Estranged booster family key to how successful Hogs' coaching search will be

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With the calendar nearing mid-November, it's about time for Arkansas fans to get an idea just how powerful and interested an estranged Razorbacks booster family actually is.

The Lindsey family has been associated with the Razorbacks by way of former 1960s running back star Jim Lindsey for well over a half century now, but after the bumbled recruitment of his grandson, former Fayetteville quarterback turned starting Big Ten red-shirt quarterback Drake Lindsey, the real estate fortune that once served as a driving force in Arkansas athletics has justifiably turned in the direction of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The elder Lindsey once served as a prominent booster and even held a place on the Board of Trustees that played a large role in the hiring of famed long-tenured Razorbacks coach Houston Nutt and also the decision to keep games going in Little Rock beyond the early expansion of the stadium.

However, until these past few months, there has been little reason for Jim, nor his son John David and a host of other Lindseys who became Razorbacks in some capacity over the years, to be directly involved in helping the athletics program.

It still remains to be seen whether there actually is cause for major involvement, or if their spite for how Drake's recruitment, or lack thereof, was handled is strong enough to keep loyalties strictly pointed toward Minnesota for the foreseeable future.

The presumption is there is a push within the family for there to be a win-win by convincing one of the Big Ten's most beloved coaches to uproot his life and take over a now crashing Razorbacks football program. Lindsey has proven himself to be a quality quarterback by leading the Golden Gophers to a 6-3 record while his team held an outside shot at the playoffs for quite a while.

Lindsey's head coach, PJ Fleck, has more than demonstrated an ability to do more with less under difficult circumstances. Despite only being 44-years old, the man who roams the Big Ten sidelines in his signature cardigan sweater with Stone Cold meets Mr. Rogers type swag, will be in his 10th season of bringing a once middle of the road program into the national spotlight with regular major upsets and quality bowl appearances.

He's amassed a 64-42 record as a head coach, including an 11-2 record in his third season in Minneapolis that featured wins over No. 4 Penn State and No. 10 Auburn. He currently has 38 wins in the NIL era despite the Golden Gophers not having the high profile NIL treasure chest of many of their opponents, with a projection to easily end this season with at least 40, likely 41 victories in a pay-for-play world.

There's plenty of reason for the Lindseys to want him in Fayetteville if any loyalty to the program remains. However, while it would theoretically be a win for them, it's going to take a lot of money and a solid coalition of boosters to make it also be a win for Fleck.

Right now, his nine wins most seasons, with the odds of running that out to double-digits and a potential playoff run every five or so years, is more than enough to keep him comfortable in Minnesota. Meanwhile, the pressure to win now and big in the SEC has turned the league into a pressure cooker more known for its prominence as a leader in buyouts rather than college football playoffs success as of late.

Leashes tend to be short in a league where everyone expects double digit wins, even Vanderbilt these days. However, with such a deep roster across 16 teams, great coaches with solid rosters can find themselves losers and in line for a pink slip rather quick.

It's going to take a rather large sack of gold, both in salary and in NIL, to get Fleck to even consider packing his bags for a non-necessary fresh start in Fayetteville. There will also need to be a rather voluptuous landing pillow stuffed tight with cash in the event things don't pan out.

Yes, the Lindsey family can, and possibly would, contribute heavily to bring Drake and his beloved coach to Arkansas as what would most likely be the best fit since Jim Lindsey brought Nutt home from Boise State, but they will have to convince a lot of other boosters to jump on board.

That would likely require getting Central Arkansas financial mogul Warren Stephens in the fold, which might be a little easier trek than it would be for some high rollers in the state simply because of the participation in keeping games in Little Rock well beyond it making sense to play at a crumbling blacklisted stadium.

Of the potential candidates, Fleck may be the easiest sell. He might be even easier than former Penn State coach James Franklin because of the personality fit and the fact he comes with a proven in-state quarterback who already knows the offense inside and out.

However, Fleck's success has earned him $6 million per year with a $1 million signing bonus for making it through the season, which he has done with ease. That bonus increases each year through 2030, keeping him above the amount fans complained about paying Pittman after five seasons that featured four bowl qualifications with no postseason losses.

That means the starting point for the Hogs likely sits around $9 million per year at the absolute basement with plenty of incentives, increased coaches' pool for assistants and a massive upgrade in NIL money needing to be tacked onto the backside. That's where things get tricky because everyone associated with Arkansas has been unwilling to give to NIL.

Even the regular fans who have a vested interest in combining $5 per month each to drag this program out of the mud just mutter something about hot dogs and refuse to help. All involved claim they won't give until the program wins, although it has been proven over and over that it's impossible to win in the SEC until people give to NIL first.

Ole Miss fans understood, which is why they are living the dream Arkansas should have had. Now, if the Hogs are to get their best chance in a generation at not being a basketball / baseball / literally every other sport but football school, it will be up to the Lindsey family to convince a highly unsupportive fan base from a financial perspective to actually get in the game.

If the finances come together, there's a chance Hunter Yurachek, or whomever happens to be making the official decision come late November, can pry Fleck from his comfortable Gopher hole along the lakes of the far North.

However, if the Lindseys decide they're no longer interested and are fine with continuing to fly to literally every game, or it proves impossible to crack the money vault across the state and with boosters and fans in surrounding states, then Arkansas will be back to hoping guys with only one or two years of proven winning experience per stop at Group of Five schools truly are the solution to winning big in the SEC.

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