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New Coaches on the Sideline for the Razorbacks Spring Practice

By Cory Thone

Nov 7, 2015; Oxford, MS, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Dominique Reed (87) celebrates a reception for a touchdown with wide receiver Drew Morgan (80) during the fourth quarter of the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Arkansas won 53-52. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2015; Oxford, MS, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Dominique Reed (87) celebrates a reception for a touchdown with wide receiver Drew Morgan (80) during the fourth quarter of the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Arkansas won 53-52. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Arkansas Razorbacks fans and media get their first glimpse at some of the new faces walking the sideline on Bret Bielema’s staff this week. Reggie Mitchell, Paul Rhoads, and Kurt Anderson all bring their own styles, personalities, and history to the Arkansas sideline.

One is a well respected recruiter and a seasoned position coach. One is a former head coach at a power 5 school with ties to the SEC. The other comes from the NFL and was an All-Conference player on a National Championship team in the 90s.

Bret Bielema had some big shoes to fill when he lost assistants this off-season. His inability to keep coaches from taking new jobs in higher positions is a testament to Bielema’s ability to find highly qualified and talented individuals to join his staff. Bielema has assembled a new group of coaches with a wide array of skill sets and strengths to come set up shop in NWA.

Reggie Mitchell, for example, came to Arkansas by way of the University of Kansas. Mitchell brought more 4 star players to Lawrence than any other coach over the past 6 years, and was retained by 4 different head coaches at KU because of his abilities on the recruiting trail. During his time at KU, Michigan State, and Illinois, Mitchell developed a reputation as a great recruiter and a great running backs coach.

Nov 21, 2015; Manhattan, KS, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Paul Rhoads celebrates a first-half touchdown against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. The Wildcats won the game 38-35. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Manhattan, KS, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Paul Rhoads celebrates a first-half touchdown against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. The Wildcats won the game 38-35. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports /

Joining Mitchell is former Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads, who has taken over as the Razorbacks defensive backs coach. Rhoads was the defensive coordinator under Tommy Tuberville at Auburn back in 2008, but didn’t get much of an opportunity to do much there as Tubbs was fired later that year. The Tigers hired Gene Chizik from ISU, and the Hawkeyes took Rhoads to replace the Chizz.

While Rhoads may not have panned out completely as a head coach, his time as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Pittsburgh was where he truly made his name. He took a struggling Panther defense over in 2000, and by 2002 he had a top 25 defensive unit on his hands. Fast forward to 2005-2007, and Rhoads had a top 10 defense, was #2 in the nation in interceptions, and was named the Big East DC of the year in 2006.

Rhoads brings an aggressive, ball hawk mentality to the secondary, and has years of experience in getting his unit to force turnovers and make open field tackles. Those were the 2 things that caused more stress to fans, and probably to Bielema, than anything else last year. (Except for injuries, of course.)

Finally, Bielema welcomes his not-so-mini-me to the staff, Kurt Anderson, who has taken over as the Razorbacks new offensive line coach. Anderson is young, loud, big, and cocky, so it should come as no surprise that he hit it off with Bielema.

Anderson comes to Arkansas by way of the Buffalo Bills, and has some college coaching experience at Indiana State and Eastern Michigan, where he had EMU racking up school record levels of rushing yards behind his physical offensive line unit. In 2011, EMU finished 14th in the nation in rushing yards, thanks in no small part to Anderson’s offensive line unit.

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While at Buffalo, Anderson started off as the offensive quality control coach before becoming an assistant offensive line coach for Rex Ryan in 2015. The Anderson coached Bill O-Line led the NFL in rushing yards, touchdowns, and rushing yards per game.

The Arkansas Razorbacks lost some good coaches over the off-season, but fans should be excited by the men that Bret Bielema found to replace them. A combination of experience, passion, and successful track records should show continued improvement on the field, and hopefully net a stronger finish in recruiting next year.

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