- Arkansas coach Sam Pittman addressed his job security after a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame.
- Fans expressed their frustration with chants of ‘Fire Pittman’ during the game.
FAYETTEVILLE – After Arkansas football fans made their feelings clear in Saturday’s 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame, Sam Pittman didn’t deflect blame during an 11-minute postgame news conference.
A third straight loss for the Razorbacks (2-3) means the noise surrounding his job status will only grow louder as the Hogs enter their first open week of the season. Fans routinely booed the Hogs during the blowout defeat, with the student section chanting ‘Fire Pittman’ throughout the second half.
The coach admitted he understood why Arkansas fans are calling for his dismissal.
‘I get it. If I was a fan, I’d be mad at me too,’ Pittman said. ‘I’d be frustrated as hell with me, but here’s what I’ll say, as long as I’m the head coach at Arkansas, I’m going to fight my butt off to to get the guys out there.
‘How long that is, it is partly up to me because of what we put on the field, but that’s not my call. And if I’m worried about that all the time, I won’t be able to do as good a job as I possibly can. But I will say this, if I was the fans, I’d be mad at me too. Hell, I’m mad at me, to be perfectly honest.’
What is Sam Pittman contract buyout?
Pittman has an interesting clause in his contract, which determines how much his contract buyout is. His current contract was signed after the 2021 season.
Pittman will be owed $9.8 million if Pittman’s record since the start of the 2021 season is at .500 or better, according to his contract documents obtained by the USA TODAY Network. If his record dips below .500, he’s owed $6.9 million if he’s to be fired.
Pittman, in his sixth season with the program, now has a 32-34 record at Arkansas. His tenure is highlighted by a 9-win finish in 2021, but hasn’t finished the year ranked in any of his other five seasons.
Now with two full weeks to prepare for a road trip to No. 15 Tennessee, the Southwest Times Record asked Pittman if there could be changes to his coaching staff, his personnel or the overall scheme on both sides of the ball.
‘Possibly,’ he said. ‘I mean, I’ve got some time to think about some things.’
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@gannett.com or follow him@jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.