Sam Pittman is heading into his sixth season as the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, and his seat is as hot as it's ever been. In reality, his seat has been hot for three seasons, but Pittman has done just enough to make it to the next season.
After a massive exodus of players to the transfer portal, Pittman had to rebuild again. Anytime the team is completely rebuilt, uncertainty follows, so it's a pivotal year for Pittman, to say the least. The question is, did Pittman do enough to save his job? Well, a few anonymous SEC coaches weighed in on the subject.
Anonymous SEC Coaches discuss Arkansas football
As always, it's important to take anonymous coaches with a grain of salt. Although they may have more information than fans, the only people who know what's really going on in the program are the coaches, players, and staff inside it. Still, it's interesting to see how coaches around the league view the Razorbacks.
To put it nicely, they aren't impressed. The roster is a point of emphasis in each coach's statement.
“Last year, they did just enough to keep [Sam] Pittman off the hot seat, but it will be just as difficult this season. Sam has a ton of respect, but this roster isn’t going to separate them,” said one coach.
The two position groups the Razorbacks needed the most this spring were wide receivers and offensive linemen. With Andrew Armstrong, Isaac TeSlaa, and Isaiah Satenga leaving for the NFL draft or the transfer portal, Arkansas thought it had its next WR1 on campus after putting up 137 yards and a touchdown on three receptions in his only action of the season. That is until he also hit the portal shortly after the Liberty Bowl.
However, the SEC coaches believe the WR room is 'solid.' The biggest concern they have for Arkansas is the offensive line. In fact, three of the five coaches interviewed brought up the poor offensive line play from last season.
“The receivers are solid, and [Taylen] Green is solid, but they couldn’t protect him, and they would get into trouble in third-and-obvious situations,” said an anonymous head coach.
Arkansas finished 110th in sacks allowed in 2024, giving up 2.77 a game. That's 23 spots from last in the country.
With Joshua Braun, Patrick Kutas, and Addison Nichols hitting the portal, Pittman needed to rebuild. Frankly, the offensive line has needed it for a few seasons. The Hogs potentially fixed the pass rush problem by signing Corey Robinson II from Georgia Tech, the highest-graded pass protector last season. Arkansas also signed a huge (literally) transfer who chose Oregon over Arkansas before the 2024 season. At six-foot-eight, 375 lbs, he's a monster of a human being with quickness not indicative of his size.
McRoy and Robinson II may be two of the best in the class, but Arkansas wasn't finished going after the Big Uglies. Arkansas also picked up Ole Miss guard Kavion Broussard and UCF center Cade Kitler. If the four can help turn the unit around, the team might be more successful, but what does that look like?
How much do they actually know?
“If they can find a better O-line, I think the offense can carry them back to that six- or seven-win level.”
Here's where we start to question how much these anonymous coaches actually know about Arkansas' team. The Hogs won six games last season with horrendous offensive line play. If Arkansas had a stronger offensive line against Texas A&M, Texas, and Missouri, there’s a case to be made that the Razorbacks would have won those games.
So why would a better offensive line produce the same results?
The weird comments don't stop there. Another SEC coach took a shot at Arkansas' defensive line.
“They need better offensive line play, and they don’t have SEC-level talent up front on defense.”
Since Landon Jackson left, yes, Arkansas lacks proven talent, but SEC-level talent in general? That's a ridiculous statement. Cam Ball is one of the better interior defensive linemen in the league. On the edges, Quincey Rhodes has all the tangibles to be an SEC defensive end. There's also former 4-stars Charlie Collins and Kavion Henderson on the outside two. Sure, the Razorbacks have less SEC talent but aren't completely missing it.
Behind on NIL
According to one SEC coach, an NIL deficiency is keeping Arkansas from retaining and replacing players with more of the same quality.
“I don’t think they’re competing at a top level in NIL right now. You look at the portal exits, and it’s really hard for a mid to low-tier program in this league to sustain bowl eligibility with this many extra holes to fill.”
Arkansas already struggles with quality depth. Having trouble keeping up with other schools regarding NIL will only make the situation worse.