Houston Nutt Biography

Houston Nutt was born October 14, 1957 in Little Rock, AR. It seems that Houston was born into sports, and coaching was in his blood. Houston’s father was Head Coach and Athletic Director for the Arkansas School for the Deaf. He was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Additionally, Houston’s brothers, Dicky and Danny are coaches for Arkansas State University, while yet another brother, Dennis, spent time in the NBA.


Houston Nutt as Arkansas Razorback head coach. Thanks to robertwilliams51 at flickr.com for the picture .

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Houston began college at the University of Arkansas where he started four games his freshman year. After coach Frank Boyles retired, and named Lou Holtz his successor, Houston spent most of his time on the bench. Holtz’s option offense made little use of Houston’s style. In 1979 Houston transferred to Oklahoma State University where he played football as well as basketball, and graduated with a degree in P.E.

After graduation, Nutt spent the next ten years in various assistant coaching positions between Oklahoma State, Arkansas State University, and the University of Arkansas. He coached under pro-coach-to-be Jimmy Johnson at Oklahoma State, and worked with legendary running backs such as Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas.

Houston began his first head coaching job in 1993 at Murray State University. His first two seasons were unremarkable, ending with 4-7 and 5-6 records. However, the next two seasons turned things around for the team with records of 11-1 and 11-2.

In 1996, Houston was awarded the National I-AA Coach of the Year and Conference Coach of the Year. In 1997 he won Conference Coach of the Year again. In 1997 the team won their first playoff game ever.

Houston served as Boise State’s Head Coach in the fall of 1997. He improved upon their previous record of 2-10 and succeeded in defeating the school’s rival, Idaho. The season ended with a 5-6 record which was a step up for the team that was ranked number 112 out of 112.

In December 1997, Houston Nutt began his tenure at the University of Arkansas as the Head Coach of the Razorbacks. Over the past nine seasons, Nutt’s teams have established an overall record of 67-44, just above a 60% winning percentage.

While this is not the best in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Houston has something else to be proud of. On 83 occasions, Nutt’s players have been named on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. In a country where sports are often more important than an education, Houston Nutt can be proud of his reputation as a coach that values the importance of academics as well as sports.

But, Coach Nutt does have Arkansas on an upswing. In fact, some thought the Razorbacks were playing better than anyone else in the country for a time during the 2006 season.

2007 will be a pivotal year as controversy has dominated the offseason -- particularly after Arkansas Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn left apparently over a dispute with Nutt about the offense. Fortunately, potential Heisman Trophy Running Back Darren McFadden returns. It will be interesting to watch what happens in Fayetteville in 2007.

Update: Houston Nutt left Arkansas and became the Ole Miss head football coach after the 2007 season.

For more information about Houston Nutt and Arkansas Football, see 2007 Arkansas Football and Arkansas Razorbacks Football History

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Houston Nutt Biography
Houston Nutt Biography
Houston Nutt Biography

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