Bielema addresses clinic after 3- 9 campaign
The shine is off the new car. The first time Arkansas football coach Bret Bielema spoke in Hot Springs, at the fourth annual Ronnie Roach Coaches Clinic, he barely knew up from down. During the fifth annual event put on by the Arkansas Football Coaches Association Friday night at the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, Bielema was pretty blunt about his 3- 9 first season when the Razorbacks failed to win a Southeastern Conference game for the first time since joining the league in 1992.
“I’m 3- 9. That’s what goes through my head daily,” Bielema said. “I would much rather be 9- 3 or 10- 2, but 3- 9 runs through my head every day. And it’s easy to improve upon that.”
Bielema said it’s easier to improve upon his dubious mark simply because he’s much more familiar with everything going on around him. He returns most of his offense, including quarterback Brandon Allen and standout running backs Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams.
He concluded his near hourlong presentation with a video compilation that included shoutouts to the coaches who produced in- state talent such as Allen of Fayetteville, younger brother Austin and Malvern product Grady Ollison on the offensive line. The ArFCA reported a record of 623
coaches in attendance, and Bielema said he was much more familiar with the faces in the crowd.
“Last year at this time, I hit the ground running in mid- December, I hired my staff and got into a recruiting season through January, signed my first class in February and then three days later come down here and speak at this clinic. It was like a whirlwind,” Bielema said. “It’s kind of been a much slower year this year.” To go along with his returning offensive personnel, Bielema also returns every assistant on that side of the ball, led by offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. But he had to fill two vacancies on defense, with defensive line coach Charlie Partridge accepting the head coach position at Florida Atlantic and defensive coordinator Chris Ash taking a co- defensive coordinator job at Ohio State, a former Big Ten rival of Bielema’s when he was at Wisconsin for seven seasons.
“One guy got a head coaching opportunity where I called the ( athletic director) and tried to get him the job, and I’m glad he got it and wish him the best of luck,” Bielema said. “The other guy went to a school I can’t stand for a head coach I hate even more. But I do find it a great compliment that Ohio State thinks they can’t win a championship, so they came to take one of my guys. I take that as a compliment.”
He filled Partridge’s spot with Rory Segrest, formerly with Philadelphia Eagles, who will also handle special teams. Bielema still hasn’t filled the defensive coordinator post, though he said he expects to announce a hire “within the next two to three days.”
Just like last year, Bielema spoke mere days after the beginning of the NCAA football signing period, also known as National Signing Day. Wednesday’s crop was the product of Bielema’s first full recruiting season in Fayetteville.
“The great news is that there wasn’t that huge of a crop of players for us this year, but everybody that we offered from the state of Arkansas to come play for us, they all came,” Bielema said. “And if we can say that year after year, I think we can go some places in a short amount of time.”
Bielema was the keynote for Friday’s first day of the three- day event, with the rest of his staff holding smaller sessions throughout the Arlington. Today features new Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson and new Central Arkansas coach Steve Campbell before Dallas Cowboys assistant Monte Kiffin keynotes at 8 p. m. The event concludes Sunday.