Fayetteville, Ark– Less than two weeks after Athletic Director Jeff Long fired Bobby Petrino from his position as head coach of the Razorback football team, a new head coach has been hired. Monday the University of Arkansas announced hiring John L. Smith as head coach for the Razorbacks. Smith signed a 10-month letter of agreement with a compensation package of $850,000. Smith will also be eligible for performance and academic achievement incentives.
The 63-year-old Smith has a 132-86 record as a head coach, with stops at Idaho (53-21), Utah State (16-18), Louisville (41-21) and Michigan State (22-26). He was replaced at Louisville by Petrino after the 2002 season and fired by Michigan State after the 2006 season. In 2003, he was honored as the Big Ten Coach of the Year after posting the most wins by a first-year coach in Michigan State history, finishing 8-4.
Smith coached with Petrino at Arkansas, Michigan State, Louisville and Utah State and was the special teams coach at Arkansas for three seasons before leaving four months ago to take over at Weber State. Smith has been close to Petrino throughout his career and now will attempt to help his former staff and players through a difficult time. “I am tremendously excited to have this special opportunity to return to Arkansas and lead the Razorback football program,” Smith said in a statement.