<p>Congrats to Jim Grobe - I hate to see him go, but he's earned the big payday and done it with integrity and priorities that were well aligned with the university's. Is there any campus talk about a successor? Perhaps an internal hire?</p>
<p>its not confirmed he's leaving yet! dont give up hope! no one outside of arkansas sources has said anything! pray that it is like the last time they jumped the gun! Oh God, please dont leave us Grobe!</p>
<p>He's staying.</p>
<p>He turned down over $2 million per year at Arkansas to stay at Wake Forest.</p>
<p>That speaks volumes about both Jim Grobe and Wake Forest...</p>
<p>More than likely, like basketball's Skip,some of the local tobacco heirs ponied up the bucks to compete. And let's face it, like Skip realized when he decided to stay, the ACC is a great conference, and Winston-Salem beats Fayetteville any and every day of the 365! This is not about Jim Grobe's character (although he's top shelf) or his charitable spirit or his sacrificing his financial future. It's about business, and he just leveraged himself into the big time of deals. Whatever, I'm glad to see him stay. WFU is a great place, altho he'll have a tough time doing over 10 seasons that which he did over one (2006) and approached in another (2007). The place is simply too small and too good ... no where to stock pile dumb defensive tackles.</p>
<p>Whistlepig, you better take a second look at Fayetteville, Arkansas. It's a rising and very attractive community. My guess is that if the money was same, your football coach would have moved to Arkansas and the Big 12 conference.</p>
<p>From what I've heard, Grobe makes a little bit over $1 million per year at Wake Forest. He was offered over $2 million per year by Arkansas. I think he really loves our kids here and recognizes that the team should be even better next year...</p>
<p>At the press conferences yesterday, he said that he was NOT getting more money--but that our Athletic Director was working on raises for his assistants. Holding on to great assistants, of course, is important because they help make Grobe look smart--and lack of coaching continuity (even on the assistant level) creates problems for teams.</p>
<p>I can still see Grobe leave WF eventually, but I suspect it will be for a top 10 NCAA job. Notre Dame and Penn State scare me the most, though there are a handful of other schools that might well lure him away eventually. Glad to know that Arkansas and a big raise weren't enough to pull him away from here, though.</p>
<p>Glad he's staying. Hope he retires here, but I'm not counting on it...</p>
<p>LakeW ... oh I know. I love many of the mid South towns ... including Fayetteville. It's a fine college town ... but there are 2 major, inescapable problems.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It's in a "hole." Close to nowhere unless one is counting Muskogee, Oklahoma or Ft. Smith or Podunk, Kansas or Branson, MO. All fine places but the only place THEY'RE close to is Fayetteville, AR. Believe me, I understand F,AR is a fine place with a good quality of living. But we're talking football programs here.</p></li>
<li><p>It's in Arkansas. Nuff said, with all due respect to my fellow pigs.</p></li>
<li><p>Did I mention it's a long way from anywhere and expensive as all get out EVERY time one wants to fly in or out of there. </p></li>
<li><p>One more thing ... if Grobe did for Arkansas what he's done in heroic fashion for the Demon Deacs, just like Nutt, he'll be fired in a heartbeat. Hogs are, well, just that. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Nah, you'll not convince me that Fayetteville is on the same planet as Winston-Salem and a whole bunch of other places. The days of Frank Broyles being able to put the Hogs on TV with an amazing amount of frequency are ancient history. And only the Big 12 fans love the Big 12. Iowa State? The Horned Frogs? These are a once a year deal on national TV.</p>
<p>Just thought Id chime in here.</p>
<p>Arkansas is in the SEC not the BIG 12</p>
<p>From the looks of their bowl fiasco, the Hogs might wanna try the Atlantic 10. Whew were they weak, even with a really terrific running back. Only problem was that he had on the Mizzou uniform. WFU's Mr. Grobe got what he wanted. To stay put with a nice hefty raise to boot. His was a good choice, imo.</p>
<p>Good analysis by Demon Deacon. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, our defensive coordinator Dean Hood recently announced he will leave for EKU. I am very excited for the upcoming season as the Deacs will return a stellar defense and QB Riley Skinner.</p>