Crowe first came to Arkansas in 1989 as offensive coordinator under Ken Hatfield. Hatfield left for Clemson University a month after the season ended--far too late to find a big-name coach. More or less out of desperation, athletic director Frank Broyles persuaded Crowe to drop his plans to follow Hatfield to Clemson and take over as head coach of the Razorbacks. The decision came as something of a surprise, since Crowe had only won five games in two seasons at Livingston. By the start of the season, the Razorbacks had seen Barry Foster give up his senior season to enter the 1990 NFL Draft and had lost numerous other players to disciplinary and academic problems. Under the circumstances, the Razorbacks struggled to a 3-8 record. They barely qualified for a bowl in 1991.