ARKANSAS’S SAM PITTMAN: A BETTER WAY TO PICK A COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACH?

 

College football’s postseason starts this month,

while we’re in the midst of another aspect of the sport worth watching. The coaching carousel has been spinning furiously.  As coaches get fired and hired, the amazing story of Arkansas’s Sam Pittman bears telling.

We’re all native Arkansans, though two of us (Henry and Rob) live elsewhere now. We retainan interest in what’s happening there, meaning we haven’t ignored the success of this year’s Arkansas Razorback football team.

Arkansas reached number eight in the polls before suffering a 37-0 loss to top-ranked Georgia and close defeats by Ole Miss and Auburn. The Razorbacks bounced back with narrow wins over Mississippi State and LSU and a convincing defeat of Missouri. They endured a hard-fought, down-to-the-wire loss to perennial power Alabama.

Arkansas finished tied for third in the rugged SEC-West, when the Razorbacks had been picked last in many pre-season polls. Most prognosticators forecast a five- win year. Arkansas finished the regular season 8-4 and will play Penn State in the Outback Bowl on January 1st. This all happened two seasons removed from a 20-game Southeastern Conference losing streak and embarrassing losses to teams like North Texas and Western Kentucky. How did the change happen? Start with the head coach, Sam Pittman.

 

An Unconventional Hire

When Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek fired Chad Morris before the 2019 season ended, Yurachek sought out the usual suspects -- head coaches and coordinators who’d enjoyed success at schools at or just below Arkansas in college football’s pecking order. He got a less-than-enthusiastic reception. Some pointed out weaknesses in Arkansas’s roster and recruiting obstacles for a major school in such a lightly populated state. Others noted the difficulty of winning in the SEC West, viewed by some analysts as the toughest division in the sport.  Many candidates worried about how much money they’d make.

Yurachek remained patient, perhaps because he had

an intriguing prospect in his pocket.  Though  he’d never been a coordinator, the typical training ground for head coaches, Sam Pittman commanded a following. He served four years as Arkansas’s offensive line coach under Bret Bielema. Players Pittman coached lobbied Yurachek about making him the head coach.

Pittman left Arkansas for Kirby Smart’s Georgiastaff where he helped the Bulldogs win three straight SEC East titles. He developed a long list of offensive linemen taken in early rounds of the NFL draft. Most of all, he became known as a tenacious recruiter.

Pittman wasn’t obsessed with how much money he’d make. He accepted the Arkansas job not knowing the figure. He’s a bargain at $3.5 million a year, compared, for example, with Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher at $9 million. His Aggies also finished 8-4 this season.  Yurachek said, “Sam just wanted to be the head football coach at the University of Arkansas.” The 60-year-old Pittman says he’ll stay at Arkansas as long as the school will have him.

In 2020, Pittman’s first Arkansas team went 3-7 against a brutal all-SEC schedule in a pandemic-marred season. The eye test and scoreboard results said he was changing things. His team was competitive in every game except against national champion Alabama and in the second half of an opening day loss to Georgia. In 2021, the Razorbacks roared to a 4-0 start that included victories over a then-ranked Texas team and SEC West rival A&M, followed by the mid-year slump and late season comeback.

 

Pittman’s Way

We see lessons for leaders of all kinds in Pittman’s work at Arkansas. Consistent with his team approach, he embraced other successful Arkansas programs by inviting men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman and baseball coach Dave Van Horn to share with him the pre-game football experience. When the Arkansas women’s basketball team upset their sport’s goliath, Connecticut, last winter, Pittman told his players they should aspire to be like the Razorback women.  

He has constructed a physical, tough-minded team

that wins with a punishing ground game, an efficient passing attack, and solid defense. For much of this year Arkansas has been in the top five in the nation in rushing. It’s among the SEC leaders in many defensive categories. Quarterback K.J.Jefferson reflects his coach’s high character, competence, and commitment. Thanks to Pittman’s relentless emphasis, Arkansas has steadily moved up the recruiting rankings. The 2022 class might land in the Top 20.  

Pittman convinced Yurachek to give him money

that let him hire experienced assistants, including defensive coordinator Barry Odom, formerly head coach at Missouri. When he’s talked about this year’s victories, Pittman has deflected credit onto his assistants and players. When the team fell short, he’s taken the blame andpointed out things he must do better.  He has been transparent, making clear he won’t lie to the media, even if “sometimes I just don’t say anything about certain things.”

Whether other schools can emulate the Arkansas/Pittman experience isn’t clear. Maybe he’s an outlier who found the right place at the right time.

Even if he is, the Arkansas/Pittman experience offers a model for coaching searches. Find a coach who wants the job and cares more about doing it right than about the money it pays or how it sets him up for his next move. Find a coach who shares credit for success and accepts blame for failure. Find a coach who recognizes the importance of having good people around him and who’s transparent.  It’s a formula that makes recruiting easier. What parent wouldn’t want their child playing for someone following that philosophy?