Brett Bielema’s tenure at Arkansas has been an awful one as the Razorbacks have had a losing record in each of the last four seasons. The lack of progress made by an SEC program that has failed to live up to expectations over the past couple of years means that Bielema is on the hot seat heading in to the final stretch of the college football season. It will be very interesting to see if the Razorbacks decide to make a move before the end of the year or wait until the offseason to make a change at head coach.
The good news for Bielema is that he earned a little bit of a reprieve on Saturday. The Razorbacks went on the road and beat Ole Miss 38-37. On the surface, a one-point win at a struggling Ole Miss team might not seem that impressive, it’s still a win. For a team that had lost three in a row, this was huge. And the manner in which they won – a game-winning field goal with four seconds left – was big. It’s worth noting that the Razorbacks were trailing by 24 points at one time, so clearly they’re still fighting for their coach.
It also keeps the bowl game hopes alive. They play Coastal Carolina next week, which should result in a win. After that, they go to LSU and then come home to Mississippi State and Missouri. If the Razorbacks can somehow find three more wins, they could get into a bowl game. And more importantly, head into the offseason with momentum. If not, this team will very likely be looking for a new head coach.
Here is a look at the top four potential replacements for Brett Bielema as the head coach at Arkansas.
Mike Leach, Washington State Head Coach
Leach is the head coach at a Power Five conference team at Washington State but there is already a petition to bring him to Arkansas. He has completely turned the Cougars program around over the past couple of years and Razorbacks fans would love for him to make his way to the SEC and do the same for their program. Leach also had success at Texas Tech so there is enough history there to think that he could be the real deal and the perfect candidate to turn things around at Arkansas.
Les Miles, Free Agent
Miles makes sense for a number of reasons including specifically the fact that he has the best resume out of the college football coaches that are currently unemployed. He posted a 114-34 record in 11 years as the head coach at LSU including a national championship victory and two SEC titles. Miles would provide some desperately needed instant credibility for a program that has been stuck in neutral for far too long.
Dave Aranda, LSU Defensive Coordinator
While Miles has the coaching pedigree, Aranda might be the best defensive coordinator in college football right now. Aranda has a good enough track record at Utah State, Washington and LSU to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to evaluating the top defensive minds in the country and it’s only a matter of time before a Power Five conference team takes a chance on him as head coach. The Razorbacks have the opportunity to sign him before another rival team does and after all of the disappointment they have deal with over the past couple of years it makes sense that they would be motivated to make the move.
Lane Kiffin, Florida Atlantic Head Coach
Kiffin’s decision to become the head coach at Florida Atlantic has paid off so far as the Owls have won three straight to improve to 4-3 on the season including a 3-1 mark in conference play. FAU still has a long way to go but their progress under Kiffin in his first year as head coach is definitely notable. After turning down several Power Five conference teams in the offseason, Kiffin could be on Arkansas’ radar as a potential replacement for Bielema.
Click here to bet on the college football season right now. DSI has a full list of spreads, totals and props for every single game on the board. Get all of the latest lines that you need to get a piece of the action!
