Bobby Petrino reacts to players upset with Arkansas firing Travis Williams

Arkansas decided to part ways with head coach Sam Pittman just five games into his sixth season with the program following a disastrous 56-13 loss to No. 22 Notre Dame last Saturday. The Razorbacks opened the season 2-0, but had dropped three consecutive games to fall to 2-3.

Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino has taken over as interim head coach and is now in the midst of his second tenure in charge of the Razorbacks, as he previously served as the head coach in Fayetteville from 2008-2011.

Arkansas‘ defense was a major factor in its three-game skid, as it is allowing 425 yards (worst in SEC) and 30 points per game (worst SEC) through five weeks. These numbers led to Petrino effectively letting go of defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams and co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson upon his promotion.

During a joint press conference with Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek on Monday, Petrino addressed players that were possibly upset with the firing of Williams. Williams, who was a two-time All-SEC linebacker at Auburn from 2001-2005, had been Arkansas‘ DC since 2023.

Petrino wants team to come together as one unit

“We’ve all got to learn that there’s change and things that happen,” Petrino said. “I think in football you have to always talk about courage and being courageous. That’s part of what we have to do now as a team is understand that we all have to take the arrow in the forehead.

“We didn’t win Saturday and we didn’t perform like we needed to offensively and defensively. We didn’t come up with any big plays on special teams. It’s all of us and we just gotta get together and become one. That’s one of the issues we’ve had with the separation of offense and defense. We need to be able to come together as one unit.”

Assistant defensive line coach Chris Wilson was promoted to interim defensive coordinator for the remainder of the season. Wilson has bounced all around college football over his long career and will help steer the struggling Razorback defense in the right direction. Prior to Pittman’s firing, Arkansas allowed a total of 129 points (43 PPG) over its last three games.

Following its bye week, things could get even worse for the Hogs as they travel to Knoxville for a clash against No. 15 Tennessee. The ‘Vols have surpassed the 40-point mark in all five of their games this season.