Arkansas and Sam Pittman

I've seen a lot of people really singing the praises of Pittman and how he's turned them around so quickly and while I believe that he deserves some credit I think the real credit lies with Kendall Briles. He's looked Mullen-esque the last two years. He's had two QBs with some obvious deficiencies and instead of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole he's taken what they do best and tailored his offense to them.

If we're looking for a HC I wouldn't look any further than him. And yes, I know the morality police will shoot this one down in .2 seconds because of Baylor but the guy can coach QBs and he learned from the best how to tailor an offense to the skillset of what he has because his father did it more times than you can count.

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Originally Posted by StarkVegasSteve

I've seen a lot of people really singing the praises of Pittman and how he's turned them around so quickly and while I believe that he deserves some credit I think the real credit lies with Kendall Briles. He's looked Mullen-esque the last two years. He's had two QBs with some obvious deficiencies and instead of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole he's taken what they do best and tailored his offense to them.

If we're looking for a HC I wouldn't look any further than him. And yes, I know the morality police will shoot this one down in .2 seconds because of Baylor but the guy can coach QBs and he learned from the best how to tailor an offense to the skillset of what he has because his father did it more times than you can count.

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I have said that myself but my friend Tbone pointed out Odom has that Ark defense playing great and he was pretty damn good at Mizzou. If Ark keeps playing at this high level then they might lose both coordinators and then we will see how well Pittman keeps them on track. I have said myself that Pittman is like Coach O's happy uncle. Both run things very similar as a CEO type of coach. Coach O is struggling when he lost Aranda and Brady at the same time (I know that Brady wasn't "technically" the OC).

Kendall Briles would be an obvious choice for a HC position. He doesn't have near the stigma that his Dad does. Barry Odom is rehabing his ill-famed stent at Mizzou. He's a damn good DC. He'll get another shot soon as well. And that's not good for Pittman. He's a good manager/CEO type coach but he's got two outstanding coordinators (like somebody else had a few years ago). We'll see the Arkansas fans come back down to earth when Pittman has average coordinators.

Pittman gets credit for turning the program around- period. He has recruited the trenches and made them a physical football team. The SEC is a trench warfare league.

Also- give him credit for making good hires. Hell, Odom has given the SEC the blueprint against Leach

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Originally Posted by Coach34

Also- give him credit for making good hires. Hell, Odom has given the SEC the blueprint against Leach

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Washington gave the blueprint, apparently Pelini didn't stay up to watch Pac-12 games, lol.

Kendall Briles would be good, but I would rather hire Jeff Lebby and kill 2 birds with one stone.

I think the whole celebration of Sam Pittman is a bit premature. Arkansas was 3-7 last year. He has improved Arkansas play. But they were rock bottom before. No where to go but up.

As for this year, they will have to prove their top 10 ranking. UGA has a tough run defense. Arkansas runs. Then what if they lose to Alabama and OM this year? Oh boy, lose to one of the "Mississippi schools" and that doesn't sit well in the Ozarks.

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Originally Posted by Dak Holliday

Kendall Briles would be good, but I would rather hire Jeff Lebby and kill 2 birds with one stone.

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This.

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Originally Posted by Maroonthirteen

I think the whole celebration of Sam Pittman is a bit premature. Arkansas was 3-7 last year. He has improved Arkansas play. But they were rock bottom before. No where to go but up.

As for this year, they will have to prove their top 10 ranking. UGA has a tough run defense. Arkansas runs. Then what if they lose to Alabama and OM this year? Oh boy, lose to one of the "Mississippi schools" and that doesn't sit well in the Ozarks.

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...with an SEC-only schedule. They were 4-20 in the 2 seasons prior to Pittman, including 0-16 in the SEC. So last year was a huge improvement over the 2 previous years. And in Bielema's last year, they went 1-7 in the SEC. So last year, they won 2 more SEC games than they had in the 3 years prior combined. This year they're already 1-0 in the league with a win over a top-15 team and destroyed Texas non-conference. You can't downplay the job Pittman has already done. Whether they prove to be top-10 this year or not, they're massively improved and a very good team in year 2 of Pittman after being absolutely horrific before he got there.

Forget about top 25, Ark is back to a competitive program again. Pittman deserves all the credit. He did it overnight almost. Is he the next great coach, maybe not but what he has done right now is incredible.

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Originally Posted by Dak Holliday

Kendall Briles would be good, but I would rather hire Jeff Lebby and kill 2 birds with one stone.

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Should LK leave I feel confident they will promote lebo

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Originally Posted by R2Dawg

Forget about top 25, Ark is back to a competitive program again. Pittman deserves all the credit. He did it overnight almost. Is he the next great coach, maybe not but what he has done right now is incredible.

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And did it without blowing up anything only has two classes in one during covid year and is winning with a QB from Mississippi. Meanwhile in Starkville...

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Originally Posted by Dawgfan77

And did it without blowing up anything only has two classes in one during covid year and is winning with a QB from Mississippi. Meanwhile in Starkville...

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Yep.

For all the Leach excuses - Covid, first year, his players, etc. Guess what Kiffin did it and Pittman did it. They both did it with less than MSU too. MSU on a 10 year bowl streak. Ark been on a 15 year bowl absence. OM also not been good since 2015.

Leach's best game may go down as his first one. The trend has been the wrong way with Leach since game 1.

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Originally Posted by Dawgfan77

And did it without blowing up anything only has two classes in one during covid year and is winning with a QB from Mississippi. Meanwhile in Starkville...

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There's a reason Dan was so high on Jefferson. He envisioned him doing exactly what he's doing for Arky for us.

I think Briles is more likely to leave than Odom is, though they both seem to be pretty happy right now. I could see Kendal ending up at a Houston or SMU type program as HC eventually. Don't think he's ready to just jump into a P5 job and for some ADs he may have too much of a polarizing personality to be in the spotlight at a bigger school like that.

Probably going to take a decent P5 head coaching job for Odom to make the jump again since he's already been fired by his alma mater. He turned down DC jobs at Texas and LSU last offseason.

Pittman has done a good job, but this weekend will show how much of their 4-0 start is real. Of the 4 teams they have faced, Georgia Southern has the best run defense at #85.
Facing UGA and their #7 run defense will change the game compared to what they have seen so far.

What would MSU's record be this year to present if we cut big play touchdowns in half on defense?

Would that make Mike Leach look like a better coach?

As bad as our O has looked at times this year and which is looking much better esp on OL our main problem for our loses has been giving up multiple monster TD's by the defense in every game.

JMHO

I think I would like to keep who we have and make adjustments especially on defense.

They'll be turning things back some after this weekend. It will be interesting to see how they respond afterward. They should get the shit kicked out of them.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

Pittman gets credit for turning the program around- period. He has recruited the trenches and made them a physical football team. The SEC is a trench warfare league.

Also- give him credit for making good hires. Hell, Odom has given the SEC the blueprint against Leach

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Chad Morris also brought in some good recruiting classes for skill players. The cupboard was not as bare when Pittman came in.
These are all Morris recruits that are on the field right now.

Arkansas are buying up tons of tickets for the ole miss game. Ole Miss has thousands of tickets remaining (familiar), even though they are in the top 15. Then if Alabama beats them down, it will be even less going. But they are concerned and frustrated that Arkansas is buying up so many tickets and it is not a sellout.

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Originally Posted by Santiago

Chad Morris also brought in some good recruiting classes for skill players. The cupboard was not as bare when Pittman came in.
These are all Morris recruits that are on the field right now.

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I may have seen it here or somewhere else, but the one big thing Arky did that is helping them now is they were able to promise playing time as freshman to these guys that are now juniors and seniors. They took their lumps and are now benefitting from being battle tested early on.

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Originally Posted by WPS

I think Briles is more likely to leave than Odom is, though they both seem to be pretty happy right now. I could see Kendal ending up at a Houston or SMU type program as HC eventually. Don't think he's ready to just jump into a P5 job and for some ADs he may have too much of a polarizing personality to be in the spotlight at a bigger school like that.

Probably going to take a decent P5 head coaching job for Odom to make the jump again since he's already been fired by his alma mater. He turned down DC jobs at Texas and LSU last offseason.

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I don't see Houston hiring Briles. My alum friends there are still remembering he and his dad at Baylor, and all that went with that. There was massive coverup on some hideous stuff and both were involved. Peterson at Boise State, even publicly came out and contradicted Art Briles comment on not knowing a transfer from Boise had any past issued. Peterson came out and said he specifically told Art Briles about the trouble with the kid and the risk on accepting him. Boise had kicked him off the team. But so much there that was getting swept. All said, then again Houston power players may say enough time has passed.

Odom may have turned down TX and LSU because they are known to be revolving doors with assistants, but good for him right now on enjoying being in NW Arkansas and stability under a good HC.

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Originally Posted by Santiago

I don't see Houston hiring Briles. My alum friends there are still remembering he and his dad at Baylor, and all that went with that. There was massive coverup on some hideous stuff and both were involved. Peterson at Boise State, even publicly came out and contradicted Art Briles comment on not knowing a transfer from Boise had any past issued. Peterson came out and said he specifically told Art Briles about the trouble with the kid and the risk on accepting him. Boise had kicked him off the team. But so much there that was getting swept. All said, then again Houston power players may say enough time has passed.

Odom may have turned down TX and LSU because they are known to be revolving doors with assistants, but good for him right now on enjoying being in NW Arkansas and stability under a good HC.

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Odom would be a good HC Candidate if Leach doesn't work out.

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Originally Posted by Tbonewannabe

Odom would be a good HC Candidate if Leach doesn't work out.

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Barry wouldn't be a bad HC. I still think Mizzou was asinine for running him off. The biggest thing would be who he could bring on as an OC and could he recruit a QB. Drew Lock made their offense look better than it was. Kind of like Dak in 2015 for us.

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Originally Posted by Maroonthirteen

I think the whole celebration of Sam Pittman is a bit premature. Arkansas was 3-7 last year. He has improved Arkansas play. But they were rock bottom before. No where to go but up.

As for this year, they will have to prove their top 10 ranking. UGA has a tough run defense. Arkansas runs. Then what if they lose to Alabama and OM this year? Oh boy, lose to one of the "Mississippi schools" and that doesn't sit well in the Ozarks.

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If Pittman were to lose both coordinators, goes 5-7 next year, and get fired. He would leave UPig leaps and bounds above where Chad Morris had the team, especially the team culture. Morris made JoMo look like Saban. JoMo was soft on the players and lost their respect but they seemed to like him. The UPig players despised Morris and had no respect at all. Senior "leaders" would yell for Morris to shutup during his team talks and ra ra speaches and nothing would happen to them. I don't think Pittman is a super X and O coach but he would have get caught doing some seriously deviant stuff for UPig fans to stop loving him.