Like it is: Home at the heart of moves by UA's Thompson

WALLY HALL
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

As far as John Thompson is concerned, it is a moot point.
His leaving LSU less than 30 days after accepting a job there is water under the bridge.
Ancient history.
Sort of like his candidacy for the head coaching job at Memphis.
Sources say Thompson returned a call on Monday to a strong supporter of Memphis University and said he didn't think, at this time, he was willing to talk about another move.
Thompson came home, to Arkansas (he's a native of Forrest City), on Jan. 7 of this year, just a few weeks after leaving Memphis for LSU.
On the rare occasion when Thompson speaks of those days at LSU or head Coach Nick Saban, his breath couldn't be fresher if he had just killed a pint of Listerine.
While stories have flowed freely that Saban is as difficult to work for as it is to have an honest election in Florida, no one ever substantiates that.
Granted, his staff stayed at Michigan State, but the spin on that was Saban hoped one of them would be hired as the head coach, which happened.
Which meant he was willing to hire a completely new staff at LSU.
There also has been no confirmation that after Thompson was hired at Arkansas, Saban -- sometimes jokingly called Nick Satan (must be the similarity in spelling) by sportswriters (no, not yours truly) -- called Houston Nutt and gave him a blue-streak earful.
It is still just a rumor that longtime sports information director Herb Vincent, one of the best in the business, left LSU because he didn't want to deal with Saban.
All Vincent will say is he got a better job. He is director of marketing for College Sports Southeast. Vincent, a graduate of Catholic High, got his degree at LSU and had been the SID for 13 years before his surprise decision to leave.
What has been proven is Saban is a good coach.
There's no more talk about LoSer U.
This season, the Tigers are winning the games they should, as well as a couple that weren't expected.
That wasn't always true during the Gerry DiNardo days.
Or, for that matter, Curley Hallman or Mike Archer.
The last time LSU was ranked in the top 10 was when the Tigers finished No. 5 in 1987.
The 1990s saw the once respected program fall to 54-58 overall.
Probably nothing better illustrated the lack of organization last season than the game with Arkansas.
DiNardo was gone, and interim coach Hal Hunter brought redshirt freshman Rohan Davey out of the doghouse and into prime time.
Off the bench, Davey completed 10 of 12 passes for 224 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 35-10 LSU victory. He was named SEC offensive player of the week.
Davey played this season, including the overtime victory over Mississippi State, until he was injured.
Saban, who was hired at Michigan State while it was on NCAA probation but never had a losing season, has led the Tigers to a 7-3 record and a No. 24 ranking.
Nothing is official, of course, but it appears the Tigers are the front-runners to play in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1.
The Tigers haven't had a New Year's Eve ball at a bowl since 1987.
It may be just a coincidence that Saban graduated from Kent State, just as Lou Holtz did, but Holtz does seem to be the one coach Saban is most compared with.
No doubt that is because of their intensity and desire to win, and not the fact they seem to have gone through more assistants than any two coaches in the history of college football.
One thing is certain, whatever is right or wrong with Holtz or Saban, it won't be coming out of the mouth of Thompson.
When he left LSU, he said he needed to get closer to home. Closer to his parents.
Thompson's dad, whom he talked to daily, passed away a few weeks ago.
The months in Arkansas gave John Thompson more memories to cherish.
If Nick Saban can't understand that, it would be very sad, for him.

This article was published on Wednesday, November 22, 2000

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