Arkansas interim coach Bobby Petrino fires defensive staff before facing Tennessee

Tennessee will face much more than just a new Arkansas head coach when the Razorbacks come to Neyland Stadium next week. Interim head coach Bobby Petrino fired his defensive staff on Monday, according to multiple reports, beginning a midseason overhaul of his coaching staff. 

Arkansas fired head coach Sam Pittman on Sunday, promoting Petrino from offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach to interim head coach. 

On3’s Pete Nakos reported on Monday that Petrino has now fired defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams and co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson. 

“Petrino was told up front by the AD when named interim coach to make any changes he needed to make to help the team the rest of the way this year,” On3’s Chris Low added on Monday. “Even had Pittman made it, Williams and defensive staff were going to be overhauled.”

Up Next: No. 15 Tennessee vs. Arkansas, October 11

No. 15 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) hosts Arkansas (2-3, 0-1) next Saturday, after both teams have bye weeks this week. Kickoff time and TV information for the game will be announced Monday afternoon.

Williams was nominated for the Broyles Award, given annually to the top assistant coach in college football, in both 2023 and 2024, his first two seasons at Arkansas. 

Pittman was fired after Arkansas lost three straight games. Notre Dame won 56-13 in Fayetteville Saturday, after leading 42-10 in the second quarter. The Razorbacks gave up a 28-10 lead in a 32-31 loss at Memphis on September 20 and lost 41-35 at Ole Miss on September 13.

Arkansas started the season with a 52-7 win over Alabama A&M and a 56-14 win over Arkansas State.

Petrino was the head coach at Arkansas from 2008-11, winning 10 games in 2010 and 11 in 2011 before being fired in 2012 in the midst of an off-field scandal with a former Arkansas volleyball player. 

Sam Pittman fired after going 32-24 in six seasons

He had taken the Arkansas job after one year with the Atlanta Falcons. After being fired by the Razorbacks, Petrino was out of coaching until being hired at Western Kentucky in 2013.

Petrino returning to a previous job isn’t new. He was head coach at Louisville from 2003-06, before parlaying a 12-win season into the Falcons job, then returned to Louisville from 2014-18, a stint that ended with a two-win season in 2018. 

He returned to Arkansas last year, hired by Pittman as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. 

Pittman, who was Tennessee’s offensive line coach in 2012 under former head coach Derek Dooley, was 32-34 in his sixth season at Arkansas. He led the Razorbacks to nine wins in 2021 and seven games in 2022 and 2024, winning the Outback Bowl and Liberty Bowl twice.