JD PicKell: Arkansas coaching staff want to continue building under Sam Pittman

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman definitely has something special going on in Fayetteville, as he leads the team into another season after last years major turnaround for the Razorbacks. Pittman brings back a ton of talent back from last years roster, but On3’s JD PicKell believes that what he brought back in his staff may be just as important as he kept his offense and defensive coordinators.

“The coaching staff is also buying in, because you’ve got two coordinators in Kendal Briles and Barry Odom that both could’ve taken other jobs this past offseason, and quite frankly I think Sam Pittman would tell you this — they earned the right to take other jobs if they wanted to. They were ready to take on other jobs if they wanted to. They both stayed,” PicKell said.

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Odom’s defense under Pittman took huge step in the right direction last season, improving from from allowing 34.9 points per game in 2020 to 22.9 last season. Briles lead a similar turnaround on the offensive side of the ball, proving to be one of the best young offensive minds in college football, as the Razorbacks averaged 21.4 points per game before his arrival and last season averaged 30.9, the most since 2015.

“Even more so, they both cited Sam Pittman as the reason to why they stayed and that speaks volumes to your head coach. Anytime an assistant coach doesn’t take another job. There’s always storylines with ‘hey, wasn’t the right fit for me out there, I didn’t think I was ready yet.’ That wasn’t the sentiment that either of these guys talked about. They’re like ‘no, I believe in Sam Pittman, I believe in Arkansas, there’s something special here and I want to be a part of what he’s building towards.’ That’s a big deal,” PicKell said.

Pittman has clearly proven himself and has made believers out of not only his players, but his staff as well through his miraculous turnaround as he quickly took the Razorbacks from a 3-7 squad in his first season in 2020, to a 9-4 bowl champion in 2021. His persona is one of the best in all of college football, and he’s built and will attempt to continue to build a winning culture in Arkansas that had been nonexistent for quite some time.