and speight left. Tons and tons of seniors on the defensive line and they have failed to put pressure on opposing QB’s all year. Then the terrible line backer play. I Know greenlaw got hurt but still. I Love Ellis. He puts in more effort than probably everyone but he’s just to slow. I will be the first to admit that the secondary is better than last years but they looked like crap in the second half vs Missou. I Don’t understand how we give receivers a 10 yard cushion witch I hate and then still get beat deep that is unacceptable. Also half the time on defense we are never set because the coaches can’t get the play in fast enough.
you still crying over losing to the worst team in the sec Missouri? you poor baby. put your moms tit back in your mouth loser. Arkansas sucks and will always be like you a bottom feeder. accept it!!
I like Bielema and think he is a hell of a coach but like Butch Jones, his in game decisions are horrible and usually come back to bite him. The Hogs had 4 drives inside the 20 that could of easily been field goals but Bielema went for it on 4th down and lost. Could of won the game if would of just went for the 3 points. Bielema is like that though, live by the sword die by the sword. I like the balls of going for it but you got to take the 3 points when the game is on the line.
This if he kicks a field goal on the drive there was a 4th down interception and a field goal on the next drive Hogs win by 2. Was the knock on him at Wisconsin as well. I like the balls too but until you have the horses to smash people in the mouth and force your style get the points when available. Defense has to be fixed not making a change there could be end of him.
I like him. I think he can get it done. Sure I get aggravated when we lose games and especially the way we lost to MO – but when he got here he had to stop the bleeding, then he had to change a system, then he had to instill confidence into the players and then he had to win some games. Nobody reaches the top of the mountain without a slip here and there. I’d like to see the defense be a dominant unit out on the field and even though he has said it publicly I got to believe he’ll address that situation when the bowl game is over. I’m no Duke fan by any stretch but I was reading an article about their coach and i didn’t realize that he got there in 1980. They didn’t win their first championship under him until 1991. Been a hog fan from the days of Broyles up to now – just my opinion but I think we’re headed in the right direction but in a day of instant everything I understand some folks not being patient but in the end we all want the same the thing for the Hogs to win it all. WPS!
try rewatching that Missouri game(s). The Arkansas coaching staff was right on target. Both teams had weapons that were tactically impossible for the other to stop all the time. Arkansas caught Missouri on a weekend where they were going to play over their heads to go out on a win.
and really I thought both coaching staffs were very good in that game
Wolfman I respect you but Missouri this year even when playing there hearts out still should not have beat Arkansas.
get it done? 25-25 overall with a conference record of 10-22! that’s progress and on his way to getting it done huh? Arkansas will never be better than a 7-5/8-4 at best team while he’s coach,
can you run your car off a tall mountain while at the wheel, the board would rejoice !!!
A good coach does not win games for his players, he puts his players in technical, tactical, physical, and psychological position to win. More than any other coach in the SEC this year, BB showed that his B++ roster could be managed to win A games. Maybe Florida has been second place to Arkansas judged this way. No program can erase the fact that the SEC is a highly competitive environment where (for one example) the cash to pay top staffs is available to everyone. It is childish to talk about replacing him. Bobby Petrino fired himself at Arkansas and had a history of acting irresponsibly before that. LOTS OF PEOPLE can win football games if you ignore everything else that can go wrong in the process…. and everything includes more unacceptable college leadership than you want to imagine.
Arkansas will never be better than a 7-5/8-4 at best program as long as Bielema is the coach. He hasn’t got a few more years, after next season Bielema will be fired.
I assumed you would realize when everyone stopped replying to your numerous posts on the Arkansas articles that we all knew you were an annoying troll and we were ignoring you. I didn’t realize that you are also just stupid. Does your caregiver know that you’re bothering people online, or have they given up on you as well?
was it hard typing that comment while juggling Coach B’s balls? LOL get back in the shed with the rest of the dull tools. what a loser you are!! LOL just like your sorry team you’ll always be a bottom feeder
The Irish dont claim you and neither do the cajuns.
speaking of bottom feeders, didn’t i see you eating dog doo in your yard the other day