Sam Pittman was officially introduced as Arkansas’ new football coach Monday, and he replaces Chad Morris, who was fired in November after going just 4-18 in less than two seasons and earning zero SEC wins.
Most recently, Pittman was the associate head coach and offensive line coach at Georgia, where he spent four seasons, and before that, he held the same positions, along with recruiting coordinator, at Arkansas from 2013-15. Former Razorback players so strongly supported their school hiring Pittman back that they wrote an open letter to the school supporting him, following Morris’ firing.
Judging by Pittman’s introductory press conference, this job clearly means the world to him. While speaking about recruiting and attracting coaches to join the program, he was overcome with emotion and met with applause from those in attendance.
“As you can tell, this means a lot,” Pittman said while getting choked up. “I’m a wreck,” he later added.
Arkansas finished this season 2-10 with its only wins coming against Portland State and Colorado State. It’s also on a 19-game losing streak in the SEC that goes all the way back to the end of the 2017 season, when Bret Bielema was still the coach.
Pittman signed a five-year contract worth about $3 million annually that also emphasizes performance bonuses, ESPN reported. He is also eligible for two one-year extensions if the team makes it to a bowl game, which it hasn’t done since 2016.
“I want to earn your trust, and the only way I know how to do it is to be loyal to you, be honest with you and go work hard,” Pittman said during the press conference. “And that’s what we’re going to do.”
Here’s a longer clip from his emotional introduction:
