Houston Nutt is a nut

Though the Wildcat became Malzahn's biggest legacy from his lone season in Fayetteville (which included a 10-game winning streak and a SEC West title), at the time he unwittingly found himself at the center of controversy. Many believed Nutt only hired Malzahn to help land four blue-chip recruits from his Springdale team (including Mustain and Williams). According to various accounts, Nutt junked Malzahn's preferred offense after the first game, a 50-14 loss to USC, and in December, a group of disgruntled parents for the "Springdale Four" secretly met with athletic director Frank Broyles to voice their displeasure.

After the season, Nutt hired Dallas Cowboys assistant Lee to serve as "co-offensive coordinator," at which point Malzahn left for Tulsa and Mustain (who lost his starting job after nine games) and Williams transferred. Malzahn, however, has never spoken publicly about the details of the Arkansas soap opera and remains grateful to Nutt for allowing him entree to the college level.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/10/01/malzahn/index.html?eref=sihp

I lived in Arkansas at the time and kept up with the Razorbacks, and while no one really knows the exact truth of what went down, it sure seemed like Houston Nutt could not lower his ego enough to let Malzahn do his thing.