Sam Pittman on Bobby Petrino's past: 'We all make a mistake'

Arkansas made waves and stunned many with their decision to rehire Bobby Petrino as part of their football program. Still, when it comes to the Razorbacks’ new offensive coordinator, Sam Pittman was more than willing to give out a second chance.

Pittman had to address the controversy around Petrino from his prior stint in Fayetteville during a press conference on Thursday. As far vetting the hire, he left that up to the school and athletic department. He just wanted to hire the best man for the job and, in his opinion, that was Petrino, regardless of his past.

“That part of it? That’s up for Hunter (Yurachek) and those guys,” said Pittman. “I wanted to hire him. I know he’s a good man. We all make a mistake.”

“I wanted to hire him,” Pittman continued. “He was our best candidate, he’s a wonderful person. I was adamant that I wanted to hire him and he was adamant that he wanted to come. So the university went to work on all that kind of stuff.”

Petrino’s history with Arkansas is well-documented. He was the program’s head coach from 2008 to 2011. During that four-year stretch where they improved their record each season. In total, they finished 34-17 in those years with two wins in three bowl appearances.

Then, following the season, Petrino was involved in a motorcycle accident. However, it went further than that as, long story short, he wasn’t honest or faithful regarding who was with him during the incident.

That led Arkansas to fire him as Petrino would be out of the sport for two years. He has since been rehabilitating his career with stops at Western Kentucky, Louisville, Missouri State, and, most recently, Texas A&M.

In his lone season as the Aggies’ offensive coordinator, Texas A&M finished with a Top-30 offense at 34.2 points and just over 400 yards per game. That was good for one of the best units for the team during the tenure of Jimbo Fisher that came to an end last month.

Now, albeit with some extra baggage, he will look to do the same for Arkansas in 2024. The ‘Hogs will need it too after their one season with Dan Enos didn’t go as planned as they relieved him after posting an offense that finished just inside the Top-75.

Some may see this call as a bit of a risk, especially from a public relations standpoint. Still, after the approval from the school, Pittman is hoping the reconciliation of the program and one of their most well-known former head coaches works out for both sides in the end.