It’s clear after the 48-7 debacle in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night there is an issue with Arkansas’ football program that starts maybe even above Chad Morris’ level.
In case you’re wondering, the game was nowhere nearly as close as that final score indicates. Yes, that’s how bad things have gotten.
What is becoming crystal clear is that winning football games for the Razorbacks is not a high priority at the very, very top.
Sorry, that’s not personal. There are some very intelligent folks at that level, but they need to just come out and say their main interest isn’t whether 22 players that attend classes in Fayetteville can win a football game or not.
Nobody else is going to say it, but Morris is clearly over his head. I was wrong. I bought into what a lot of people who have made a living that said Morris was ready for the SEC.
Hey, nobody said they were getting paid to be right with their free opinions.
But hiring an admitted “high school coach” that had never coached a game in the SEC to head up a program in the most competitive division of the best conference in all of college football was a mistake.
Have we reached the point to where the folks who make that decision either do it or just admit they fouled up replacing the previous coach, it’s burned to the ground and time to bring in somebody that knows what they’re doing at this level?
Or do you give Morris the final four games of the season to save himself?
Go ahead and giggle, but this team could get bowl eligible. Okay, they could finish with a 5-7 record, which would match his level of progress at SMU.
Two-thirds of the way through a second season that has now seen Morris start five different quarterbacks, he either can’t develop one or even recognize one he inherits.
Charleston’s Ty Storey, who was either run off or left of his own accord (take your pick on your favorite version), is 5-2 as a starter at Western Kentucky this year.
It’s a legitimate question to ask if Morris really knows how to recognize or develop a quarterback at this level.
The thing people at every level say is you figure out what you feel is the best you got and stick with him through thick and thin. Having a flavor of the week seldom turns into wins.
No, nobody expected the Hogs to win against the Crimson Tide, even with them starting a backup quarterback.
But they didn’t expect the starting quarterback to be Nick Starkel with three interceptions and whiffing on a good snap from center. All of that led to 24 of Alabama’s points.
Throw in a bad decision by Nathan Parodi to catch a kickoff and step out of bounds at the 2 leading to another score and there’s 31 of the Tide’s 48 points.
The defense didn’t play well enough to win the game, but it wouldn’t have been as bad as it was if the offense hadn’t quit setting them up on a short field repeatedly in the first half.
But all of that leads to the questions about Morris and if he understands the problem or has a clue how to fix it.
Let’s face it, Arkansas has never been a consistent Top 20 finishing in recruiting and has only been successful in the history of the program with coaches who can develop average players to a better level and have them over-achieving.
On top of that, you have to be able to motivate a team and put them in position to win games.
Right now Morris is failing on all of the important questions.
And you get the idea he better get it fixed … fast.
Sooner or later, the folks that matter will start to care. Or get tired of getting the same questions whenever they go in public.
The guess is those questions have started.
