Sam Pittman recalls first impression of Neyland Stadium: 'It was like the Coliseum'

The Arkansas Razorbacks are getting ready to host the Tennessee Volunteers on the first weekend of October. It’s not a game that’s played annually but it is one that is special for Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman.

Even though the game won’t be played there, Pittman reminisced about his first time going to see Neyland Stadium when he went to Tennessee for a job interview. As he explained, at the time it reminded him of the Coliseum.

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“I remember when I went for an interview and the GA took me over to the stadium and I’d never been there before,” Sam Pittman said. “And in between the time I was interviewing and I think the head coach was talking to AD about if he could hire me, how much he’s going to pay me and all that, and I went, walked in the stadium and I said, I told the GA, I said, ‘Take me back.’ He said, ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘Hell, they ain’t gonna hire me to coach in the stadium like this.’ It was unbelievable. It was like the Coliseum.”

At the time, Pittman had been the offensive line coach at North Carolina. Still, for someone who played his own college football at Pittsburg State, Neyland Stadium was clearly special.

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“I said, ‘I’m not getting a job, take me back.’ And he started laughing,” Pittman said. “When I got back I had a contract and a job. But it’s one of those places, it’s an SEC school, but it’s one of those places that has a lot of history and really great place to live. Good opportunity at the time to, obviously, get in SEC as well for me.”

Sam Pittman spent one season as an offensive line coach at Tennessee. That was in 2012 when the Volunteers were coached by Derek Dooley. That was Pittman’s first job in the SEC and he’s only coached in the SEC since that time.

The last time Arkansas and Tennessee played was in 2020, which ended up being the third straight win in the series for the Razorbacks. The two sides have only played five times since 2006 despite being in the same conference while they haven’t played at Neyland Stadium since 2015.

Coming into the game, Sam Pittman and Arkansas are looking to bounce back from a close loss to Texas A&M. Meanwhile, Tennessee is coming off a bye week and wants to continue building momentum in a season where the Volunteers are hoping to compete for an SEC Championship.