Bielema said he had talked about hiring Smith, who he worked with while an assistant coach at Iowa, several times over the years after taking over at Wisconsin. That included when he eventually hired Ash while with the Badgers,Ed Reed Jersey, and last year 鈥?when he was uncertain whether Ash would join him at Arkansas.
Smith eventually chose to follow former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano to Tampa Bay, where he coached the linebackers last season. However, once Ash left for the Buckeyes last month 鈥?following Schiano's firing by the Buccaneers after the season 鈥?Bielema quickly reached out to Smith again. |
