With Coach Houston Nutt announcing his resignation last night as the Head Coach of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, the university of this state has a major decision to make in the next few days. Coach Nutt gave 10 years of his life to the state of Arkansas, and we should all be very grateful. His passion and love for our state is obvious. As memories of his success here are recounted, his final game will be one of the all-time great Razorback games in the triple overtime defeat to the #1 team in the nation, the LSU Tigers. I was away on Monday at a retreat for pastors, but am returning today. I have not seen anything on this, but I do have a few thoughts I want to pen for you today.

Many may say, “Well, it is just football, I mean, how important is it really?” Yes, I am a football lover, a Razorback fan, and I realize my perspective may be a little skewed. Yet, I believe I live in a real world and understand how important the position, “Head Coach of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks” really is. How important is it? I mean, as so much conversation turns futuristic and speculation abounds as to who that next coach will be, let me remind us all of some of the things a Head Coach is. He is . . .

• A representative of our entire state; in fact, he may be the most influential person in the entire state. He is seen on the media regionally, statewide, and nationally more than any politician or corporate leader in our state.

• An investor in the lives of young men and families and many of them, due to their skills, will become major influencers in America and the world. Coaches do not coach just for wins and losses – football is a vehicle to influence the lives of others. They expend their lives by investing in the lives of these young men, and some of these young players have little or no support from their families.

• A model citizen and person held up before these young men and our entire state. Your influence will not outweigh the respect you have for others. When a coach in a major university is respected and looked at as being a model for others to follow, his influence is huge on the lives of millions.

• A leader, a person who can cast the vision and take people with him to a better future for their lives, and in this case, for a program and a university. Like it or not, the Head Coach of a university is a leader. Leadership is so very important in all areas of life, and yes my friends, a coach must be a dynamic leader.

• A coach to these young men as they walk through life. The reason I love the game of football is that it is a great teacher of life. It can be used to teach people about various principles that are real in life. I also understand the real world of collegiate athletics: a coach has to be able to coach the game of football, hopefully achieving the goals set forth for him from the school he works for and yes, many times it really does come down to “wins and losses.” In this high expectation world and big business athletics, wins and losses do matter.

As the powers to be determine who the next Head Coach of the Razorbacks will be, those of us who believe in prayer need to pray for God’s will to be done in this matter. This is not a light decision at all, but one that is very important to our state. As you review these five thoughts I have penned; remember, this decision is very important. For those of us who profess faith in Christ, we should pray – even about these kind of decisions. The only influence we may have is a “prayer influence.”

I believe in prayer.