What in the name of cajun-flavored pork rinds was (is) Arkansas thinking? It has been widely reported that the Hogs have been in communication with Ed Orgeron. The extent of the communication is not known. Arkansas' head coach search has drawn the least attention of all the SEC football openings.
The profile changed quickly when it was said that the Hogs and Coach had communicated. Assuming the communication was a conversation, there is only one sane way it should have ended: "Thanks, Coach, for your interest, but no thanks, unless you would consider being 'head coach' in title only.
Otherwise, the Arkansas football program is so nearly brain dead that it has no recollection of recent SEC football history. Texas A&M's costly experience with Jimbo Fisher showed that a coach winning one National Championship is not a guarantee of future success. Orgeron's LSU tenure provides another example.
The Bengal Tigers won the 2019 National Championship because of two Joes and no Eds. Passing Game Coordinator Joe Brady was the LSU offensive Guru. Joe Burrow's career exploded in 2019 with over 5,600 passing yards, 60 touchdown passes, and an accuracy of 76.3%. He won the Heisman, the Maxwell, and the AP Player of the Year awards.
After the 2019 season, Brady became an NFL Offensive Coordinator. With Brady, LSU won 15 games in 2019. Without him, Orgeron and the Bengal Tigers won a total of 11 games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Orgeron's head coaching resume includes only two head coaching stints. He was fired at both Ole Miss and LSU. His overall record in Oxford was an abysmal 10-25 (28.6%). He was the interim head coach at USC in 2013 and was 6-2. The Trojans passed on removing his interim tag.
Josh Yourish was correct that Arkansas hiring Coach O could impact Alabama. Orgeron has an outstanding track record as a recruiter. With the Hogs' deep-pocket funding sources, Coach O could continue his recruiting success in Fayetteville. Alabama might lose some recruiting battles against the Razorbacks.
The hire might make the Hogs better, though, from the SEC cellar, the only way to go is up. It would work best if Orgeron gave his offensive staff pretty much free rein as he did at LSU in 2019 with Brady. Better yet, would be for the Hogs to hire Brady as head coach, and name Orgeron Associate Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator.