The Arkansas Razorbacks have fired head football coach Sam Pittman, and offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino will serve as interim coach, the school announced Sunday.
In less than six seasons, Pittman was 32-34 overall and 14-29 in SEC play after replacing Chad Morris in December 2019. Arkansas lost its third straight game Saturday in a 56-13 defeat to No. 22 Notre Dame. The Razorbacks also lost 41-35 to Ole Miss and 32-31 to Memphis in recent weeks.
Arkansas has a bye week this coming weekend before closing the season with seven-straight conference matchups.
Pittman’s firing is the earliest Arkansas has let go of a head coach in a season since 1992. That year, the Hogs parted ways with Jack Crowe following the infamous season-opening loss to The Citadel.
Petrino, who coached Arkansas from 2008-11 before being fired with cause, is in his second season back on the coaching staff.
“I want to thank Coach Pittman for his service and dedication to the University of Arkansas throughout his time as head coach,” Yurachek said. “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. 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.”
Under the terms of Pittman’s latest 2022 contract, the Razorbacks will owe him 75% of his remaining compensation, which totals nearly $10 million. Pittman, who was 29-27 since the start of the 2021 season, was three losses away from a 50% buyout clause being triggered. That would have lessened Arkansas’ required payment by about $3 million.
Pittman is required to mitigate by seeking employment elsewhere, according to the contract. Any of Pittman’s future income will be offset by what Arkansas owes him in the form of its release payments.
The Razorbacks were 7-19 in one-score games under Pittman’s leadership, including a 5-15 mark against SEC foes. Arkansas finished with a non-negative conference record just once under Pittman — the 9-4 (4-4 SEC) 2021 season.
Pittman was previously the offensive line coach at Georgia from 2016-19 before behind hired at Arkansas. He coached the same position group for the Razorbacks from 2013-15 under Bret Bielema.
