Anonymous SEC coaches open up about Sam Pittman, Arkansas football in 2024

Arkansas's Defense

To be clear, the reason Arkansas lost five games by one possession wasn't because of Arkansas's offense. The defense was by far the most solid of Pittman's tenure. His hire of Travis Williams turned out to be the best decision he could've made. You could argue that if Barry Odom were still the defensive coordinator, Sam Pittman wouldn't be the head coach of the Razorbacks right now.

However, one coach in the SEC thinks Arkansas doesn't have what it takes to compete in the league.

"The defensive line is their best unit probably, but they just don’t have the overall defensive talent right now to compete in this league."

You know that meme of the horse that's perfectly drawn on the left but gets progressively worse when you move right? This quote is the written version of it.

The defensive line is probably the best position on the defense, if not the team. Thanks in no small part to coach Deke Adams. But last year's defense held six teams under 28 points, including Alabama and Ole Miss. Games against Texas A&M and BYU don't show the whole picture.

Arkansas gave up 12 non-offensive points against the Aggies. BYU's average starting position on its six scoring play was the BYU 49-yard line because of turnovers and bad special teams play.

That isn't to say the defense won't take a step back. Arkansas lost a lot at linebacker, and there is some unproven talent there. But to say it's entirely missing from the defense is a complete fabrication.