Sam Pittman recalls process of identifying Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator

Arkansas turned some heads with their decision to bring Bobby Petrino back into their program as offensive coordinator. With that in mind, Sam Pittman took a moment to shed some light on how he and the Razorbacks came to that choice in the end.

Pittman broke down the ‘Hog’s process of hiring Petrino back to their staff during a press conference last week. He made it clear that he had interest in Petrino from the very start. That was especially so considering the positive aspects of his history in Fayetteville. After that, it was all about getting the ball rolling with the athletic department and the university.

“I mean I wanted to interview him, wanted to talk to him,” said Pittman.

“One of the things that I said in one of my criterias that I wanted was a man that loved the University of Arkansas. It’d be hard to find someone who felt stronger about Arkansas that Coach Petrino,” Pittman said. “So, obviously, the next step was to talk to the athletic director about that.”

In total, Pittman said that he met with five options to potentially take over as offensive coordinator. However, once they completed their interviews, he said it was clear to them that Petrino was the choice. From there, all that was left to do was iron out the details and have him sign on the dotted line.

“I interviewed several guys, five guys for the job,” said Pittman. “Coach was very excited about coming back to Arkansas. Then, once I knew his interest back in us, it was really a no-brainer at that point in time.”

“It was just all about making the contract, the timeline, and all those things work,” Pittman said.

After four years as the head coach at Arkansas, the Razorbacks fired Petrino under controversial circumstances. That led to a decade of hopping around jobs such as Western Kentucky, back to Louisville, Missouri State, and then Texas A&M this past season.

Petrino may not have even been in consideration had this season not gone as well as it did. His work with the Aggies, though, likely only helped his odds. As the replacement for Darrell Dickey, Petrino helped give Texas A&M a Top-25 offense that scored 34.2 points and put up over 400 yards per game in 2023.

Again, this hire was a shocker and, for some people, a risky choice by Pittman. Even so, he is certain that, based on what he was looking for, Petrino is the man for the job.