Sam Pittman tells hilarious story on giving his wife Arkansas-based nickname

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman joined former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy on the Always College Football Show on Thursday to preview his 2022 squad and discuss the latest from fall camp. On a lighter note, the two also discussed some of the head hog’s favorite nicknames, which led to a hilarious reveal of a failed nickname for his wife, Jamie.

“I like the Boss Hog, I like Pit Boss, either one of em,” Pittman said. “I called my wife, ‘Mama Hog,’ she hated it. You know, I don’t know why, but that’s out. Pit Boss is what I’ve been called for a long time because of the O-line.”

McElroy also asked Pittman what would happen if he lined up at wide receiver versus his former boss, current Illinois head coach Bret Bielema at corner.

“We’d both lose,” Pittman said. “Could I get open? You know, I don’t think so. He’s long, and got, you know, big hands. I don’t know, I haven’t seen him for a while so it might be a hell of a match. Right now, I’d probably have to give it to him since he’s younger than I am.”

Jamie Pittman ignored Sam for a year following move to Georgia

Sam Pittman’s wife loved Fayetteville and being in Arkansas so much that when the former offensive line coach left to coach under Kirby Smart at Georgia, she told reporters she was mad for a full year.

“So when we left, I was mad,” Jamie Pittman told THV 11 after her husband landed the head gig in December of 2019. “I was mad at Sam for about a year – took me about a year to get over it. I was like ‘I can’t believe you moved me again.'”

“I grew to love everything about it, the people are so nice here and welcoming. At the time, I thought it might be our last move,” Jamie added.

“We did not get a divorce when we left Arkansas,” Sam Pittman said in his introductory speech, “but she did not talk to me for a year when I was in Athens, because she just loved Arkansas.”

Now, the Pittmans are basically running the state after the success they’ve had in just two seasons. The head coach received an extension that could keep him on at Arkansas through 2027, after which, he plans to retire to his second home on Lake Hamilton.