FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas — Sam Pittman saved Arkansas five years ago from the dregs of the SEC.
On Sunday, he lost his job.
Arkansas fired its 63-year-old coach a day after a humiliating 56-13 loss to Notre Dame, ending a tenure that once felt like a dream marriage between a lovable, beer-drinking everyman and a program desperate for stability. Pittman leaves Fayetteville with a 32-34 record and three bowl appearances, but also with a fan base that turned on him in the final weeks.
In Arkansas, where moods rise and fall with the Hogs, life has been too humble for too long. The latest defeat was the fourth straight home loss to a power program by double digits, and it cemented the perception that Pittman had lost himself in a Hog trough only growing darker and deeper. It was also Notre Dame’s biggest win ever over an active SEC opponent and Arkansas’ worst home loss in five years.
The fan response told the story. A small but vocal contingent chanted “Fire Pittman!” after Notre Dame grabbed a 42-13 lead with nine seconds left in the first half. Irish fans quickly drowned it out, but the boos poured down again as Pittman led the Hogs into the locker room. The traditional “Calling of the Hogs” never materialized. Three-quarters of the student section emptied during the third quarter.
Afterward, Pittman admitted he understood the anger.
“If I was a fan I’d be mad at me, too,” he told CBS Sports. “I’d be frustrated as hell with me. Hell, I’m mad at me, to be perfectly honest.”
It was a jarring fall for a coach who once carried the hopes of Hog Nation. Pittman took over a program that had lost 20 straight SEC games during the disastrous Chad Morris era and quickly turned it into one of the most entertaining teams in the league. His second season produced nine wins and a victory over Penn State in the Outback Bowl, Arkansas’ first nine-win campaign since Bobby Petrino’s final year in 2011.
But history has a way of repeating itself in Fayetteville, with Petrino again at the center. Twelve years after he was fired in shame for lying about an affair with a subordinate, Pittman stunned the industry by bringing Petrino back as offensive coordinator to rescue his own tenure. For a while, it worked: Petrino’s no-nonsense demeanor and creative offense gave the Hogs a lift, carrying them to a bowl. But cracks remained, and they widened this fall.
A staggering 39 transfer departures in the offseason made Arkansas the most transient program in the SEC the past two years, according to 247Sports. The reloaded roster never meshed. Costly late-game fumbles doomed potential wins over Ole Miss and Memphis, while Petrino’s high-powered offense managed only 16 points in the last six quarters dating back to the Memphis loss. Against Notre Dame, the defense delivered a lowlight reel of busted assignments, missed tackles and lethargic effort. The Irish rolled up 420 first-half yards.
Pittman’s final game also underscored why the once-dominant Razorbacks’ trenches no longer measure up. The Hogs were bullied up front, just as they were last season in three losses where they were out-rushed and finished 102nd nationally in rushing yards. This year’s team entered with hope after climbing into the top 30 in rushing offense, but Notre Dame shredded Arkansas’ defensive front and left the crowd in stunned silence.
Now the attention turns to what’s next. Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek has tapped Petrino to lead the team on an interim basis, and seems open to the possibility of making it permanent down the road, depending on performance — a once improbable scenario considering how his last tenure with the school ended.
“We will begin a national search for our next head coach immediately and that search will include Coach Petrino, who has expressed his desire to be a candidate for the full-time job,” Yurachek said in a statement released by the team.
We may soon be staring through the looking glass, if that happens.
Still, Pittman deserves credit for his accomplishments. He pulled Arkansas out of the ashes of the Morris era, delivered stability and bowl trips, and briefly restored pride. His genuine personality and everyman image made him one of the most huggable coaches in the sport. But results matter, and they fell short of what boosters, fans and administrators demand in the SEC.
Yurachek acknowledged two weeks ago that Arkansas is “not built to win a national title” under its current NIL framework, a statement that drew criticism throughout the department. Arkansas’ booster base is flush with cash, and building a plan to attack the coaching carousel with a deep well of NIL dollars is possible, but is it attainable with so many questions surrounding the administration’s future as well? Better yet, can the big money men at Tyson Chicken, Walmart and even Jerry Jones, an Arkansas alum, be convinced to flood the bank vault with cash?
Arkansas is a state that loves its sons, but it is rarely able to keep them home. Championship coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer played and coached for the Hogs, and both received interest — or were passed over — for the head gig. In 2006, the Razorbacks chased off Arkansas native Gus Malzahn, who rebuilt himself and won a national title as a coordinator and later led Auburn to an SEC title as head coach. The Hogs showed interest in bringing Malzahn back home the day after Auburn lost in the 2017 SEC Championship Game, and there was interest from both sides, but talks fell apart. SMU coach Rhett Lashlee grew up an Arkansas fan in nearby Springdale, Arkansas, and was a walk-on for the Hogs. He led the Mustangs to the College Football Playoff last season.
The candidate pool at Arkansas will be fascinating in this cycle, and with Petrino in the mix, there could be plenty of drama.
With Saturday’s result, Yurachek made his decision: Pittman wasn’t the answer anymore.
The end seemed near in the immediate wake of the loss Saturday afternoon. When Pittman left his final press conference Saturday, his wife grew emotional and he offered a hug to Jamie. “It’s OK, hun,” he told her in his unmistakable southern tone.
The Hog Calls will return someday. The question now: who will be there to lead them?
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