12-06-2007, 10:45 AM
The Morning News
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Grobe Tapped To Lead Razorbacks
By Harry King and Alex Abrams
The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE — Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is going to be the next football coach at the University of Arkansas and is likely to be introduced today.
The board of the Razorback Foundation met briefly via conference call Wednesday evening and approved a salary supplement for Grobe, 55, who just completed his seventh season at Wake Forest University.
The board of trustees members were polled and the majority backed Grobe’s hire.
The contract is apparently around $2.2 million per year for five years.
A coach’s salary from state funds is limited, so the foundation must agree to guarantee any other money that is promised a coach.
For instance, former coach Houston Nutt received a state salary of $330,000, but his total package was about $1.5 million. Among other things, Nutt was guaranteed $600,000 for radio-TV and $250,000 for speaking engagements.
The foundation would not be asked to approve a specific compensation package unless Grobe had agreed to the deal. The process was evident on Monday night, when the board was supposed to meet to approve money for Clemson coach Tommy Bowden.
The meeting was postponed twice and then canceled when Bowden agreed to a contract extension at Clemson.
At one point, it appeared the foundation would bump Bowden’s salary so he could personally take care of a buyout at Clemson. The same process could be in play with Grobe, whose contract reportedly includes a buyout of $2 million.
It is believed incoming Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long zeroed in on Bowden and Grobe as his top two choices in the days after Nutt resigned. People interested in the search were told Long would hire the best coach available.
University Chancellor John White indicated in an e-mail to The Morning News on Wednesday the search to find Nutt’s replacement was close to being finished.
“I am confident (Long) will complete the search within the next few days. As I said to one of the reporters earlier in the week, I fully expect the process to be brought to successful closure before the end of the week,” White wrote in his e-mail.
“Based on my most recent discussions with Jeff, I believe that timeline is feasible.”
Wake Forest assistant athletic director Steve Shutt said Wednesday it was against university policy to say whether Arkansas asked for permission to speak with Grobe.
Grobe has a 45-39 record leading Wake Forest’s Demon Deacons, including an 11-3 Orange Bowl team last year and an 8-4 team this year headed for the Meineke Bowl. Following last season, he signed an extension through 2016 for what was believed to be about $1.1 million per year.
Grobe’s name has come up lately for several coaching vacancies, including both the Michigan and Nebraska jobs. He said Monday he’s happy at Wake Forest, though he’s not opposed to listening to schools interested in him.
Grobe acknowledged this week he’s been approached by several schools over the past two years, but he wouldn’t name any specifically.
His hire ends nearly two weeks of uncertainty, in which Arkansas’ players have seen Nutt leave and hire five of his former assistant coaches to join him in Oxford.
At the same time, defensive coordinator Reggie Herring has taken over as interim head coach while names such as Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville have been rumored to be on their way to Fayetteville.
“We’ve all just been curious about who the next coach would be. We heard about Tuberville and Bowden, but those guys made decisions to stay at their schools,” Arkansas strong safety Matt Hewitt following Wednesday’s practice.
“Everybody’s biting their fingernails right now to see who’s going to be the next head coach here.”
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Grobe Tapped To Lead Razorbacks
By Harry King and Alex Abrams
The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE — Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is going to be the next football coach at the University of Arkansas and is likely to be introduced today.
The board of the Razorback Foundation met briefly via conference call Wednesday evening and approved a salary supplement for Grobe, 55, who just completed his seventh season at Wake Forest University.
The board of trustees members were polled and the majority backed Grobe’s hire.
The contract is apparently around $2.2 million per year for five years.
A coach’s salary from state funds is limited, so the foundation must agree to guarantee any other money that is promised a coach.
For instance, former coach Houston Nutt received a state salary of $330,000, but his total package was about $1.5 million. Among other things, Nutt was guaranteed $600,000 for radio-TV and $250,000 for speaking engagements.
The foundation would not be asked to approve a specific compensation package unless Grobe had agreed to the deal. The process was evident on Monday night, when the board was supposed to meet to approve money for Clemson coach Tommy Bowden.
The meeting was postponed twice and then canceled when Bowden agreed to a contract extension at Clemson.
At one point, it appeared the foundation would bump Bowden’s salary so he could personally take care of a buyout at Clemson. The same process could be in play with Grobe, whose contract reportedly includes a buyout of $2 million.
It is believed incoming Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long zeroed in on Bowden and Grobe as his top two choices in the days after Nutt resigned. People interested in the search were told Long would hire the best coach available.
University Chancellor John White indicated in an e-mail to The Morning News on Wednesday the search to find Nutt’s replacement was close to being finished.
“I am confident (Long) will complete the search within the next few days. As I said to one of the reporters earlier in the week, I fully expect the process to be brought to successful closure before the end of the week,” White wrote in his e-mail.
“Based on my most recent discussions with Jeff, I believe that timeline is feasible.”
Wake Forest assistant athletic director Steve Shutt said Wednesday it was against university policy to say whether Arkansas asked for permission to speak with Grobe.
Grobe has a 45-39 record leading Wake Forest’s Demon Deacons, including an 11-3 Orange Bowl team last year and an 8-4 team this year headed for the Meineke Bowl. Following last season, he signed an extension through 2016 for what was believed to be about $1.1 million per year.
Grobe’s name has come up lately for several coaching vacancies, including both the Michigan and Nebraska jobs. He said Monday he’s happy at Wake Forest, though he’s not opposed to listening to schools interested in him.
Grobe acknowledged this week he’s been approached by several schools over the past two years, but he wouldn’t name any specifically.
His hire ends nearly two weeks of uncertainty, in which Arkansas’ players have seen Nutt leave and hire five of his former assistant coaches to join him in Oxford.
At the same time, defensive coordinator Reggie Herring has taken over as interim head coach while names such as Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville have been rumored to be on their way to Fayetteville.
“We’ve all just been curious about who the next coach would be. We heard about Tuberville and Bowden, but those guys made decisions to stay at their schools,” Arkansas strong safety Matt Hewitt following Wednesday’s practice.
“Everybody’s biting their fingernails right now to see who’s going to be the next head coach here.”
