Sam Pittman dishes on the impact of Arkansas OC Dan Enos returning to Tuscaloosa
When Nick Saban asks where Dan Enos is, the answer on Saturday will be the opposite sideline. Enos will be returning to Tuscaloosa, a place he served as the QB coach in 2018, as the Arkansas offensive coordinator. He has a tall task in front of him, facing off against an Alabama team hitting its stride.
Sam Pittman was asked if there would be any kind of advantage, for Alabama or Enos, due to their familiarity with each other. Since it’s been five seasons since Enos worked for the Crimson Tide, Pittman believes it cancels out.
If anything, Arkansas will have to deal with the quality players Alabama is sending out there. Scheme does not matter too much when facing them, it’s just trying to beat players Pittman considers to be incredibly well-coached.
“I don’t necessarily think there would be an advantage,” Pittman said during Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference. “Because of the length of time but also, we’ve been playing Alabama for a long time. I’ve been in the league for a long time as well. It’s not schematics that necessarily that you’re aware of with Alabama. It’s the players that are doing it and how well they’re coached. So, I don’t know that they would be at an advantage there.”
Enos has an infamous story about how he left Alabama. Following the national championship loss to Clemson, Enos was promoted to offensive coordinator and then suddenly, was nowhere to be seen around Mal Moore Athletic Facility. He left for Miami to be their offensive coordinator under Manny Diaz.
Steve Sarkisian got the Alabama OC job instead, with a national championship occurring during the 2020 season. Enos spent one year in Coral Gables and since Diaz was fired, the OC had to move on in his career.
Now back in the SEC, Enos will be back in Bryant-Denny Stadium but wearing a different shade of red as the offensive coordinator. Familiar faces will be trying to stop his offense at all costs but that’s just being a competitor.
“I’m sure Dan is excited to go back over there and see some of his old friends and compete against them,” Pittman said.
Enos will be hoping his offense can find a spark before lining up against Alabama on Saturday. Last week at Ole Miss saw the Razorbacks only have 286 total yards, with just 36 of those being on the ground. Not the identity you would expect from a team coached by Pittman.