Tamu_mgm said:

---

JaySugar said:

---

I actually think he's a good hire for Arky.
Not flashy, but is very likeable and can recruit.
If he gets good coordinators, he'll do well.

I wish they would have kept Morris!

---

You mean kinda like Matt Luke at Ole Miss?

That literally describes him:
- players and recruits love Matt Luke, not a flashy guy or hire at the time considering the circumstances
- Would still have Ole Miss in the top 30 in recruiting
- Had good to solid coordinators this year in Rodriguez and Macyntire

Yet still got canned

If Pittman somehow works out for them, it will be very shocking IMO. A lot of guys can recruit well, heck Chad recruited well in 2018 & 2019 considering it's Arkansas, and look what it got him.

---

Pittman was considered a MUCH better coach/recruiter than Luke was though. Even Ole Miss fans will tell you he wasn't that great of an OL coach.

Pittman has also been around the SEC forever and surely has more contacts than Luke did. Guys like Pat Fitzgerald, PJ Fleck and Kirk Ferentz went straight from position coaches to HC.

W said:

---

the game for Pittman and Hog fans to circle is the second game of 2021...

when the longhorns come to Fayetteville --- that will be a big one for the Pittman era

---

I have lived in Arkansas. And actually loved my time there.

Their fans actually liked the Aggies prior to our entry into the SEC.

They hate the longhorns as much as we do and definitely more than the Sooners.

So yes, this will be the biggest game of his coaching career when it occurs.

Barry Odom hired as DC

unmade bed said:

---

Reminds me of our Mike Sherman hire....but even less exciting.

---

I liked the Mike Sherman hire at the time. Just didn't work out the way I thought. Of course Fran seemed good too. You just never know.

Even Saban crapped out at his head coaching position in the NFL. I think his time as assistants There were decent though. Same with Steve Spurrier. Just depends on the fit and the timing sometimes.

They hate the longhorns as much as we do

The Longhorn-Razorback rivalry in the 60s, 70s and 80s was pretty damn strong. A lot of people forget about that now since they left SWC in 92.

SilverTongueDevil said:

---

Hiring a 58 year old for his first HC job?
Bielema failure at Arky spoke volumes. His record at Wisconsin was very good. Multiple conf titles and won 80% of his games. He probably wasn't the best culture fit for Arky and I'm still not sure why he left Wisky to go there.

---

Rumor was that when Alvarez was named as AD, that's when Bielema started packing....couldn't stand one another

Darn shame Morris wasn't given 3 or 4 more years there in pig land...

Quote:

---

Rumor was that when Alvarez was named as AD, that's when Bielema started packing....couldn't stand one another

---

Didn't Alvarez become AD before Beliema was hired?

BMX Bandit said:

---

Quote:

---

Rumor was that when Alvarez was named as AD, that's when Bielema started packing....couldn't stand one another

---

Didn't Alvarez become AD before Beliema was hired?

---

Alvarez became AD in 2004 while still head football coach. Bielema was his DC for the 2004 and 2005 seasons and took over as head coach in 2006 when Alvarez retired from coaching. Bielema was head coach for Alvarez through the 2012 season.
Bielema must have had an awful lot of packing to do if it took him 9 years to get away from Alvarez.

Quote:

---

Pittman has also been around the SEC forever and surely has more contacts than Luke did. Guys like Pat Fitzgerald, PJ Fleck and Kirk Ferentz went straight from position coaches to HC.

---

Ferentz was the HC at some Iaa school in the North. He failed badly and then coached OL in the NFL. He at least had some HC experience. He also had been a position coach at Iowa for years under Hayden Fry. He was a bit of a reach, but he had major ties to the program.

PJ Fleck was the HC at W. Michigan.

Fitzgerald had been with the program 5 full years when the HC passed quickly a few months before the season. The OC was in his first season at the program and the DC probably had no personality. DC went on to HC at a d2 for a few years, then coached DL at Illinois, then DC at C. Mich. Fitz was the RC. Like Dabo, the AD probably realized that Fitz could keep recruiting going even if he failed. He worked out. Most dont.

I also doubt Fitz would have worked out somewhere bigger. He does more with less, but the pressure is low.


The rule of thumb is you want either a successfull P5 coordinator, or someone with success as HC. Do that, and success is ~50/50 proposition. A successful P5 HC, and the odds go way up.

Pittman was the HC at hutch for 2 years in the 90s. Worth something, but probably not much. He was at Arkie for a few years. He is not a playcaller.

Anything is possible. On paper, this looks less than a 50/50 hire.

GSPag` said:

---

W said:

---

the game for Pittman and Hog fans to circle is the second game of 2021...

when the longhorns come to Fayetteville --- that will be a big one for the Pittman era

---

I have lived in Arkansas. And actually loved my time there.

Their fans actually liked the Aggies prior to our entry into the SEC.

They hate the longhorns as much as we do and definitely more than the Sooners.

So yes, this will be the biggest game of his coaching career when it occurs.

---

I admire your optimism, I really do hog.

Agsuffering@bulaw said:

---

Quote:

---

Pittman has also been around the SEC forever and surely has more contacts than Luke did. Guys like Pat Fitzgerald, PJ Fleck and Kirk Ferentz went straight from position coaches to HC.

---

Ferentz was the HC at some Iaa school in the North. He failed badly and then coached OL in the NFL. He at least had some HC experience. He also had been a position coach at Iowa for years under Hayden Fry. He was a bit of a reach, but he had major ties to the program.

PJ Fleck was the HC at W. Michigan.

---

Fleck came to Western Michigan from the Buccaneers where he was a WR coach. Not the same level as the SEC though.

Pittman has had opportunities to be an OC he just never pursued them. Odom offered him a position as an OC at Missouri but he turned it down. He's obviously all in on building Arkansas (unlike someone like Kiffin who might have left the first time something better came open) and grew up rooting for Arkansas in nearby Oklahoma so IMO it's what we need right now. We haven't had a coach truly passionate about the program since Nutt.

Exactly. Fleck proved himself on W. Michigan's dime. That is the tough life of a mid-major program. Pittman could have proved he could call plays on Mizzou's dime. He chose not to.

On the surface, it looks like a reach. If the Arkie AD knows better, more power to him.

Kendall Briles hired as OC.

Other than beating the sips when they play I can't help but wish the pigs many many 8th place SEC west finishes...

Maybe it's #3, a model closer to LSU's. Good recruiter and frontman for HC, but not so huge of a hire that it eats up all of the available salary. Then use that extra budget for lights-out OC/DC hires instead, and let them do their thing. We'll see.

Who.gif

LEJ said:

---

Arkansas... the Vanderbilt of the Ozarks.

---

Nothing at all similar between a Vanderbilt education and an Arkansas education! More like the Kansas of the Ozark's, maybe the UNT or UTSA Of the Ozark's!

Back in the day, our HS coaching staff would
usually spend a week in Fayettville watching the Hogs during their spring practices. Our head coach was friends with Ken Hatfield, who was head coach at Arkie. I always thought their campus was pretty, even back then, even before, some changes were made.
Lots of good memories up there, and still a fan of Arkansas Football. Like it or not - calling the hogs is one of college football's coolest traditions.

BMX Bandit said:

---

Arkansas

---

Who?

hogfan14 said:

---

Barry Odom hired as DC

---

Damn good hire right there

DM44 said:

---

Kendall Briles hired as OC.

---

Less good....

West Point Aggie said:

---

Other than beating the sips when they play I can't help but wish the pigs many many 8th place SEC west finishes...

---

You hate the razorbacks so much you want to add another team to the SEC West just so Arkansas can be 8th instead of 7th?