Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Two searches in one? (Now with an UPDATE!)

Well, Auburn’s search for an offensive coordinator could be short and sweet, if the rumors of Tony Franklin’s hiring are true. And they almost certainly are true.

But in the instant-gratification world of the Internet, the offensive coordinator stuff is old news, and will remain so until Franklin is officially hired. After all, the news that Al Borges had resigned came out last night; the rumors about Franklin started almost immediately. And 18 hours is a long time on the Internet.

Which is why we turn to the latest rumors emanating from Arkansas. An Internet site that covers the Hogs reported that Will Muschamp will be Arkansas’ head coach by this time Wednesday, citing “strong sources.”

Forgive me if I’m skeptical. The Arkansas coaching search is the drama that won’t end. But unlike Michigan’s relatively quiet search—gosh, they’ve only been turned down by two or three coaches—Arkansas’ hunt has been plagued by incorrect reports, rampant rumors and a distinct odor of screw-ups. As far as I’m concerned, whoever Arkansas does eventually hire isn’t really the Hogs’ head coach until he’s actually coached a game in September.

Could it be Muschamp? Absolutely. But it’s far from a done deal, and hopefully we’ve all learned better than to swallow every “strongly sourced” report emanating from the Natural State.

UPDATE: ESPN is now reporting that Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby Petrino (who used to be at Louisville and apparently has some connection to Auburn, though you hardly ever hear about that, right?) will resign his NFL job and head to Arkansas to become the Razorbacks head coach. The scoop, which comes courtesy of the always-impressive John Clayton, would mark yet another crazy turn in the Arkansas coach search.

Again, I won’t believe it until the Hogs’ season opener in September. But in my book, a report from ESPN is a whole heck of a lot more legitimate than “strong sources” from HawgSports.com.