The coaching carousel got a turbo boost today when Urban Meyer issued his annual December resignation from Florida (by all accounts, it seems like this time it'll actually stick). From there, it didn't take long for the rumor mill to install Petrino as a top - if not the top - candidate. After all, he's a proven winner at the top of his game, and was apparently the 1st choice to replace Meyer the last time around (and the 2nd choice behind Meyer in 2004 after Ron Zook was canned).

However, based on the wildly speculative articles that immediately popped up after the announcement today, the conventional wisdom is that former Gator assistant Dan Mullen is another very strong contender. That's assuming he'd be willing to leave the Eden-like paradise of Starkville to head a mid-level program that lost 5 games this year, of course. That theory is usually also combined with the rumor of Gus Malzahn taking over for Mullen at Mississippi State.

My totally uninformed personal take is that if Florida offers the job to Petrino, he'll likely go. After all, Florida is a top five job and would be very hard to turn down, even if he has an undeniably good thing going in Fayetteville. If he leaves, watch for the nutty branch of Razorback fandom to unleash all sorts of hellfire and damnation on Jeff Long for not wrapping BP up with a contract extension as was rumored last week.

In the end, I think that the Gators will *probably* - and I only say this based on a gut feeling - look elsewhere for their guy (although they'll make Hog fans sweat a bit in the process). If we dodge this bullet it could mean that Petrino will be at Arkansas for a long time...there aren't a lot of better opportunities out there than this one, and by all public accounts he seems quite happy with the situation he's in. Wouldn't that just drive the ESPN talking heads crazy?

Here's a quick rundown of what others are saying:

* Jim Harris from AS360 breaks down the Mullen to Florida/Malzahn to Mississippi State scenario (the comments on the article make for an interesting snapshot of the Razorback fanbase's mental state, too).

* Two of our favorite blogs - Team Speed Kills and Dr Saturday - have compiled lists that include both Mullen and Petrino (among the other usual suspects).

* The Sporting News, on the other hand, very ominously puts Petrino at, quote, "the top of the list."

* And, of course, you have the columnists who can't resist taking shots at Petrino's famed wanderlust, etc, etc. Here's a sample from the lovely and charming Dennis Dodd.

* Here's a fun read: the top 10 highest-paid coaches in college football (Petrino is 10th nationally and 5th in the SEC). All the expected names are in there...plus Wake Forest's Jim Grobe at #8. Really?

* Lastly, a special Expats blast from the past: remember when the Hogs offered the job to Grobe and he turned it down? It was that little dalliance that earned him the top 10-level raise. Good times all around.

As you probably know, the latest craze to come out of Silicon Valley is Twitter, which allows you to share valuable bits of information such as what you had for lunch or what traffic was like during your commute with anyone who 'follows' you (Facebook is so 2008, in other words).

That's if you're a regular person...if you're a college coach Twitter also allows you to 1) communicate with recruits in an entirely new way, 2) show that you're "down with the kids" and 3) extend your personal brand. It's the future, in other words, which is why tech-savvy coaches like Pete Carroll, John Calipari and Les Miles (!!!) are jumping all over it (incidentally, although I have a healthy dislike for USC I have to admit that I'm a little fascinated by Carroll's 'tweets'...they're over-the-top in a very laid back, celeb-filled Southern California way).

Anyway, the Arkansas connection is that the notoriously stoic and publicity-averse Bobby Petrino has a Twitter account (reserved for him by someone at the U of A) although he's professed to have no idea what that new-fangled stuff is all about and hasn't posted any tweets yet. But, Brandon Marcello of the Slophouse blog is aiming to change that...he's launching a campaign to bring Petrino to Twitter.

My personal opinion is that Twitter is only interesting if someone is really into it (again, see: Carroll, Pete) and Petrino almost surely wouldn't be. But, I'm also in favor of Arkansas keeping up with the Joneses in the recruiting game and, like I said, this is the future...let's not get left behind here. So, count Razorback Expats, Inc as an official supporter of the "Bring Petrino to Twitter" campaign. If you're with us, check out Marcello's post for full instructions on what to do.

I should also mention that we have a Razorback Expats Twitter account, so follow us too if you want. See you all on the other side.

Ah, the deep offseason...a time when reporters and bloggers alike turn to that tried & true method of filling space: ranking the SEC coaches. Although SEC fans have always obsessed over football coaches, the trend has jumped to a new level in the last few years, as multiple coaches won national titles and the conference got an infusion of new talent (ex. Bobby Petrino) while losing some of the dead weight (ex. Ed Orgeron). Just Google "SEC coach rankings" to see what we're talking about.

Anyway, the Auburn blog Track 'Em Tigers has devised a novel way of ranking the coaches: by estimating the probability that they'll still be at their school five years from now. If you're like me, you probably read that and braced yourself for a barrage of bad "Petrino will leave at halftime" jokes. But, the big shocker is that they actually rated Petrino the most likely to still be around in five years (don't worry...there are plenty of jokes in the comments section, though).

According to their rankings, there's only one other coach as likely as Petrino to still be around in half a decade. Who is it? We'll let that be a surprise...read the full post to find out.

The dog days of the offseason don't bring a lot of genuinely exciting news, but tomorrow (Thursday) actually promises to be a rare exception. That's when Bobby Petrino will emerge from a fog-shrouded temple atop an Ozark mountain and produce a stone tablet engraved with the name of the starting QB for the 2009 football team. At least that's how I assume it will work...

Despite the fact that Ryan Mallett stands 7'4" tall, weighs 350 lbs and can throw a football from Fayetteville to Little Rock, Tyler Wilson's strong play this spring has led to the first legitimate QB battle in eons (not counting last year's Battle of the Dicks, of course...and yes, I just typed that to make one last cheap Dick family joke). In fact, in an excellent recent post on the Slophouse blog, Brandon Marcello breaks down the numbers and points out that Wilson actually has better scrimmage stats than his more-heralded rival.

But, Mallett leads in the all-important category of Best Offseason Mug Shot, and most leading experts expect that to be enough to push him into the #1 slot. Either way, the Hogs are in better QB shape than they've been in a loooooooong time (and people are taking notice).

Next season should be fun. Let us know what you think about the QB battle in the comments section...

Since the basketball season that we all want to forget ended more than a week ago, we here at Razorback Expats have been on something of a spring break. However, we suspended the binge drinking and hot dog eating contests long enough to send some questions to Chris Bahn of ArkansasSport360 for his spring football Q&A, which was published today.

Below is a short preview of the piece. Once your appetite has been whetted, be sure to head on over to ArkansasSports360.com for the rest of the questions and answers.

Q: Is starting quarterback Ryan Mallett's job to lose, or will there be a true competition for the position?

Bahn: Bobby Petrino has maintained since last season ended that the 2009 starting job would not be filled without competition. Mallett and Tyler Wilson begin the spring listed together in the top spot and it will be interesting to see how that battle plays out. Mallett has impressed folks with his strong arm and on-field leadership ability. Wilson played last year and showed some ability before mono forced him to seek a medical redshirt.

Q: Speaking of Mallett, is his recent arrest a sign of trouble, or does he appear to have his head on straight?

Bahn: Coaches are keeping close tabs on Mallett even after what - legally - was a minor arrest. He's subject to an 11 p.m. curfew and working out each morning at 6 a.m. It's imperative the message sinks in with Mallett if he wants to start.

(The complete Q&A is available here.)

I need to preface this post by saying I generally don't get that into recruiting and the hoopla over rankings, can't miss prospects, etc. It's all very hypothetical and inexact, and most importantly there's something a little creepy about a bunch of adults freaking out over every move made by a 17 year old kid (who is probably already fawned over too much, anyway).

However, with that grouchy disclaimer aside, it's worth noting that the football Hogs seem to be really cleaning it up on the recruiting trail (I say *seem* because nothing is official until next week's signing day, and even after that they have to make their grades, show up for school, etc).

Bobby Petrino and company have been pounding the pavement and reeling in big name after big name recently. At this stage in the game, Arkansas' 2009 recruiting class is ranked in the top 15 nationally by both major services, which would be an all-time high for the Hogs. And a leading recruiting expert has the Razorbacks listed first his list of top 5 recruiting surprises for this year. Not bad coming off a 5-7 season and competing with all the other SEC powerhouses (many of whom also have very highly ranked classes, of course) for the top players.

One story I particularly enjoyed was the tale of how RB Ronnie Wingo, WR Cobi Hamilton and LB Terrell Williams became fast friends during their official visit and essentially recruited each other to Fayetteville. Having done that, they're now turning their persuasive powers on the highly touted offensive lineman Aubrey Phillips. Pretty cool stuff.

If this post has whetted your appetite for news of all things recruiting, I suggest checking out Richard Davenport's highly detailed Recruiting Guy page over on Arkansas Online. Arkansas Sports 360 also has an interesting look at how past recruiting classes have stacked up.

Signing Day is next Wednesday, and nothing is official until then...keep your fingers crossed.

Well, we knew this was coming. In what will likely be an annual December rite of passage until Bobby Petrino actually does leave, our shark-eyed coach's name is being bandied about in the Auburn rumor mill. Good times.

Yes, the Auburn rumor mill...after about a million good seasons Tommy Tuberville is out after a one ill-timed (in the sense that it coincided with Alabama's rise to power) bad one. Being a coach in the SEC is crazy.

So, to sum up: Tuberville out/rumor mill/wealthy Auburn boosters/denial from Petrino's agent/etc, etc. Wheee!!!

Discuss.

Well, fellow Hog fans, it's hard to believe, but we're only a few short days away from the end of the 2008 football season. It's been a season of change...more about looking to the future than competing in the present. And it's certainly been a season of exciting finishes, although I suspect when we look back on it we'll remember the missed opportunities against Kentucky, Ole Miss and Mississippi State more than our stands against Auburn or Tulsa.

Of course, you're probably wondering what Nobel Prize-winning poet and rabid Razorback football fan T.S. Eliot would say about the season. Given that we're shuffling quietly into the twilight rather than going out with our typical humiliating bowl loss, he might twist his classic "The Hollow Men" to say something like this:

This is the way the season ends
This is the way the season ends
This is the way the season ends
Not with a bang but a whimper

How are we ending with a whimper, you ask? That story won't be fully written until we play LSU on Friday, but here are a few thoughts:

* back-to-back depressing losses to South Carolina and Mississippi State

* offensive savior Michael Smith sitting out for the LSU game with a hamstring injury

* for that matter, LSU's own troubles of late have taken a bit of the usual luster off the battle in War Memorial

* reports that a group of players - most of them seniors - haven't bought into Petrino's ways and have been more or less sabotaging things from within for awhile now. (Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, DT Ernest Mitchell and DE Antwain Robinson didn't travel to Starkville for the game last weekend.)

* Casey Dick ending his up & down Hog career by being benched in favor of his brother. Forget T.S. Eliot...that's almost Shakespearean. We'll have a more thorough look at the Casey Dick era next week.