Women's Basketball
With Dykes out, is it time for another ‘Long Reach?’
With Jimmy Dykes out as the women’s basketball coach, Jeff Long goes on the clock now to hopefully break his trend of hiring coaches unqualified for the job.
Jimmy Dykes has resigned as the women’s basketball coach at Arkansas.
Whether he was asked to by Jeff Long is not known, but it should have been Long’s decision.
Dykes, one of the greatest people you’d ever want to meet, was really more qualified to be a head men’s coach … and his best qualification for that was analyzing games on ESPN.
It was a “Long Reach,” which describes most of the hires Long has made since taking over as athletics director.
“It was a tremendous honor to be the head coach at my alma mater for the past three years,” said Dykes. “I know in my heart, that God moved me into this position and I trust 100 percent that he is now moving me forward to something different.”
Dykes recently finished his third full season at Arkansas after joining the program in 2014.
In his three seasons, Dykes posted a record of 43-49, including a 16-36 record in SEC games (combined regular season and SEC Tournament). During his tenure, the Razorbacks made one appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2015), advancing to the second round.
“I am appreciative of the effort Jimmy has demonstrated over the past three years to our program,” Long said. “When we met following the completion of the women’s basketball season, Jimmy informed me that he would be stepping down from his position as head coach. I support his decision. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
There was no mention of Dykes receiving the $750,000 buyout he was due since he was under contract through 2020.
Now the fan base will be looking to Long to make a solid hire.
And hopefully it won’t be another Long Reach.
