Arkansas officially announced Bobby Petrino named the new offensive coordinator and head coach on Wednesday Sam Pittman had a lot to say about the rent Wednesday night during his weekly live radio show from the Catfish Hole restaurant in Fayetteville. Pittman sat down with Hogs+’s Tera Talmadge to discuss how the recruiting process went, how many candidates he interviewed for the position, what timing means for the Hogs as they complete their recruiting efforts in 2024, and more.
“I’m very happy that Coach Petrino is coming back,” Petrino said. “I didn’t know what his interest was. I spoke to five wonderful candidates and all that stuff. In the back of my mind, I really wanted Coach Petrino. “Obviously Hunter Yurachek did a good job getting everything done with it.” . I said it in my press conference: I want someone who loves Arkansas as much as I do to come to the University of Arkansas who believes this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don’t know if I could have. With those criteria, he hired a better man, and obviously he’s a great offensive mind.
WHAT PITTMAN WANTED
“I was looking for a tough guy,” Pittman said. “A guy who would preach physicality. A guy who would preach toughness, responsibility, all those things. He met with the team today, with the offensive side of the ball. His message to them was very clear, but also exactly what we had.” During the interview process, we talked about what he could bring to the program. It’s about toughness, the love of Arkansas, the ability to run the ball, the ability to basically do whatever we want, run it or pass it. Obviously we played against him against Missouri State, played against him when he was at Texas A&M, and was just somebody that I thought was a great playmaker. Something I think we needed, and I didn’t know if we could get him or not, but whenever he called him, he was very (inaudible) from the jump.
ABOUT PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH PETRINO
“Obviously everyone in the state knows who Bobby Petrino “is,” Pittman said. “You know how you don’t really know someone, but you’ve heard so much about them that you feel like you know them? I felt that way. Very, very pleasant conversation at Missouri State, and that was really the only time – obviously I talked to a lot of people who had worked with him and knew him, things like that. I did some research there, got great reviews, then I talked to him and said, “Okay.” I know a lot of people who say how good he is as a coach, and I know a lot of people who rave about him as a person. To be honest, it was a given. We spoke several times and it was a given.”
How things went downhill
“I just picked up the old cell phone,” Pittman said. “I called him. I got his number from a few people, picked it up and called him. I spoke to him a bit and asked him if he would be interested in coming back. He wants to be here. I think he does.” You’ll have to talk to him about all the reasons why he decided to come back, but on the phone I got the feeling he really wanted to be back in Arkansas. That meant a lot to me too.”
THE TEAM’S REACTION
“They were very attentive (inaudible),” Pittman said. “There were 3-4 who weren’t there, just because it was – I didn’t know what time the meeting would be, so I scheduled it late, maybe 11 noon today, and the meeting was at 5: 15. But they were very attentive. I introduced him, he has an excellent resume so I’m sure that part caught his attention. With social media now everyone knows everything about everything except probably the truth (joking)… Where we really get to is the recruiting route… (Inaudible).”
WHAT’S NEXT?
“We’re going to – obviously we’re in tomorrow because it’s still dead (period), but Coach and I are going to see every offensive player that’s committed to us,” Pittman said. “We have a lot to do in the portal. We have some people we need to replace, so that will be a lot of work (inaudible).”
PORTAL CONVERSATION
Pittman answered a fan’s question via the transfer portal about which positions he thought Arkansas should address as a top priority.
“On offense, we need a transfer quarterback, a corner and a safety, and then we need to get a linebacker or two,” he said.