Razorback fans will get wish after coach canned, turning to familiar face

Announcement made that Sam Pittman fired and offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino back in charge temporarily

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman on the sidelines in a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas fans didn't have to wait long to get their wish with the news football coach Sam Pittman is gone and a familiar face is the replacement.

Former coach Bobby Petrino is back at the top now, at least on an interim basis. The reality is the Razorbacks had basically quit on this team and there weren't many options left.

The UA sent out a press release at noon. Social media has been burning hot with the whole issue since the Hogs dropped to 2-3 on the season with a 56-13 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday.

"I want to thank Coach Pittman for his service and dedication to the University of Arkansas throughout his time as head coach,” Yurachek said in the release. “From Day 1, you could tell how much this opportunity meant to him. At this time, however, I feel a change is necessary to put our student-athletes and program in the best position to be successful.

“The goal for our football program is to be highly competitive within the Southeastern Conference and compete for a national championship. As we move forward in the process of finding our next head coach, I am certain we will be able to provide the necessary resources to our staff and team to reach our goals.

“We will begin a national search for our next head coach immediately and that search will include Coach Petrino, who has expressed his desire to be a candidate for the full-time job.”

That last paragraph is interesting, since Razorback mega-donor Frank Fletcher said last week everything was great with Petrino and Pittman. Fletcher said he didn't want the job. Things may have changed, though, so who knows for sure.

Now we move on to the coaching search part. There will be lists of candidates before dark. Some of them will be available, others won't be interested and some never will be.

Petrino was the Arkansas coach from 2008-11 until he was unceremoniously fired after an April 1 motorcycle accident and the issues surrounding it.

He did have the last back-to-back double digit wins in 2010 and 2011, winning 10 and 11 games each year in an interesting numbers twist. Maybe the biggest issue was the Hogs still just finished third in the SEC West each year after the bowl games.

A big part of that was Alabama and LSU playing for national championships both years.

Pittman was named the Razorbacks’ 34th head coach in December 2019 and was in his sixth season leading the Hogs in 2025. He was 32-34 overall while winning three bowl games in his tenure. Arkansas is 2-3 this season heading into the bye week before returning to action at Tennessee on Oct. 11.