The Joe and Julie Show got their first hire Monday, picking new athletics director Hunter Yurachek.
Welcome to the jungle, Hunter. Load up the Guns ‘n Roses track and proceed.
If he wasn’t aware of it, Yurachek is about to be hit with everything from a slobbering Hog logo to having to hire a football coach QUICK to dealing with some ticked-off financial donors.
Maybe all on his first day.
Apparently, this wasn’t a smooth hire and it wasn’t one that was unanimous, regardless of what any official vote may be called.
Some wanted Tulsa athletics director Derrick Gragg to have the job. He’d been at Arkansas before, had established relationships and at least knew the fastest way to get from MLK to Dickson St. when traffic was heavy.
Instead, chancellor Joe Steinmetz and interim AD Julie Cromer Peoples managed to push through a candidate with a name that sounds iike a European shooting guard in the NBA that might be able to find Arkansas on a map, but likely knows little else about the state, the people or the culture.
Some former players are mystified, confused and, in a couple of cases, downright ticked off. I know. I’ve heard from some of them and actually broke the news to at least one.
Some longtime donors are not happy.
Many fans are throwing up their hands in disgust and despair.
This was not the direction fans wanted to see after Jeff Long, who apparently had little use for most of the fans and none of the culture where Razorback athletics, particularly football, determines the entire mood of an entire state.
The first order of business is bring some sense of order to a coaching search that has appeared to have all the order of recess at playschool.
It’s likely the last chance the Joe and Julie Show has to get anything right in what has been a two-month drama with first Long, then coach Bret Bielema.
Before Monday’s announcement, which comes on the heels of Auburn coach Gus Malzahn turning down a reported $50 million offer, the pecking order was apparently Memphis coach Mike Norvell and SMU coach Chad Morris.
After Yurachek’s hiring, things accelerated past wild to full-blown craziness.
Lane Kiffin, Dana Holgorsen, Mike Leach and, yes, even Mike Gundy have seen their name mentioned. Who knows if any of these guys are interested or have been contacted.
Who knows what direction we’re heading.
Reportedly, Norvell’s name has dropped off the radar due to a vetting issue. No idea what or why, but that’s what has been circulating.
Kiffin? Former players like running back Madre Hill and tight end Chris Gragg have made their preference for Kiffin known on social media.
Personally, I think Kiffin would be a great choice. His previous issues were more from immaturity than anything else in my opinion. His social media craziness doesn’t bother me in the least and he’s never been criticized for his ability to coach.
He was reportedly the frontrunner at one time last year for the Houston coaching vacancy after Tom Herman went to Texas.
Yurachek was the athletics director doing that search and Kiffin was his choice, but was apparently not the choice of the school’s board.
But can Kiffin pass whatever vetting process is being used now?
At some point, somebody is going to have to get something done regarding a coach.
Right now, though, Yurachek is walking into the jungle.
And his first move might determine whether he makes it very far into that jungle.
