Pat Dye entertains in Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Pat Dye had a lot on his mind when he began his speech at an Arkansas luncheon.

“We are in a mess,” the former Auburn coach said Monday. “We’re fixing to pay 700 billion dollars to bail out Wall Street. We don’t know who to vote for president. Auburn and Arkansas — ain’t either one of them worth a damn. Y’all have had floods all down here, in Louisiana and Texas, and hurricanes, and floods up there in the midwest. We’re in the middle of a three-year drought where I live.

“And it’s still great to be an American.”

That set the tone for Dye’s visit. He spoke for over a half-hour, drawing more than a few laughs with his blunt, folksy style. Arkansas plays at No. 20 Auburn this weekend. The Razorbacks are trying to snap a three-game losing streak, and the Tigers are coming off a loss to Vanderbilt.

Dye discussed the state of the Southeastern Conference — and college football in general. He talked about the importance of college sports and the need to keep alumni happy.

“That puts pressure on the (school) president. The president’s got to keep the coach that wins,” Dye said. “We had a president get fired because of a plane ride.”

That was a reference to Auburn president William Walker’s resignation in 2004. Walker, the athletic director and two trustees secretly flew to meet with Bobby Petrino, who was then the coach at Louisville. Neither Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville nor Louisville officials were informed of the trip, and a firestorm of criticism erupted when it became public.

Tuberville is still Auburn’s coach, and Petrino is at Arkansas now.

Dye, however, didn’t show any animosity toward Petrino. In fact, he defended the coach’s decision to leave the Atlanta Falcons last year to come coach the Razorbacks. Dye noted that athletic directors and presidents can move around, so why not coaches?

“I don’t blame Petrino for doing whatever the hell he had to do to look out for himself and his wife and his own best interests. It’s a business,” Dye said. “And they ain’t doing too bad in Atlanta right now anyway.”

The Falcons are off to a 3-2 start.

Dye offered an amusing line about how coaching can be overrated.

“It ain’t about the Xs and Os. It’s about the Jimmys and the Joes,” he said. “Now you can take ’em and screw ’em up — I’ve seen that happen before.”

Dye talked a bit about undefeated Alabama, Auburn’s big rival. He indicated that Crimson Tide quarterback John Parker Wilson is basically a game manager.

“It’s hard for him to make a mistake from the center to the tailback,” Dye said. “He’s what we call a caddy.”

Dye did say that Alabama has a better chance going forward than LSU — because LSU still has to play Georgia and Florida in addition to the
Crimson Tide. Dye predicts the national championship game will include Oklahoma or perhaps Texas against the SEC champion. He also said Penn State has a chance to sneak in by going undefeated.

Dye was asked about Penn State coach Joe Paterno and Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who are still coaching while within a game of each other on the career wins list. Paterno has 378 to Bowden’s 377.

“All football coaches, and I include myself — they all got egos,” Dye said. “It’s all about who’s going to win that one game more than the other one. I guarantee you, coach Paterno, if they’ve got to put him on a damn gurney and take him out there ...”

Dye did turn serious toward the end, when he talked about meeting Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” He was clearly inspired by Lee and said it takes heart, soul and passion for people to accomplish all they can.

“In my opinion, that’s the only way you can ever come close to being the best you can be,” he said. “If you’re just doing it with your brain for a salary, you’ll never be the best you can be — until you can put your whole self into it.”