Potential Candidates for Arkansas’ DC Position

Who is going to be Arkansas’ next Defensive Coordinator?

Social media was abuzz on Sunday with the possibility of the Coach Bielema hiring University of Memphis DC Barry Odom whose Memphis Tiger team showed great improvement from 2010 to 2011 and afterward under his control. The rankings are based on points per game allowed.

Memphis Before and After Barry Odom

Backtracking a bit, the Barry Odom buzz supplanted rumors over Robb Smith. Smith served as Rutgers defensive coordinator in 2012 before joining former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2013. HC Schiano, the Bucs GM, and the coaching staff were unceremoniously fired in December leaving Smith without a job. His defensive coordinator experience came after three seasons as special teams coordinator at Rutgers. Smith’s 2012 defense allowed 321 yards and 14.3 points per game.

Randy Shannon with all of his experience remains on staff.

Gut instinct tells me that if Arkansas wanted Memphis’ DC, an unemployed former DC, or Shannon on staff, that the deal would happen quickly in part because everyone knows that the February 5, 2014 National Signing Day looms and to put it mildly, Arkansas needs help on defense. Everyone potentially involved knows that the longer Arkansas leaves the defensive coordinator’s position open, UA starts to play chicken with recruits who might like to know who their coach will be. Too, although any employment change is a big one consideration for anyone, a salary in the ½ million dollar range and the opportunity to coach in the SEC is a pretty much do-you-want-it-or-not proposition for any potential candidate. Balking on the potential hire’s part pretty much tells UA what it needs to know, and Arkansas can’t afford to drag this hire out and wait until 2015 for green recruits to come into a stable staff.

Coach Bielema has not said much on his standards for a defensive coordinator, but his tweet from January 14 is a decent indication of where the search should go.

Is the goal to get someone better than Chris Ash? One would hope. Without resorting to opinion on who that might be, when Chris Ash had his players, a stable staff, and the opportunity to coach his way, how did he do? Who might be an improvement over Chris Ash?

There’s absolutely no question that the top statistical categories most consistent with BCS Champions are defensive categories with scoring defense being at the top of the list.

Below is a list of the top 10% of defenses as ranked by scoring defense over the last five years. If Arkansas wants a better, proven coach than Ash, chances are that the person is on this list.

Defensive Coordinators with Top 10% of Defensive Performances over Last 5 Years in College Football

46 coaches have guided 65 defenses into the list of the best over the last five seasons while 14 coaches have done it more than once (Bud Foster, Carl Pelini, Dave Aranda, Dick Bumpas, Jim Heacock, John Chavis, John Sklndany, Kirby Smart, Mark Stoops, Mike Elko, Norm Parker, Pat Narduzzi, Pete Kwiatkowski, and Tom Bradley.)

Of the coaches on the list above, some are easily eliminated (Strong, Muschamp, Stoops, Smart, Chavis, Pelini (just yuck), Ash, Foster) but dispensing with that process, some are intriguing.

Robb Smith is on the list and is unemployed at the moment.

Former Ohio State DC Jim Heacock appears to be unemployed.

Former Penn State DC Tom Bradley has been a CBS football analyst this season.

Two up-and-comers need to be noted as being on this list with two different teams in two different years. Dave Aranda currently at Wisconsin and previously at Utah State hit the list in 2012 and 2013 while John Sklandany did the same at North Texas in 2011 then at UCF this last season.

Although he comes from a smaller school and others appear more attractive, Bowling Green’s Mike Elko hits the list twice… at Bowling Green.

If Bielema wants a home run hire, it looks to me like Jim Heacock or Tom Bradley is it.

Smith, Aranda, Sklandany would be good and have proven themselves.

Elko only gets in the conversation in the event all others fail, but it’s hard not to see Shannon not promoted if Elko’s under consideration unless Shannon simply doesn’t want the position.

My choice would be Jim Heacock.