Early Life and Family
Houston Dale Nutt was born on 14 October 1957 at Little Rock, Arkansas. He is the son of Houston Dale Nutt, Sr. and Emogene Nutt and is the oldest of four children. His parents taught at the Arkansas School for the Deaf at Little Rock, Arkansas for 35 years. His father also served as athletic director and head basketball coach for the school. His father was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
As of 2003 Nutt's brother Dickey Nutt is the head basketball coach at Arkansas State University and his brother Danny Nutt is the running backs coach at Arkansas. Nutt's other brother Dennis Nutt is the head basketball coach at Southwest Texas State University.
College Athletic Career
Nutt was the last player recruited by legendary Arkansas head coach Frank Broyles before his retirement in 1976. Nutt was recruited as a drop-back style quarterback and started four games as a true freshman after starting quarterback Ron Calcagni was sidelined with an injury. Nutt also played that year for the Southwest Conference champion Arkansas basketball team under coach Eddie Sutton which went 26-2 and bulled its way to a 16-0 conference mark.
With the retirement of Frank Broyles, Arkansas hired Lou Holtz as the head football coach. Holtz established an option offense which did not make use of Nutt's passing style and relegated him to the bench as a backup.
Disappointed by his lack of playing time, Nutt transferred to Oklahoma State University and played two years as the Cowboy's starting quarterback. During his time at Oklahoma State he also played for the basketball team. Nutt graduated from Oklahoma State in 1981 with a degree in physical education.
Assistant Coaching Career
After graduation Nutt became a graduate assistant for Oklahoma State under head coach Jimmy Johnson. In 1983 Nutt returned to Arkansas and became an assistant coach under his former coach Lou Holtz. In the spring of 1984 Nutt was hired by Arkansas State University as a full-time assistant coach but chose to return to Oklahoma State that summer as a receiver's coach before ever reporting for the Arkansas State job.
Nutt spent six seasons as an assistant coach for receivers and quarterbacks at Oklahoma State and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 1989. During his years at Oklahoma State he coached legendary running backs Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas.
In 1990 Nutt returned to the University of Arkansas as an assistant under head coach Jack Crowe and established a reputation as an excellent recruiter. Nutt remained with the Razorbacks for three seasons and established relationships with Arkansas high school football coaches that would serve him in good stead in later years.
Career at Murray State
In 1993 Nutt received his first head coaching position at NCAA Division I-AA Murray State University. He struggled during his first two seasons on the field with 4-7 and 5-6 records respectively but had success rebuilding the team personnel.
In 1995 his efforts paid off with an 11-1 record and an Ohio Valley Conference championship after reeling off an 8-0 conference mark. Nutt received Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors and was recognized with the Eddie Robinson National Division I-AA Coach of the Year Award.
Nutt repeated his success for the 1996 season by establishing an 11-2 record and completing another undefeated run through his Ohio Valley Conference schedule. Murray State won its first round Division I-AA playoff appearance, earning Nutt the OVC Coach of the Year honors and regional Coach of the Year honors.
Career at Boise State
Nutt made the step up to NCAA Division I-A the next year when Boise State University hired him to take over their program, which was the lowest ranked of 112 Division-IA schools and had posted a poor 2-10 record the year before. Boise State had just made the jump to Division I-A football and was looking for a recruiter and motivator to jump start their program.
Nutt's team earned a respectable 5-6 record in 1997 playing at the Division-IA level with its Division I-AA players. Nutt's team beat rival Idaho and almost pulled off an upset against Big Ten Conference program Wisconsin.
Career as Arkansas Head Coach
Nutt became the head coach of the Razorbacks on 10 December 1997, succeeding head coach Danny Ford. The Razorback team had suffered through a long low period under a succession for head coaches in the previous years, having only received two bowl bids in the eight seasons prior to Nutt's arrival.
Nutt's predecessor, Danny Ford, had limited success on the field during his tenure, struggling through back-to-back 4-7 seasons in his last two years, however Ford did succeed in recruiting a solid squad which Nutt inherited for his first season.
Nutt's inherited Razorbacks were picked to finish last in the Southeastern Conference Western Division in 1998 but ended up with a 9-3 record and a share of the division title. The Razorbacks almost defeated the soon-to-be National Champion University of Tennessee on its home field during the season. For their efforts the Razorbacks received their first-ever invitation to the Citrus Bowl and ended the season ranked 16th after losing to the University of Michigan. Nutt was selected as the Football News' National Coach of the Year.
In 1999 Nutt's Razorbacks were picked to win the SEC Western Division but suffered a series of setbacks during the season but recovered to defeat nationally ranked Tennessee and Mississippi State University to earn a Cotton Bowl bid versus arch-rival Texas. The Razorbacks defeated Texas 26-7, becoming the first team to ever hold Texas to negative rushing yards in a game. The Cotton Bowl victory propelled them into the Top 20 rankings to end the season.
For the 2000 season the Razorbacks lost the core of his Danny Ford built team and suffered a string of injuries to his remaining starters including season-ending injuries to all of the starting running backs. The Razorbacks struggled through the season as a question mark until the final two games when he defeated ranked Mississippi State and LSU teams to pull out another winning record and another bowl appearance.
In the 2001 season the Razorbacks started off poorly with three straight losses in SEC play. They then came back to win six of the last seven including highly ranked South Carolina and Auburn teams. Based on this performance the Razorbacks were selected to return to the Cotton Bowl to face the defending National Champion Oklahoma Sooners. The Razorbacks played poorly and lost to Oklahoma in a low-scoring affair.
In 2002 Nutt's Razorbacks stumbled midway through the season and were forced to pull together five straight wins, including a last second miracle play against LSU, to pull out a share of a Western Division Title that was up for grabs due to the ineligibility of the division leading University of Alabama. Arkansas made a poor showing against the University of Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and ended the season with a disappointing loss to the University of Minnesota in the Music City Bowl.
In 2003 Nutt's team stampeded to a 4-0 record including an overpowering performance against #5 Texas on their home field. The early season success raised fans expectations sky-high and put Nutt under intense pressure when the Razorbacks lost their next three games putting them out of contention for the National Championship or even the SEC Western Division crown. The Razorbacks won 4 of their last 5 games and defeated Missouri in the Independence Bowl but this result was still disappointing for many fans who had higher expectations for the senior-laden team.
Currently the Razorbacks have the best overall record in the SEC Western Division and the best home record in the SEC during Nutt's tenure. They are only one of three SEC schools to play in three New Years Day bowls in the last five years and the only SEC Western Division team to go to five consecutive bowl games.
Nutt's teams have also been noted for a series of overtime games including the two longest overtime games in NCAA history. His teams have also made several record-setting comebacks which are unusual for teams that rely primarily on the running game.
Nutt has been criticized for uninspired play calling and his unwillingness to hire an offensive coordinator. Many critics point to a poor record versus teams with winning records and claim that Nutt's win-loss record is inflated. They also point to Nutt's poor bowl record and the fact that several of his critical wins have been of the "hail Mary" variety.
Off the field, Nutt's players have been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll 83 times and he has established a reputation as a responsible coach academically. Nutt has been criticized for a lack of discipline on his teams and a number of his student-athletes have had off-campus arrests for DUI and other offenses.
Bowl Games
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