LITTLE ROCK — Making a splash is not part of the criteria for hiring the next football coach at Arkansas State University.
Almost a year ago, the promotion of Hugh Freeze from offensive coordinator to head coach was barely a blip. Yet, the Red Wolves were 10-2, earned a trip to a bowl game in Mobile, Ala., and were just outside the Top 25 in The Associated Press poll when he bailed for Ole Miss.
Flash back to late December 1991. ASU’s hire of Ray Perkins, former coach of the New York Giants, Tampa Bay Bucs, and Alabama made the scroll on ESPN. Talk about attention-getting. A 2-9 season later, Perkins was gone.
What ASU needs is a coach who is offensive minded, somebody who is willing to throw the ball around, not to please the fans but because that is the best way for ASU to win. The new coach also must be able to recruit, particularly a dual threat quarterback like current starter Ryan Aplin.
Pursuing a coach, ASU must take the approach that the appropriate name could come from anywhere and avoid specific qualifications that eliminate candidates. The right coach could be an offensive coordinator somewhere or a 30-something head coach who is successful at a smaller school. A particular pedigree is no guarantee and there should be clear evidence that the candidate possesses the leadership ability required of a head coach.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Although Freeze was one of the lowest paid head coaches among the 120 schools in Division I at a little more than $200,000, ASU might be willing to pay twice that to his successor. A perfect record in the Sun Belt Conference and the fact that the Red Wolves’ only losses were to bowl-bound Virginia Tech and Illinois proves that a coach can be successful in Jonesboro, so that question does not have to be asked by anybody under consideration.
A few coaches inside the state have been mentioned as the possible successor to Freeze, but it seems unlikely that ASU will go in that direction.
Meanwhile, a couple of interesting names are Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback coach Randy Fichtner and Murray State head coach Chris Hatcher.
Fichtner, 48, supposedly showed some interest in the Memphis job. He coached quarterbacks at Memphis in the early 1990s, worked at ASU in the late 1990s, then was hired in 2001 to install the spread offense at Memphis.
Under Fichtner, the Tigers averaged more than 30 points per game in both 2003 and 2004.
And, he can recruit. Fichtner persuaded receiver Isaac Bruce, who caught more than 1,000 passes in the NFL, and running back DeAngelo Williams of Wynne, who twice topped 1,000 yards for the Carolina Panthers, to come to Memphis.
Hatcher, 38, took over at Murray State almost two years ago. In his first year, the Racers won six of their final eight games and posted a winning record for the first time since 2004. This year, Murray State was 7-4, led the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring at 37 points per game, passing offense, and total offense.
A former quarterback at Valdosta State, Hatcher was quarterback coach at Kentucky where he tutored No. 1 NFL draft pick Tim Couch. Hatcher, 76-12 as the head coach at Valdosta State, recorded his 100th victory in the final game of the 2010 season.
ASU athletic director Dean Lee has the right idea — move quickly without getting in a hurry.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.