Bret Bielema fired by Arkansas coming off field after loss
Arkansas wasted no time firing Bret Bielema after their season ended Friday.
The school announced a Friday evening press conference to announce Bielema’s firing almost immediately after Friday’s 48-45 loss to Missouri.
Arkansas has called a 7:30 p.m. press conference at Barnhill Arena with Julie Cromer Peoples as Bret Bielema is officially dismissed
— Thomas Murphy (@TomMurphyADG) November 24, 2017
The decision was made extremely quickly — in fact, according to Bielema, he was informed of it leaving the field after the game.
Bielema: "I was informed coming off the field I would no longer be the coach at Arkansas."
— Brandon Zimmerman (@BZSEC) November 24, 2017
The news does not come as a surprise, though the swiftness of it is somewhat brutal. Bielema finished out a 4-8 season with the Razorbacks, a huge step back in a tenure that was never all that impressive to begin with — the former Wisconsin coach never won more than eight games in his five seasons at Arkansas, nor did he ever come particularly close to contending in the SEC.
Arkansas’s coaching search will likely be a high-profile one, with reports indicating they may already have their eye on another prominent SEC coach if they can convince him to take the job.
