Arkansas AD says John L. Smith won't return as football coach, will stay as consultant for now
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long says interim football coach John L. Smith will not return next season.
Long says in a statement released by the university that he met with Smith on Saturday, a day after the Razorbacks' season-ending 20-13 loss to LSU, and told him the school "would be making a change in leadership within our program."
Smith was hired in April to replace the fired Bobby Petrino and signed to a 10-month contract. Long says that once a new coach is hired Smith will be reassigned as a consultant through the end of his contract on Feb. 23, 2013.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Arkansas (4-8, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) began the season ranked in the top 10 but quickly fell out of the polls after a stunning loss to Louisianan-Monroe on Sept. 8.