Sam Pittman fired at Arkansas; Bobby Petrino takes over on interim foundation

Arkansas fired football coach Sam Pittman on Sunday, a day after the Razorbacks were trounced by Notre Dame 56-13 and moved to 2-3 on the season.

Bobby Petrino, who served as offensive coordinator under Pittman, was named interim head coach. He previously held the head coaching role from 2008-11.

Pittman was hired as Arkansas’ coach in December 2019. He had a 32-34 overall record and led the team to three bowl game victories.

“I want to thank Coach Pittman for his service and dedication to the University of Arkansas throughout his time as head coach,” athletic director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement Sunday.

“From Day 1, you could tell how much this opportunity meant to him. At this time, however, I feel a change is necessary to put our student-athletes and program in the best position to be successful. The goal for our football program is to be highly competitive within the Southeastern Conference and compete for a national championship. As we move forward in the process of finding our next head coach, I am certain we will be able to provide the necessary resources to our staff and team to reach our goals.”

Yurachek said a national search for a head coach will begin immediately, adding Petrino will be considered for the full-time job.

Pittman, 63, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Pittsburg State, his alma mater, in 1984 and held a variety of assistant coaching jobs on the offensive side until getting his first shot as a head coach at Arkansas.

Immediately before accepting the Arkansas job, he was on the staff of Kirby Smart at Georgia. He also worked as assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Arkansas from 2013-15.

Petrino has a 119-56 record as head coach at Louisville (2003-06, 2014-18), Arkansas (2008-11) and Western Kentucky (2013). He also coached Missouri State to an 18-15 record from 2020-23 before it became an FBS program and spent 13 games as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 2007. With a 3-10 record, he abruptly resigned to take the Arkansas job.

The first go-round at Arkansas for Petrino, now 64, ended when he was fired after it was discovered he was having an affair with a young staff member in the athletic department.

–Field Level Media