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Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer
DALLAS — Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said Thursday he knew his hiring of offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino would be controversial, but remains convinced that bringing back Petrino was what was best for the program.
The Hogs are coming off a 4-8 record a year ago, and Pittman is well aware of the hot-seat talk and the narrative that Petrino might be a popular choice to replace him if things don’t go well this season.
“I want to win. I don’t care about all the rest of it,” Pittman told ESPN during an interview at SEC media days. “This has never ever, ever been about me. I’m grateful to be the head coach at Arkansas, and I’m trying to make the people of the state of Arkansas, the team and the staff proud to be a part of the program.”
Pittman, who has a home in Hot Springs, Arkansas and plans to retire there, paused and said with a firm smile, “Now, if they send me down to Hot Springs, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.”
To be clear, he’s not planning on going anywhere, and while he said the media may not like this team in its predictions, he likes this team and said that bringing Petrino aboard was something he carefully considered before making the decision.
“He’s got instant credibility,” Pittman said. “I mean, I’m not for sure there’s a whole lot of coaches that would’ve hired him.”
Petrino, widely considered one of the top offensive minds in football, was Arkansas’ head coach from 2008-11 and led the Hogs to 21 wins and top-15 finishes his last two season. He remains extremely popular among many of the fans. But prior to the 2012 season, he was fired in the wake of a scandal after misleading his bosses about an affair he was having with a female staffer that he had hired. It all came to light after Petrino was involved in a motorcycle accident with the woman riding on the back.
Pittman said he had several names on his list after firing Dan Enos as his offensive coordinator during last season. He talked to Seth Littrell before the Oklahoma job came open among others. He said Petrino’s agent initially called to inform Pittman that Petrino would be interested. After their first interview, Pittman knew he would have to get clearance from the Arkansas administration.
“I sat on it for two or three days for many reasons, right?” Pittman said. “You’ve got a lot going on in your head.”
After his second talk with Petrino, Pittman went before his administration to see if they could continue moving forward with a contract. Pittman admittedly wasn’t sure what kind of answer he would get when he first mentioned Petrino as a candidate.
“I asked questions,” Pittman said. “Did I think I would get a no? Maybe. But I didn’t.”
And once he didn’t, he sat down with Petrino for a third time, and the conversation was more about X’s and O’s.
“You got his passion, that he wanted to come back,” Pittman said. “We were very similar about how I thought we could win, and he thought we could. There was also the NIL, the alumni, a lot of things go into that. We needed help at Arkansas financially, and there were things where Bobby knew some people that could help us as well. So there was a lot of different things, and he could help me because he was a head coach at these different teams.”
Arkansas All-SEC defensive end Landon Jackson grew up an Arkansas fan in Texarkana, Texas and remembers those powerhouse Arkansas teams under Petrino. He said he was “initially shocked” when he heard that Petrino might be returning.
“I was like, ‘Ain’t no way,’ “Jackson recounted. “But once they hired him, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, great hire and good for our team.’ Around the community, I know it was a shock to hear that he was coming back. But everybody is ready for the Hogs to win some games, and we know Bobby can help us do it.”
Arkansas brought in Boise State transfer quarterback Taylen Green, a 6-6, 223-pound Lewisville, Texas native who watched tape with Petrino of Lamar Jackson and the late Ryan Mallett, both of whom Petrino coached.
“I had questions about what I struggled with last season and the season before and what his plan was to help me, and what really impressed me is he already knew how to do it,” Green said. “He’s never surprised over a defense. He’s never surprised over a situation because he’s been through everything.”
So has Pittman, who’s entering his fifth season at Arkansas. When he took over in 2020 during the height of COVID, Arkansas had lost 19 straight SEC games. But by his second season, he guided the Hogs to a 9-4 record and was a finalist for national coach of the year honors.
But the Hogs lost six straight games at one one point last season (five of those by seven or fewer points) and finished 1-7 in the SEC. They ranked 116th nationally in yards per play (4.93) and were 128th in sacks allowed (47).
And that’s where Petrino comes in and why Pittman shrugs at what anybody on the outside says about the hire or what his future is at Arkansas. Athletic director Hunter Yuracheck released a statement last November that Pittman would return for another season. That’s after Arkansas extended Pittman’s contract and gave him a raise prior to the 2022 season.
“What happens happens,” Pittman said. “I’m going to go that way or this way doing it the way I want to do it. That’ll never change.”