A recent story from the Wall Street Journal calls Arkansas football head coach Sam Pittman the “Ted Lasso of the offensive line,” which should be a surprise to no one.
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year or two, Ted Lasso is the titular character in the Apple TV+ television show featuring Jason Sudeikis as a happy-go-lucky coach.
Apple describes Ted Lasso as a “a small-time college football coach from Kansas hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite having no experience coaching soccer.”
Ted Lasso is one of the most well-liked characters we’ve seen in a streaming shows in years, while Pittman is one of the most well-liked and biggest success stories we’ve seen in years in college football.
Arkansas Football Coach Sam Pittman’s immediate success with the Razorbacks has the WSJ comparing him to Ted Lasso
Pittman and Lasso draw a lot of parallels— they are both incredibly and effervescently positive, they both served as head coach for small college football teams in Kansas and they are each able to bring out a player’s full potential better than just about anyone.
Razorback fans have responded positively to Pittman’s tell-it-like-it-is approach to his players and the media. His folksy and humble personality resonates with the fan base because he’s so relatable. He seems like someone who would offer to help you out with some yard work, brag about you to other neighbors and offer you a cold beverage on a hot day.
No one expected Pittman to have the Hogs turned around so quickly. Partly, due to the fact that before Arkansas his only college head coaching experience came in the early 1990s when he coached a community college in Kansas for a few games.
The Wall Street Journal interviewed a few former offensive lineman to corroborate what everyone already knows: Sam Pittman is the real deal.
Ex-Hog Luke Charpentier told the WSJ reporter about the time he let Pittman go to voicemail during his recruitment process. When Charpentier returned his call and apologized, Pittman said in the most Ted Lasso way possible: “My mama always told me the world doesn’t revolve around me, so don’t act like it should.”
Another former Razorback football player, Dan Skipper recalled Pittman’s use of the word “swagjo,” combining the words swagger and mojo to boost player confidence.
Skipper also talked about Pittman’s ability to soothe a player’s self doubt and anxiety. He recalled a particular game against Alabama when the offensive line would be squaring up against future NFL players.
“He’d tell us, ‘They’ve got four dudes that are supposed to be drafted higher, then let’s go run the ball and ruin their draft stock,” Skipper recalled to the WSJ reporter. “When you’ve got that coming from the top down that takes away a lot of the stress and anxiety,” added Skipper.
This may only be Pittman’s second year as head coach of the Razorbacks, but he’s already done more in one and half seasons than we’ve seen since the Bobby Petrino era.
Pittman is going to continue using the power of positivity to unlock his player’s potential and Razorback fans are rooting hard for him to be the one that takes the Hogs to new heights.