Head football coach Bret Bilema, fondly known as Bert by us all, was let go by the University of Arkansas tonight. To be fair, it looked like Bert gave up on the Arkansas job a long time ago.
With AD Jeff Long getting fired last week, the writing was on the wall for Bert, but life came at him quick tonight. In an effort to one-up the Lane Kiffin situation, Arkansas fired Bilema before he could even leave the field after their loss to the “rival” Missouri Tigers.
A possible crucial moment for Bilema came in the last two minutes of this game. Mizzou scored a touchdown to go up seven with about 1:20 left, which would have left Arkansas with ample time to score on a defense that had been torching all day and a timeout. Instead, Bilema and Arkansas accepted a holding penalty that didn’t make a ton of difference in the field position and allowed Missouri to run the clock down before kicking what was the game winning field goal. You’ll never know if Arkansas would’ve scored or not had they gotten another possession, as we’ll also never know if Bert would’ve kept his job with a win here (probably wouldn’t have). Regardless, this was not a smart decision by the Arkansas coaching staff and may have been the final nail in the coffin.
Over his five years at Arkansas, Bilema compiled a 29-34 record, including an 11-29 record in SEC play. He was never able to finish higher than a tie for third in the East. This season, in what was known to be a pivotal year for his career, the Razorbacks went 4-8 overall and 1-7 in conference play. Obviously the team should be showing some improvement in the fifth year of a head coach’s tenure. Before leaving for Fayetteville, Bert went 68-24 at Wisconsin with three Big Ten Championships and Rose Bowl appearances. It was probably a bad decision to leave. It would be “borderline erotic” to see Bilema achieve some major success wherever he lands next.
