When Horatio’s Darrell Brown stepped onto the University of Arkansas campus in the fall of 1965, heroically breaking the color-barrier as the Razorbacks’ first African-American football player, the landscape of college athletics was slowly beginning to change.
Frank Falks became the first African-American assistant coach in Arkansas history in 1973, when he was hired by Head Coach Frank Broyles to work with the defensive ends. After Lou Holtz took the next step in 1977, hiring John Mitchell as the defensive line coach, Larry Brinson was later hired by Ken Hatfield to coach running backs from 1984-89. That began to open the door a little more for others. Garrick McGee then broke another barrier in 2010, becoming the Hogs’ first black offensive coordinator, under Head Coach Bobby Petrino.
The evolution did not happen as quickly as many would have hoped, but now 58 years after Brown suited up, the Razorback program has reached a monumental milestone under Sam Pittman. When the Hogs opened the season this past Saturday with a 56-13 win over Western Carolina in Little Rock, they took the field with an all-black defensive coaching staff.
“First of all, I think you have to give kudos to Coach Pittman for identifying the talent that was out there, who just happen to be of color,” said Dr. Fitz Hill, the first African-American assistant head coach in program history, under Houston Nutt in 2000. “And we know that Coach Pittman has to trust them because his livelihood is placed in their hands.
“You can’t have a token position in football, or in college athletics, because everybody is observing how well you do – Are we good? Are we bad? Or whatever. It’s not a subjective evaluation. But he was able to find some excellent coaches, who have the pedigree, and just happen to be of color.”
When former defensive coordinator Barry Odom left Fayetteville last December to become the head coach at Nevada-Las Vegas, he took linebackers coach Michael Scherer with him. Pittman also let go of cornerbacks coach Dominique Bowman following the season, leaving the Hogs with three openings to join the lone holdover on the defensive staff, line coach Deke Adams.
After thorough research and networking across the country to find the right fits for his program, Pittman selected his new coaches – and happened to make history in the process.
It didn’t take Pittman long to choose Travis Williams as Arkansas’ first black defensive coordinator. The former Auburn linebacker, who led the team in tackles during its undefeated 2004 season, had been the Tigers’ co-defensive coordinator in 2019-20, before spending the past two seasons as the DC at Central Florida.
In Williams first year with the Knights, his defense moved up 97 spots in the NCAA team pass efficiency defense rankings, compared to 2020, as well as jumping 86 spots in passing yards allowed (89.1 fewer yards per game) and 70 spots in total defense (122.5 fewer yards allowed per game). The Razorbacks finished 101st out of 131 FBS teams in total defense last season.
Another big factor in choosing Williams was his experience in the SEC, as well as his understanding and ability to recruit.
“It had a lot to do with that, because he understood recruiting and the urgency of recruiting in the SEC — it’s just different,” Pittman said after the hire. “Also, I liked his style. He’s very, very aggressive, and I like the fact that he’s going to keep four linemen on the D-line in the game.”
In January, the Razorbacks hired former Florida State defensive passing game coordinator Marcus Woodson to be Williams’ co-coordinator and work with the defensive backs in pass protection schemes. Three weeks later, they hired Florida cornerbacks analyst Deron Wilson to be the Hogs new secondary coach.
Including running backs coach Jimmy Smith and wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton, six of the Razorbacks’ 10 full-time assistant coaches are black.
“That’s the definition of inclusion,” Hill said. “You can say affirmative action, but inclusion is a whole different category. Now, you see that in 2023, which some thought would never happen, is that quality coaches are being given access, because of what they’ve earned, not denied because of color.”
After his 11-year stint on the Razorbacks’ staff, Hill was hired as the head coach at San Jose State from 2001-04, before focusing his career on education. In 2012, he wrote and published the book Crackback!, along with Mark Purdy, who is white, and a longtime columnist for the San Jose Mercury News. They detailed the disparity of minorities in college football, particularly in hiring practices and advancement.
“I wanted to write the book in collaboration with Mark, because I wanted a balanced perspective with two different mindsets coming together to reveal the truth,” Hill said. “I wasn’t trying to bash anybody, but instead just saying, ‘Here’s what the facts are.’ The book is factual, so if you don’t like the truth, then that’s on you.
“Race has always restricted space, particularly in football,” he said, referencing Warren Moon, who was one of the best college quarterbacks in America at Washington in 1977, but went undrafted and was relegated to begin his career in the Canadian Football League, likely due to the color of his skin. Eventually becoming the NFL’s Man of the Year in 1989, Moon was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
“For quarterbacks, time has evolved, but for coaches it’s still lagging behind,” Hill added. “So, these are breakthrough opportunities for some of these black coaches. And again, kudos to Coach Pittman for making that happen.”
But now, he also admits that the “double-edged sword” effect could come into play, depending on how successful the team is under this new regime.
“Now, the platform is there to perform, and if you don’t perform, it can have a negative effect across the board,” Hill explained. “Unfortunately, minorities are still evaluated collectively, whereas majorities are evaluated individually. It’s really a double-edged sword. You have to succeed or it can prevent other opportunities from happening.”
He also referenced former Colorado Head Coach Bill McCartney, who had three minority coaches on staff – two were black and one was Polynesian — when they led the Buffaloes to the 1990 National Championship.
“Yeah, the evolution has been slow, but now the statement has been made. The opportunity is there, so now the production must come.”
