Rumors rampant about Nutt leaving UA after this season

By ArkansasOnline

There has been no confirmation, but numerous reports are speculating that Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt will leave the university at the end of the season.

Message boards and chat rooms were abuzz Friday with the rumors of Nutt's departure. One report said Nutt had offers on the table at four universities, Baylor and Southern Methodist University among them.

"It's silly. It's ridiculous to put rumors out there right now," Nutt told reporters in Little Rock on the eve of the Razorbacks' last home game in Little Rock. "It’s not true right now.”

Nutt, who came to the university in 1997, has seen a tumultuous year off the field and a rocky season on the field with a 2-4 SEC record.

The offseason was filled with turmoil surrounding the departures of offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and quarterback Mitch Mustain. Arkansas began this season in the Top 25 but quickly fell out.

Outgoing athletic director Frank Broyles said Thursday night he’ll leave it to his successor to determine whether Houston Nutt should remain Arkansas’ football coach.

Broyles is retiring at the end of the year and will be replaced by Jeff Long. Speculation on Nutt’s job security has increased as the Razorbacks have struggled to a 6-4 record this season.

Although Broyles is still the athletic director, he said Long will make the call on Nutt.

“It’s going be his decision, absolutely,” Broyles said.

Later Friday, the university issued this statement:

"It seems some media outlets chose to falsely legitimize baseless rumors with unknown details from unnamed sources without first seeking the benefit of fact from the university.

"The fact is, there has been no determination regarding the status of Houston Nutt, nor would there be until the normal review process for coaches takes place after the season. The chancellor affirmed this very clearly, on the record, some 24 hours earlier, and nothing has changed in regard to the coach's status of the Razorback football team since that time. Reports to the contrary are misleading and irresponsible."

This article was published Friday, November 16, 2007.

Information for this article was contributed by The Associated Press.