ARKANSAS, USA — Despite a disappointing 2023 season and swirling rumors to the contrary, Sam Pittman will remain the head football coach at the University of Arkansas next season.
Following a 44-20 win over FIU on Saturday, Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek told the team that Pittman would remain on as head coach.
Yurachek confirmed that to the public in a statement on Sunday, which said:
Pittman was hired in 2019 following the Chad Morris debacle. He won three games in his first season, the tumultuous COVID-afflicted 2020 season. Those wins were the first in SEC play for the Hogs since 2017.
Pittman followed that up with his best work, a 9-win 2021 featuring an Outback Bowl win over Penn State. 2022 had its ups and downs, but the team still went 7-6 with a wild Liberty Bowl win over Kansas.
The Hogs entered 2023 with high expectations, but after a pair of uninspiring wins over lesser opponents, things fell apart. Arkansas lost 6 straight, and Pittman fired offensive coordinator Dan Enos.
The Hogs responded with their best game of the season, an overtime win at Florida. However, that was followed by a massive letdown, a 48-10 home loss to a mediocre Auburn team that had many wondering if a new direction was necessary.
Still, Hunter Yurachek has decided that patience is the way to go.
The Hogs will not be bowl-eligible for the first time under Pittman, so Arkansas will close the season with a home game against Missouri on Black Friday (November 24 at 3:00 p.m. on THV11).
After that, will be an incredibly important offseason, especially with the hire of a new offensive coordinator. Much of the Razorback’s 2024 season is up in the air, but we now know at least that Sam Pittman will still be the head coach.