I don't want to speak for the man, but it feels safe to say the 2024 season will not go down as the favorite of Sam Pittman's career. In his sixth season as the Head Hog, Pittman's Arkansas team rebounded from a 4-8 mark in 2023 to go 7-6 with a Liberty Bowl win over Texas Tech, but the Hogs went 3-5 in SEC play with losses to rivals Texas, LSU and Missouri. All the while, Pittman grimaced through it while battling an ailing hip.
Pittman's hip has since improved, as his his outlook on his career. Speaking to On3, Pittman pledged to at minimum coach through his current contract, which lasts another three years.
“Everybody’s got an opinion, mine’s the only one that really matters,” Pittman said. “I said, whenever I signed the contract after the 2021 season, I signed for five more years. And then we won seven-plus games, which was in my contract, one time that I could get an extension. So I have three years, and I always said that I wanted to coach through that obligation. That’s what I want to do, after that, I don’t know.
“Part of that saying was the way I looked. I had a hip that was terrible. I probably looked older than I am. I’ve been out walking two miles a day now, and I feel great. I love my job and this team. Everybody in this business is going through the same thing with portal rosters. It just seems to get magnified at times in our state. My goal is to coach, at least through what my contract is.”
Speaking of the 2021 season, that remains the highlight of Pittman's tenure thus far. After a 3-7 debut in the covid-interrupted, SEC-exclusive season of 2020, the Hogs were one of the most improved teams in the country. Arkansas beat Texas and Texas A&M that September, rose to No. 8 in the AP poll, and finished the year 9-4 with an Outback Bowl win over Penn State and a No. 21 AP ranking.
Since then, Arkansas has gone 7-6, 4-8, and 7-6; the program's high-water mark in SEC play was a 4-4 mark in 2021. Managing roster-building in the NIL era has been a challenge, as it is for everyone in the sport. But not everyone else in the sport has lost 77 players over the last two years as Arkansas has.
Now in a better physical condition, hopefully Pittman will be equipped to lead Arkansas through his contract's expiration after the 2027 season and beyond.