Pittman Wrong to Tell Players to Blame Him

Players weren't coached to drop interceptions, miss blocks, or misread routes, so they should take responsibility also

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Oct 9, 2022 12:18 AM EDT

In this story:

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Arkansas has been here before.

The Razorbacks have even been here before with Sam Pittman.

Three-game losing streaks are a part of the Hogs' DNA that dates back to just after a very special motorcycle found its way into a ditch.

However, this one feels a little different.

It could be attributed to all the years of Arkansas trying to punch its way up the ladder as opposed to the Razorbacks feeling like they are tumbling off a ladder from high up this year.

Besides, Arkansas wasn't as far up that ladder as fans wanted to make them out to be after a single winning season.

`Nope. Something just feels off.

While KJ Jefferson is the clear leader and heart of the team on offense, the feeling from the outside looking in is that no one has stepped up and truly taken the reins on the defensive side.

Every time a transformative moment has happened at Arkansas, someone other than the quarterback stepped up to lead in a way that gave others no choice but to follow.

When the Hogs looked like they were going to win the national championship in 1998 before the stumble fumble by Clint Stoerner while running out the clock against eventual national champion Tennessee, it was Brandon Burlsworth who convinced others to put in extra work needed to become elite.

When the team tried to climb its way into respectability last season, it was Grant Morgan who inspired and led his team off the field, in the locker room and at home.

Right now, there is no feeling of a Morgan or Burlsworth on this team.

There may be vocal leaders, although based on press conference appearances that list begins and ends with Jefferson. However, there's no evidence of someone not only obsessed with getting better, but also obsessed with making everyone around him better.

We live in a world where accountability is no longer a personal responsibility.

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman spent the postgame press conference taking credit for the loss. He specifically told his players to not take any responsibility for what happened on the field.

"I told the kids after that if anybody asks them a question, blame me because I’m the head coach and I’m the one that deserves the blame," Pittman said. "I’m not trying to be holier than now up here. I believe that."

That mentality of stepping up and owning responsibility for your actions is one so many older generations have, but Pittman does a disservice by not having his athletes develop that mentality also. Where else are they going to learn to take ownership for what they do?

If this generation chooses to blow off work in the classroom, they're expected to get half credit for doing nothing while everyone who should be holding the student accountable lights into the teacher who already bent over backward trying to get that student to do the work.

That trickles up into college and the workplace. Anyone who has dealt with this newest crop of freshly minted adults over the past few years knows they expect much without putting forth much of anything to earn it.

And if things goes wrong or it gets a little stressful, they expect the bar to be lowered like it so often was in high school and for the boss or professor to take responsibility for them not being up to the task.

Just ask the professor at NYU who recently got fired for not lowering the bar he's always held to in a class meant to prepare students to become doctors while also not coddling them and worrying about their feelings when they didn't put in the work to pass.

Here's something that's going to get some of these players bent out of shape while also sending modern era defenders piling out of the woodwork – the losing that is taking place at Arkansas is on the players and it's their responsibility to fix it.

Don't go blaming coaches. These players were taught what they need to do.

Don't blame the plays the coaches called. If players execute properly, the stop is made or the yardage is gained.

These players shouldn't need a coach most of the week. No coach should have to make them watch film and figure out where they messed up.

It's their responsibility to have watched the film and broken down the good and the bad before they ever see a coach. There should be a whole room full of Razorbacks at a teammate's house talking it out and writing it down.

Players only meetings shouldn't be news. They should be the norm.

The first day back to practice after these games shouldn't be the first time they've worked on what needs to be fixed. Reps should already be taken and things fixed before the coaches see these players on the field again.

That's their responsibility.

They want to be a champion? They want to keep fans in the stands?

Put in the extra work. Take responsibility.

These three losses happened because players failed to do their jobs.

Own it. Change it.

If they're already doing it, then do it more. Do it better.

Find a leader in the locker room who will push everyone and make them do it at the highest level. If someone already has this role, find someone more gifted as a leader and more determined.

Sounds harsh, but that's what happens in the workplace.

Take credit for the loss and all the extra that needs to be done so over the next several weeks players can take credit for wins they earned.

Barry Odom didn't drop interceptions.

Sam Pittman didn't miss blocks.

Kendal Briles didn't misread a route.

Players did that.

And if Arkansas turns it around and pulls off another magical late season run, players will do that too.

It's on them, which also means it's up to them.

This team needs at least one more fully dedicated leader to save this season.

We'll see in Provo whether anyone wants to step up.