Over the past several seasons, one name has constantly landed at or near the top of the hot seat rankings. As some coaches have gotten fired or moved off of the hot seat, Sam Pittman hasn't been able to work his way off of the hot seat but, he's also been able to keep his job. After the 2021 season, the Arkansas Razorbacks had a ton of momentum going 9-4 but, everything since that point has been underwhelming.
Pittman followed his 9-4 season up with a 7-6 showing, which was a step back, but not the worst showing. The next season was abysmal, as Arkansas fell to 4-8, winning just one conference game. This past season, Arkansas rebounded to 7-6, but it still wasn't an impressive season.
Through 5 seasons at Arkansas, Sam Pittman has posted a below .500 record at 30-31 with a 14-28 record in SEC play. While Pittman has shown that he can have a great season, he's also shown that he's more likely to finish middle of the road.
The results on the recruiting trail haven't given the Arkansas fanbase a ton to get excited about either as of late. The team currently ranks 28th in the Country and 10th in the SEC with 26 commits on board thus far. The big concern would be that of the top ten players in the state, only one is committed to the Razorbacks, while 8 are committed elsewhere.
While the roster certainly needed to improve this offseason, the amount of turnover it underwent is not ideal for a team looking to improve. This offseason, Arkansas lost a jaw dropping 40 players to the transfer portal while bringing in 28 players to replace them. Using the transfer portal is fine, especially as coaches like Lane Kiffin have mastered it but, that amount of turnover only makes it tougher to build long term.
If the Arkansas fanbase and boosters are ready to move on this season, the successor may already be back in Fayetteville. Last season, Sam Pittman brought Bobby Petrino back into the program to serve as the team's offensive coordinator. During Petrino's tenure, the Razorbacks went 34-17, but they were coming off back-to-back 10+ win seasons when he was fired due to his motorcycle incident.
In the SEC, every fanbase expects that their team can compete to win the Conference, and while Pittman has posted decent results at times, it's more likely that he never catches lightning in a bottle. Sam Pittman's 2022 contract extension makes his buyout complicated as he's owed 75% of his contract if fired without cause with an above .500 career record, giving him $3.75 million, while if his overall record falls below .500, he's only owed $2.5 million.