Air Force football loses offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach

An offseason marked by change continues for Air Force’s football program — just two weeks before the start of fall practice.

Tim Horton, who was hired by new coach Troy Calhoun to be Air Force’s offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, resigned late Tuesday and accepted an offer to coach running backs at Arkansas, his alma mater.

Horton will replace Danny Nutt, who stepped down Tuesday afternoon. Nutt is battling “a serious condition that includes bleeding from his brain stem,” according to a University of Arkansas statement.

Calhoun, who is on vacation and was traveling Wednesday, released a short statement that said, in part: “Air Force football would like to wish Tim and (his wife) Lauren Horton, along with their kids, the very best as they return home to Arkansas.”

Calhoun will fill Horton’s roles by shifting responsibilities among assistants on staff. Offensive line coach Clay Hendrix and quarterbacks coach Blane Morgan also will be co-offensive coordinators. Running backs coach Jemal Singleton also will have the title of running game coordinator.

Those assistants will help with game plans, while Calhoun will call plays during games. Calhoun had planned to handle most of the play-calling responsibilities even if Horton had stayed, said Air Force sports information director Troy Garnhart.

Calhoun is unsure who will fill Horton’s role as wide receivers coach. He will not hire from outside the academy before the season.

Horton was just more than six months into his second stint at Air Force. He coached wide receivers at the academy from 1999 to 2004 and running backs in 2005. He spent the 2006 season at Kansas State before he was lured back by Calhoun and the chance to be a coordinator.

But that was not enough to keep him from returning home. Horton grew up in Arkansas and was a four-year letter-winner and three-year starter at split end for the Razorbacks in the late 1980s. His father, Harold, also played and coached for Arkansas and is the vice president of the Razorback Foundation, which raises money for the Arkansas athletic department.

“I have a lot of respect for that program (Air Force),” said Horton, who played on Southwest Conference championship teams in 1988 and 1989 at Arkansas. “When you leave a position of leadership and to come this late in the game, it was very, very difficult. Troy Calhoun, the head football coach there, was great to me. To be honest, I am here because of family. My mom and dad live here. My sister lives here. My wife, Lauren, is from Conway. I am back because it was time to for me to get back close to family. Leaving at this time is very, very difficult.”

At Arkansas, Horton will coach one of the nation’s top backfields. Standout running back Darren McFadden rushed for 1,647 yards and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting last season as a sophomore. Classmate Felix Jones rushed for 1,168 yards last year.

Horton is the second assistant Calhoun has hired who left the academy before coaching a game. Calhoun hired Brian Schneider as special teams coordinator in early January. In mid-February, Schneider accepted a similar job with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. Calhoun decided not to bring on a new special teams coordinator but to have all his assistants help with special teams.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0365 or jake.schaller@gazette.com