According to the oddsmakers, Arkansas Head Coach Sam Pittman has at least a better chance to retain his job for another season, than Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher and a few others on the proverbial hot seat.
Dan Kilbridge, an oddsmaker for Bookies.com, has released his odds of coaches that may be fired at the end of the season – or before.
Along with Boston College’s Jeff Hafley, Pittman is at 10-1 to be let go, which equates to a 9.1 percent chance of his demise. Ironically, Fisher, who has defeated Pittman’s Razorbacks three of the last four years, stands at 6-1 to be sent packing, meaning there is a 14.3 percent chance.
The two head coaches with the highest probability to be removed are Indian’s Tom Allen, who has 3-2 odds, or a 40 percent chance, and New Mexico’s Danny Gonzalez at 4-1 and 20 percent.
Pittman took over one of the biggest dumpster fires in America when he was hired at Arkansas, prior to the 2020 season. The Razorbacks were in the midst of a 21-game SEC losing streak, orchestrated under former Head Coach Chad Morris.
Regarded as one of the country’s premiere offensive line coaches, Pittman landed his first Division I head coaching job at Arkansas, where he served as Bret Bielema’s associate head coach and O-line coach from 2013-15.
He won a relatively impressive three SEC games in the in COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, then followed that with a huge turnaround year in 2021. The Hogs finished 9-4, with wins over Texas, Texas A&M, LSU and Penn State in the Outback Bowl.
There was a slight drop-off last season, when Arkansas finished 7-6, but did win the Liberty Bowl over Kansas, 55-53, in three overtimes.
With higher expectations entering this season, led by senior quarterback KJ Jefferson and junior running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, the Hogs now find themselves in a tailspin, and nursing a six-game losing streak. Granted, that has been affected by the loss of Sanders – who was injured in the season-opener – as well as having two new coordinators and a heavily penalized and lackluster offensive line.
But nonetheless, Arkansas fans are tired of being the SEC’s doormat in football. Since Pittman brought the renewed hope three years ago, the program seems to be in a downward trajectory.
With some sort of move needed to try and right the ship, Pittman fired offensive coordinator Dan Enos after the recent Homecoming loss to a downtrodden Mississippi State team in Fayetteville. The Arkansas offense is currently ranked No. 119 of 130 FBS teams, and could only muster three points against the Bulldogs.
Enos’ interim replacement is wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton, who served under former offensive coordinator Kendall Briles for one season at Houston and three more with the Razorbacks. Which means the Hog offense will likely revert back to the higher-paced scheme that Arkansas has used the previous three seasons.
With three of their final four games at home – where the Razorbacks now have a two-game losing streak – there is a chance to have some sort of resurgence. But most Hog fans don’t have a lot of hope at this point.
Decisions will have to be made following the season, but it looks like Pittman will be given at least one more season to turn things around.