From the Bench

Scarlet Fever: A Razorback House Divided
FOREWARD

The absolute drama that followed Houston Nutt over his last two years as the Razorback head football coach is something that was probably unprecedented in college football history. The drama was so complex, I waited another two years before compiling this story after his departure. During this debacle, as I covered the story as it unfolded, there were times when I was right and times when I was wrong. Information on most of these topics was typically scant and thus the rumor mongering on Razorback message boards was always in the front leading the rampage and the story. I was guilty of vacillating on both sides of this fight -- and make no mistake, it was a fight. It was a fight for the soul of the program. The fan base became so fractured even the chancellor addressed that fact when Nutt finally left the Program with a $3 million payout to go coach at a competing team in the SEC.

The story starts with the recruiting of five players from the 2005 Springdale High School state championship football team coached by Gus Malzahn. Springdale had two high schools that season but merged the players into one super team. One of the five ended up at Notre Dame. The other four ended up at Arkansas, and landing those players helped Nutt keep his job for another year after the team endured back-to-back losing seasons in 2004 and 2005 that became known as Nutt's two-year pass.

The fan base had been clamoring for some time for Nutt not to call his own plays and hire an offensive coordinator. It is my strident belief Nutt never wanted to relinquish that control and it was forced change not learned change that brought Gus Malzahn to Arkansas to become the offensive coordinator. The fan base wanted to see a more wide open offense. Malzahn brought such promise. He also helped deliver four of the Springdale players that Razorback fans coveted.Rumblings started almost immediately when Malzahn entered the picture as the lines between Nutt and Malzahn were drawn not necessarily between the two men but the Razorback fan base. This discontent grew as the winning season of 2006 played out. It was probably the unhappiest a Razorback fan base could be even with the team being 10-1 at one point.

The cataclysmic event, though, occurred on December 7, 2006, when the infamous “Little League Parents Meeting,” as dubbed by the national media, took place with Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles. Again, depending on what side of the argument you fell, this meeting had different meanings. It also brought out the famous quote from Broyles that the hurry-up no-huddle offense could not be run in the SEC. This was proof positive to some Broyles had to go and that he was out of touch with modern football. Others felt Broyles was taken out of context.

As the 2006 season unfolded, many fans got disillusioned with the offense that was spectacular with future NFL players Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis when they were running, but quite frightening when the offense was trying to pass the ball. This was a clear indication to some Malzahn was not running the offense. Yet, his imprint lasted with the Wildcat formation and spread throughout college and pro football. Most credit Malzhan for this innovation. Some recognized the formation as just the old single wing.

David Lee was hired after the 2006 season to be co-offensive coordinator with Malzahn. Malzahn departed shortly after Lee’s hiring and left for Tulsa. In the end, nobody survived. I believe it aided in the retirement of Broyles. I feel it helped in the departure of Chancellor John White. I think even though he probably had nothing to do with any of it, the president of the Razorback Foundation, Chuck Dicus, was run off because of lasting repercussions. Nutt took his $3 million and left. Mitch Mustain went to USC along with Damian Williams. Andrew Norman left the team.

I tried as this story developed to get some to go on the record during those seasons. Everyone that I asked turned me down. The story that was often left in the media was typically Nutt’s side of the story as the other side remained silent for their own reasons. This left what became known as the “Darksiders” who posted on Razorback message boards filling in their side of the story. Their attack on Nutt and vigor of pursuit cannot be denied, and for better or worse, their means justified the end -- the end of Nutt at Arkansas.

The Darksiders, through Freedom of Information Act requests, uncovered many telling details. They brought to light phone records, e-mails, and text messages. This was unprecedented by a fan base to take these measures against their head coach. The story and rumor mongering also eventually involved a female news anchor, for those posting speculation on the message boards, and what her connection was to Coach Nutt.

Other information came forward in this saga from the FOI requests such as the Little League Parents meeting occurring within the same hour that a fan who was a friend of the Nutt entourage fired off a scathing e-mail to the starting freshman quarterback that was from Springdale asking him to transfer. This became known as the “Dear Mr. Interception King” e-mail. The odd fact also existed that some of the phone records show that Nutt’s brother’s phone number was in contact with this fan’s phone number right before the Little League parents meeting and the “Dear Mr. Interception King” e-mail fanning the conflagration of speculation.

The story took more twists with Nutt’s attorney threatening a defamation suit against one person who recovered such information about Nutt through the FOI process and his speculation he put in a letter to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees.Nutt and his wife were on the evening news in Arkansas going to a conference with the person Nutt’s attorney potentially blamed of defamation. The conference involved Nutt flipping out his cell phone stating that he had asked for printouts from his provider but could not attain them. The opposing attorney asked if he could have the SIM card but was denied as Nutt slapped the phone shut. In the end, I think this show against this person turned even more fans against Nutt.

The person who met with Nutt in conference over the FOI request also faced his own challenges. His family was anonymously threatened, his flower bed was destroyed, he received nasty notes on his door and one threatened his “Yankee wife.”

The two years were as unique of a soap opera as a person could imagine in college sports. In the end, the Darksiders prevailed, and the victor often gets to write the history. I am not sure, though, that this history will ever be completely written. I have compiled my sports columns covering this saga that involved these two tumultuous years into this compendium, which I believe is a reflection of the emotion that was on the ground at that moment in time.

In my 12 years of writing my syndicated sports column, I have never seen -- nor probably will ever see again (we hope for the sake of the UA) -- a time of such upheaval in the Razorback Sports Program.

The book is available at http://www.fruitbatbooks.com/