Arkansas Football Coach Sacked

November 24, 2012 11:09 AM

Head Coach Les Miles of the LSU Tigers and John L. Smith of the Arkansas Razorbacks shake hands after the game at Razorback Stadium on November 23, 2012 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Tigers defeated the Razorbacks 20-13. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

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Arkansas Razorbacks, John L. Smith, SEC

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - 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.

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.