Petrino had a pretty good resume.  Obviously Saban before Bama was an awesome resume.  Miles had a respectable resume at Okie St and really turned that program around.  But yeah Bielema has a pretty sound resume for a school like Arkansas (I mean it isn't like he went ot Alabama or Florida).

IMO, strange lateral move,,,if that. Gotta be something else going on behind the scenes. I don't quite understand it.

Gets a nice raise and generous amount of money for assistants. That's apparently been a problem at Wisconsin. 

Pretty damaging and embarrassing for Wisconsin and the Big 10.  Not sure though if it is so great as a lot of folks seem to think for Arkansas though.  How well does he know the SEC and recruiting in that area?  He'll be expected to replicate a solid record of success, and I'm not sure he'll have the tools to do it....

Bielema is awesome against Minnesota, Purdue, Indiana, and Iowa.  Kinda shaky against everyone else.  He's never had the kind of coordinators and assistants that can help him build a juggernaut because Wisconsin doesn't pay well.  Bielema is a good recruiter (has connections in both Florida and Texas which has served him well in WI and will continue to serve him well in AR).  But Wisconsin's facilities are not good compared to OK State, OH State, and the SEC so that has held him back.

So, by going to Arkansas, he is accomplishing 4 things...

1.  He is getting out from under Alvarez's wing.  The hand-picked successor now goes out on his own to sink or swim.
2.  He is getting an administration that will allow him to bring in the help and structure that he thinks he needs to win and maybe/hopefully win big on the biggest stage.
3.  Once he learns the magic of oversigning and aggressive recruiting, he should be able to compete for the kind of talent he could never get in Madison.
4.  Everyone should know by now, in order to win a National Championship, you're gonna have to beat an SEC football team eventually.

Posted by ermackey on 12/4/2012 5:52:00 PM (view original):

Posted by jibe on 12/4/2012 4:33:00 PM (view original):
I think its a great move for Arkansas.

This further spells the state of Big10 football. A guy leaves a perrennial contender for an SEC also ran.

Another SEC win and another Big10 loss.

Good take. Now wait until the Big-10 adds Georgia Tech and another SEC team and the SEC counters with Miami and Florida State. Then, game over.

Why would any SEC team leave for the Big 10?

As for Miami and Florida State, that will never happen because of Florida.  All the SEC teams have banded together to make sure they remain the only state school in the SEC, so you'll never see teams like Texas (A&M), Clemson (Georgia), Florida St/Miami (Florida), etc get into the SEC.  They are perma-locked out.

Posted by brocal on 12/6/2012 11:29:00 AM (view original):

Posted by ermackey on 12/4/2012 5:52:00 PM (view original):

Posted by jibe on 12/4/2012 4:33:00 PM (view original):
I think its a great move for Arkansas.

This further spells the state of Big10 football. A guy leaves a perrennial contender for an SEC also ran.

Another SEC win and another Big10 loss.

Good take. Now wait until the Big-10 adds Georgia Tech and another SEC team and the SEC counters with Miami and Florida State. Then, game over.

Why would any SEC team leave for the Big 10?

As for Miami and Florida State, that will never happen because of Florida.  All the SEC teams have banded together to make sure they remain the only state school in the SEC, so you'll never see teams like Texas (A&M), Clemson (Georgia), Florida St/Miami (Florida), etc get into the SEC.  They are perma-locked out.

I think Texas may be possible given it really does add markets that A&M doesn't really have much pull in, but the others you are correct (of course Texas will never join the SEC so I think that is a moot point anyway).  No real shot at joining the conference.  Hell the Big Ten didn't even have a school in Missouri, but felt that it could cover the markets with its existing schools which is one of the reasons it never considered adding U of Missouri.

Posted by treyomo on 12/5/2012 9:09:00 AM (view original):
As a Badger fan, I would put a word of caution out there to Razorback fans expecting great things. Bielema is a very good recruiter, but his game plans and game management are questionable. The Badgers have lost a lot of close games and struggled in bowl games. Don't let the Nebraska game fool you - when the Badgers face a strong opponent, they have struggled, and we haven't seen a history of successful second half adjustments. They lost 3 consecutive OT games this season and are 2-4 in bowls. The Razorbacks will get talent, but not sure if that will translate to stepping up to the elite of the SEC.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++1

Also -- make sure you hire a driver for this guy --- he actually had 2 apartments in Madison, one on each side of town, so he wasn't too far away after the bars.  Barry made him get rid of one.

Also -- do Razorback fans like to see their head coach at supporter luncheons/dinners...guess what...Barry had to eliminate that from Brett's duties because he gets falling down drunk at these types of events

Also -- does Arkansas have a women's volleyball team?  If so, Brett likes them tall and somewhat larger (not fat).  He's been plowing one from last season's team for awhile (after he got engaged).

Also -- The reason he's a sh*tty gameday coach - especially on the road - is that the most important "equipment" being packed by the student manager is a rolling box full of cases of liquor (each coach is required to place an order).  Friday evening they hide out in the hotel and get absolutely blotto.  Prove?  Have you EVER seen Brett on the sideline without sunglasses during a road game that starts prior to 7pm?

Finally -- How many special team f-ups will Arkansas have this season?  School records will be shattered...Brett "specializes" in Special Teams --- using spread formations on punts and fg...which work with plodding athletes --- in the SEC (or for that matter Ohio State & Michigan State) the opposition's players will crush these gimmicks.

Have fun in Florida for the Capital One or Chic-a-Fik bowls.

Posted by cydrych on 12/6/2012 9:05:00 AM (view original):
Bielema is awesome against Minnesota, Purdue, Indiana, and Iowa.  Kinda shaky against everyone else.  He's never had the kind of coordinators and assistants that can help him build a juggernaut because Wisconsin doesn't pay well.  Bielema is a good recruiter (has connections in both Florida and Texas which has served him well in WI and will continue to serve him well in AR).  But Wisconsin's facilities are not good compared to OK State, OH State, and the SEC so that has held him back.

So, by going to Arkansas, he is accomplishing 4 things...

1.  He is getting out from under Alvarez's wing.  The hand-picked successor now goes out on his own to sink or swim.
2.  He is getting an administration that will allow him to bring in the help and structure that he thinks he needs to win and maybe/hopefully win big on the biggest stage.
3.  Once he learns the magic of oversigning and aggressive recruiting, he should be able to compete for the kind of talent he could never get in Madison.
4.  Everyone should know by now, in order to win a National Championship, you're gonna have to beat an SEC football team eventually.

he also had to leave to line himself up for the Iowa job

Posted by moranis on 12/5/2012 11:38:00 AM (view original):

Posted by treyomo on 12/5/2012 9:09:00 AM (view original):
As a Badger fan, I would put a word of caution out there to Razorback fans expecting great things. Bielema is a very good recruiter, but his game plans and game management are questionable. The Badgers have lost a lot of close games and struggled in bowl games. Don't let the Nebraska game fool you - when the Badgers face a strong opponent, they have struggled, and we haven't seen a history of successful second half adjustments. They lost 3 consecutive OT games this season and are 2-4 in bowls. The Razorbacks will get talent, but not sure if that will translate to stepping up to the elite of the SEC.

what are you talking about?  Wisconsin never has a highly ranked class and generally finishes near the top of the conference and in the top 25.  In fact, I don't believe Wisconsin has had a top 25 recruiting class ever and certainly hasn't during Bielema's time at the helm.  Thus, Wisconsin is winning with inferior talent coming in, which generally means the players are getting coached up.  The reason Wisconsin loses to the strong opponents (like Ohio State and in bowl games) is because they just don't have the talent that those schools do.  Wisconsin just doesn't have the top tier talent that other schools have, which is why you also won't find all that many Badgers in the NFL (sure they have some guys like JJ Watt that are monsters, but he is a rarity and he was a walk-on and and a transfer).

He's a very good recruiter under the limitations of the Badger program. With fewer resources than the top programs, the inability to recruit academic nonqualifiers, and the disadvantage of being in a cold climate, Bielema does quite well. There are 27 Badgers playing in the NFL right now, so there has been talent. Up to the level of Ohio State / USC / Alabama / the Florida schools? Nope, not even close. But there's plenty of talent - it's just not as evident because most of it is not at the skill positions.

I'm not saying Bielema's a terrible coach - he's done very well.  I just don't think he's a great gameplanner, not enough to rise to the top in the SEC.