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Razorback Report: Arkansas fans embrace unknown after coaching change

Your daily briefing on what's going on with Arkansas athletics
Taylor Hodges|
Arkansas Razorback head coach Sam Pittman reacts during the first quarter at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Arkansas Razorback head coach Sam Pittman reacts during the first quarter at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Is this a good time for Arkansas fans or not?

On one hand, the head football coach most wanted to be shown the door was shown the door Sunday.

On the other hand, Arkansas fired its head coach after five games which isn’t a great sign of how good a team is.

That first hand probably weighs more than the second because the firing of Sam Pittman opens the door to the unknown.

Opening the door to the unknown opens Arkansas to an infinite number of possibilities (like the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s multiverse).

In the unknown, the next coach has a chance to be the next Nick Saban or whoever your “greatest of all-time coach” is.

But for every “good” reality, there’s a bad one involving a repeat of the Chad Morris era in Fayetteville.

This isn’t to say Pittman should’ve remained the head coach. If a head coaching change must be made, a bye week is great time to do it, and the performance against Notre Dame was really, really bad.

“I want to thank Coach Pittman for his service and dedication to the University of Arkansas throughout his time as head coach,” Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek said in the university’s official press 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.”

Now the Razorbacks have to hope they’re not this year’s version of the 2024 Mississippi State team that finished 2-10 overall and 0-8 in SEC games.

At least something positive

Should that happen, Arkansas fans can at least find solace their soccer team that’s sitting atop the SEC standings with a 4-0 record in conference games.

The latest win came Friday night when No. 7 Arkansas beat Ole Miss, 4-1. If the Razorbacks want to remain atop the conference standings, they’ll have to do it against the third-highest ranked SEC team behind No. 5 Tennessee and the Razorbacks.

Arkansas will travel to No. 12 South Carolina on Thursday for a match that’ll air on ESPNU at 6 p.m.

Yesterday’s Results

Volleyball: LSU 3, Arkansas 1 ( 25-12, 17-25, 21-25, 23-25)

Today’s Schedule

Men’s Golf: Arkansas at Blessings Collegiate Invitational, Fayetteville, Ark.

Women’s Golf: Arkansas at Blessings Collegiate Invitational, Fayetteville, Ark.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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