Chad Morris’ suspension of two players for this week’s game against Missouri isn’t exactly what a lot of people seem to think it is from this viewpoint.
It’s a message.
Not to just Kamren Curl and Ryan Pulley — who really weren’t doing anything that doesn’t happen from time to time these days in college athletics — but to everyone.
That includes players, coaches, recruits … and fans.
The message is when you’re 2-9 on the season, everything is being scrutinized and you better walk the line with zero tolerance for straying off.
You can debate for days (and probably will) whether this would even have happened if it hadn’t been broken by a member of the media but it’s not going to change anything.
Throwing in that it’s a former player and somehow that should define his role differently is demeaning to his position in the media. He will always be a former player, but now he is a member of the media and that should, appropriately, take priority. It’s an awkward position, but one that any former player deals with being in the media.
It’s a no-win either way.
For Morris, though, the fact it was reported and resulted in discussion on social media and elsewhere, he felt he had to take quick and decisive action. You may not agree with his action, but he took action.
What you would have done is not relevant. Morris doesn’t really care what you or I think and he shouldn’t. He knows he will ultimately be judged by how many games he wins.
Since Saturday numerous ex-players have talked to me about the decision. Not being there, I am only speaking from what I’ve read and heard about. To give you the results of the former players, well, they’ve been on both sides of the issue about equally.
For a team mired in the spot the Razorbacks are, Morris’ actions aren’t that far out of place. When Jimmy Johnson took over the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, there were players cut for talking with players on the other team AFTER the games.
All-Pro cornerback Everson Walls wasn’t cut until the end of the season but he was dead man walking the last half of the year. He was laughing with a Cardinals player after another Dallas loss and Johnson debated cutting here in the dressing room right after the game.
“There are too many players around here that are comfortable with losing,” was how Johnson phrased it on numerous occasions during that 1-15 season.
Jimmy came in that first year and was horrified at the talent level. He cut players like Danny White (former Pro Bowler) and Randy White (a Hall of Famer) among others. He kept Ed “Too Tall” Jones around for one season because, well, he was 6-foot-9 and at least he could stand up, raise his arms and create a problem on that side.
They were bringing players in for tryouts on Monday, practicing them the rest of the week and cutting them on Sunday night.
Morris can’t do that at the college level.
But the guess from this view is it won’t be the last message Morris will be sending. It appears this 2-9 season has worn on him, especially the seemingly lack of concern from some of the players.
Morris isn’t the type to use Johnson’s line about the players on the roster, but it seems appropriate for this Razorback team that has a remarkable collegiate resemblance to those dreadful 1989 Cowboys.
There seem to be a lot of Hogs that have gotten comfortable being losers.
And the guess is that will be changing.
