The reviews are in and there seems to be widespread optimism about Arkansas hiring Sam Pittman as head coach.
All the feel-goods might disappear when the realization hits about the mountain the Razorbacks have to climb to return to SEC relevance as there are numerous challenges ahead.
Let’s start with Pittman, though, who has a storied career as an assistant coach at Georgia most recently, where he recruited and developed one of the best offensive lines in the country. Previous to that there were stops at Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and many other locales over the years.
At 58 years old, Pittman is getting his first collegiate head coaching job - and with that there are some risks that Arkansas believes can be answered by Pittman and his coaching staff.
The Razorbacks needed to take a shot to get out of the cellar and Pittman has a long and impressive resume of developing players and recruiting as good or better than most assistant coaches nationally.
The challenge ahead is daunting. Arkansas fired Chad Morris before he finished two seasons and the Razorbacks have had back-to-back 2-10 seasons. The program hasn’t won 10 games since the 2011 season.
After an outstanding 2019 recruiting class that saw Morris and his staff cobble together a top-20 class with 13 four-stars, the Razorbacks now have six total commits just weeks before the early signing period. Arkansas’ class ranks No. 94 nationally sandwiched between UAB and Wyoming. Arkansas State is seven spots ahead of the Razorbacks.
FARRELL'S TAKE
Pittman has a long and impressive track record as an assistant and he can recruit, there’s no question about his ability in that arena. We ask Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell what he thinks of the Pittman hire, whether he can recruit to Fayetteville and what determines success for a team looking for a spark in a division - the SEC West - that’s getting much better?
“This is a tough situation that Pittman is stepping into coming off these poor seasons under Morris, but the good news is that recruiting has gone well recently. And Pittman can recruit.
"It’s a strong leap from offensive line coach to head coach in the SEC West, but Pittman will get players there. He’s one of the best recruiters I’ve covered over the last decade and that will translate in living rooms. But can he be a head coach and beat teams like Alabama, LSU and Auburn? I’m not going to sugar coat this — he has a long road ahead of him. But he will provide a spark.”
