Revisiting Another LSU Football Coach Hiring/Firing—Brodhead, Stovall, Arnsparger

Posted on 10/20/21 at 9:20 am

Posted by timlan2057

In the Shadow of Tiger Stadium

Member since Sep 2005

20496 posts

Posted on 10/20/21 at 9:20 am

Excerpts from Brodhead's book Sacked about the Stovall firing and Arnsparger hiring. History is revealing. Some posted lately that everyone loved the Arnsparger hire. That wasn’t the case.

When Stovall called me at my home in Florida to express his views on my "we will win immediately" remarks to the Board of Supervisors, I knew there would be trouble in Red Stick city.

As I would soon find out, the football coach at LSU had historically ruled the roost, making all decisions relevant to his program. Former Athletic Director Carl Maddox was once overheard to say that he was Athletic Director of everything but football. Judging by my phone conversation with Stovall, he obviously hoped the new AD would continue the tradition.

Despite the predictions, I didn't hit town looking for a fight with Stovall. On the contrary, I had been handed two mandates by the Board of Supervisors upon accepting the job, and I needed Stovall's help to accomplish the one that read, "Make the LSU Athletic Department competitive." I was simply asking of Stovall what I would of all my coaches. He was to win.

(50)

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LSU had one last opponent to face on its 1982 regular-season schedule, its most bitter rival, Tulane University. The seventh-ranked Tigers were a twenty-four point favorite against the 3-7 Green Wave, but Coach Vince Gibson's bunch of rag-tags obviously hadn't read the latest line. When the dust settled, Tulane owned the biggest upset of the year, 31-28.

For some time, I had been experiencing doubts about Stovall's ability to make adjustments to his game plan once play was under way The Tulane game reinforced my suspicions. In fact, had I realized then that the Tulane game was to be a preview of many such nights to come during 1983, it would have been a long off-season. 53-54

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Also during the off-season, Stovall requested an extension on the two years left on his contract. Being a firm believer that contracts were extended only as a reward for monumental achievement, I opted to give Stovall a substantial raise instead. Despite the success of the Orange Bowl season, I had a few lingering doubts regarding Stovall's coaching abilities, and I wanted another year to watch him in action. 55

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...From that high point, the team began a precipitous nosedive from which it would never recover. Wharton, for one, wasn't enjoying the ride.

Immediately following the 21-13 loss to conference foe Kentucky which had been preceded by losses to Florida and Tennessee, Wharton ordered me to meet him in my office. Short of issuing a mandate, he made it very clear that he wanted something done to remedy the situation. I told him I wouldn't make that kind of decision in the heat of an emotional loss, and that the most prudent course of action would be to assume an evaluation mode, assessing the performance of the coaching staff on a week-by-week basis.

Two weeks later, following a 27-24 loss to Ole Miss in Jackson, I had seen enough. I began my search for a new head coach. 56

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I contacted Dick Vermeil, the successful coach-turned-TV-color-analyst, through his broadcast partner; Frank Glieber. Vermeil, who had claimed burn-out when he walked away from the Philadelphia Eagles a short time eariler, wasn't interested.

I contacted Mike White of the University of Illinois through his business manager. At White's prices, I wasn't interested.

I thought about contacting University of Maryland Head Coach Bobby Ross and several other prospects when I decided to pursue a comment which had been made to me by Bill Arnsparger, Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator of the Miami Dolphins, when I left that organization in 1982. He had asked me to keep him in mind if I ever had to make a change at LSU. 57

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How did he sell Arnsparger?

.. Under Arnsparger's guidance, the Giants were 7-28.

My standard response to anyone who quizzed me regarding this tarnish on his otherwise impressive resume was to fault the Giants organization, saying that Arnsparger hadn't been given enough time to build a winner. It's a good thing my friend Wellington Mara, the Giants' owner, didn't read the Louisiana papers, or he would have grown tired of assuming responsibility for Arnsparger's low winning percentage. Perhaps he would have understood that I wasn't about to let the second guessers stand in the way of a smooth transition from the old coaching regime to the new.

Besides, ten years had passed since then, and Arnsparger's record of accomplishments spoke for itself. Nine times in his eleven full seasons with Miami, the Dolphin defense ranked either first or second in the NFL in scoring defense.

I was proud of my selection, and I was confident that Arnsparger would provide the leadership necessary to turn the football program around. I had better be. The Good Old Boy Club at LSU, smarting from its first setback in decades--and at the hands of an outsider; no less--was busy tying my fate to Arnsparger's future won-loss record. Either he won, or I lost.

Some members of the media were also less than receptive to the new coach. Ron Higgins, a local sports columnist, had written the following bit of prose in anticipation that Arnsparger would be hired: "Brodhead, who once had a job promoting nails, would have an easier time selling thumb tacks than Arnsparger.

"The four problems with Arnsparger in an nutshell? He's too old (almost 57 years old); he's from Miami (fans will point to Brodhead's so-called Miami Connection), he's from the pros (LSU folks don't take kindly to a pro coach stepping into a college atmosphere) and he's not a proven major college winning head coach.

"If Brodhead wants to survive this ugly storm, he might consider shopping elsewhere for a head coach. Like at a major college."

Obviously, there wasn't going to be a run on red carpets to welcome Arnsparger, who was remaining with the Dolphins through the end of their season. I knew I had to do something. So I called my friends at ABC and asked for a favor. The Dolphins were appearing on a Monday Night Football broadcast the week after Arnsparger's appointment, and a few good words from Frank Gifford and "Dandy" Don Meredith would do wonders for my public relations campaign.

Not only were a few good words uttered from the booth, but praises were sung every time Arnsparger appeared on camera, complete with frequent mention of the LSU program he would take over at the end of the Dolphins' season. Lo and behold, the skeptics in Tiger Town were singing a different tune in no time.

The same favor was granted again during the Dolphins' playoff telecasts, and by the time Arnsparger arrived on campus in January, I had created a living legend. The biggest problem I would face from that point on was that not only had the public bought the hype, so had Arnsparger.

Sacked, by Bob Brodhead, 1987, 66-67.