DALLAS – Nobody draws more laughs at SEC Media Days than Arkansas coach Sam Pittman. He doesn't even really have to try to get them. It's just who he is.
He made cracks and entertained the assembled press talking about his background as a player. "I went to an Oklahoma football camp," he said. "They didn't know I was there. But I was."
When one reporter asked what it'll take to get more quotes about a cold beer after a win, Pittman paused and said: "Okay, I'm trying to get my mind off that cold beer."
Pittman spent 36 years an offensive line coach, bouncing from high school to the FCS and FBS, before he finally emerged as a head coach at age 58 in his adopted home state of Arkansas. He's infinitely likable. He also enters the 2024 campaign squarely on the hot seat following a disappointing 4-8 campaign.
It's a jarring situation in many ways. This is someone who, just two years ago, was the toast of league coming off a 9-4 season. Prior to Pittman's debut in 2020, the Razorbacks won four games in the previous two seasons. Now, he's the only coach with a "5 out of 5" on Dennis Dodds' annual hot seat list.
Yet Pittman, as he does, took that idea in stride with a comedian's timing. Here's his full exchange with CBS Sports when asked about his status with the Razorbacks:
CBS: Just two years ago at this event, you were coming off a 9-4 season and were one of the most popular coaches in the country.
Pittman: Well, I'm popular now. Just the wrong way. I'm hot.
CBS: I was going to say, fair or not you are popping up on those lists.
Pittman: I'm starting those lists.
CBS: How do you think about the way narratives can shift in this sport in such a short amount of time?
Pittman: Yeah, isn't it crazy? What, two years ago I was a keynote speaker at (the American Football Coaches Association Convention) and one of the top six guys for Coach of the Year Award. Isn't it crazy? I want to be that guy, not the one that was out there last year. I think we can be. Listen, what's fair is fair. If you want to be patted on the back, you're going to get punched in the gut. And what's fair is fair. To be honest with you, the only one that can really control the hot seat is me and what we do with our football team. It's never been about me, so I'm not really concerned about it. I'm concerned about the state, the players and our staff. And we've got a good football team.
Thanks for the question, though.
Pittman drew huge laughs with every quip along the way in his answer. But he also, rather introspectively, addressed the whiplash that can be life as a high-profile coach in the SEC.
Arkansas extended Pittman's contract and gave him a raise in June of 2022. Seventeen months later, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek issued a statement that Pittman would return for the 2024 season. As anyone who follows college football knows: If an athletic director needs to issue a statement that his coach is coming back, then that coach was/is in big trouble.
The margins between program hero and pariah are so thin, too.
Arkansas went 9-4 in 2021 and came a combined three total points away (against Ole Miss and Alabama) from finishing with 11 wins. Last year, the Razorbacks went 4-8 and at one point went on a six-game losing streak in games decided by 12 points or fewer.
"We lost five one-score games," Pittman said. "It's hard in this league. I think it's going to be consistency, better game-planning and being able to run the football. I think we can capitalize on that."
Pittman did lean into change this offseason. The Razorbacks finished No. 116 nationally in yards per play, so Pittman, ego be damned, went out and hired former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino to run his offense. Pittman calls Petrino his "security blanket," an ultra-successful coach and coordinator who can act as a sounding board.
Pittman also signed 22 transfers, which included a changing of the guard at quarterback away from long-time starter KJ Jefferson, to inject talent and experience in his program. He even admitted the offensive line, his baby, needed a change after Arkansas finished No. 128 nationally in sacks allowed. Pittman called himself the "oldest GA in the country" for new Razorbacks O-line coach Eric Mateos, who came over after a strong run with Baylor.
There's optimism that Arkansas can course correct in 2024 with those alterations.
"I really like this team," Pittman said. "I really do. I'm not trying to win media days. I'm just going to tell you how I feel. I really like this team, and I think with the culture and the tightness of the team, I think you can win those (one-score) games a little bit easier than if it's the other way."
Pittman's players are aware of the noise.
Senior wide receiver Andrew Armstrong said the team doesn't pay attention to outside hot seat talk. But he did succinctly say how they could shrug it off.
"If the team is focused on winning, there is no hot seat for him," Armstrong said. "If we go out there and win, those talks don't happen."
Arkansas fans fell in love with Pittman a few years ago because of the way he embraced them. Pittman's red tie at media days was dotted with hundreds of small white Razorbacks. When he talked about success in Fayetteville, he always added he wants to "win for the state." Pittman fondly talked about the renovations on his home in Hot Springs.
"We got a new pool house and some floors done, and they look bad to the bone," Pittman cracked.
The joke killed, of course.
Those chuckles are a reminder about how little has changed with Pittman. He's still the same coach who was the toast of the SEC just two years ago. The difference is the Razorbacks have lost a combined nine one-possession games the last two years in what is the nation's most demanding league from week to week.
Life in the SEC comes at you fast, even through all the laughs.