Pittman's Gift is Being Relatable to Arkansans

Arkansas head coach would fit in on any couch, church pew or fish fry in any part of the state

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Jul 20, 2022 8:34 PM EDT

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

ATLANTA — Listening to and watching Sam Pittman make his obligatory rounds with the SEC Network Wednesday provided a nice refresher as to why Arkansas fans connect so well with the Razorback head coach.

Not since Houston Nutt has an Arkansas coach understood what it means to be an Arkansan, and it's possible that there's never been a head coach that the people of the state could relate to more than Pittman.

Arkansas coach Houston Nutt with quarterback Mitch Mustain in 2006 in a game against Auburn. — Arkansas coach Houston Nutt talks with quarterback Mitch Mustain in 2006 in a game against Auburn. Nutt was the last Razorback coach to truly understand the people of Arkansas.
Beth Hall / USA TODAY Sports

As soon as he stepped to the podium, my wife said exactly what I was thinking. Pittman, when asked to speak in this setting feels a lot like the church member who is asked that week to give the devotional before everyone is dismissed to their Sunday night classes.

A big chunk of America isn't going to understand that because they don't have church services where there's both "Sunday School" and preaching on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights. That's something most of Arkansas, especially in its smaller communities, has clung to tightly and have no intention of letting go.

That's why the state's citizens were able to recognize Pittman as one of them. He's clearly a little nervous, not as polished as the preacher, but he's a member of the congregation just like them, doing his best to deliver the message as best he can.

Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman addresses the media Wednesday morning in Atlanta. While Pittman isn't exactly comfortable at the podium, he was perfectly at home an hour later with the SEC Now crew where he found out Arkansas would host the show for the first weekend of the football season when the Razorbacks play Cincinnati.
Dale Zanine – USA TODAY Sports

However, once that's over and Pittman gets to the desk where he can relax and just hang out, he turns into every Arkansan sitting at home on his couch. In the Smith family, every Sunday after church, the remaining four brothers assembled in my grandparents' small living room before and after a giant meal shared by all the families and talked about the Razorbacks in the loudest, most boisterous manner possible.

They spoke plainly and with belief while my grandfather held court. You had to be careful, because one of my uncles didn't know how country strong he was, and would get so into what he was saying that you might get accidentally knocked unconscious as his giant arms flailed about while making his points.

Sam Pittman would have fit right in. His cadence, the way he says things, the laughs that are being had in a non-mean way, they all fight right at home on almost any couch in the state.

Just look at some of the things he said in his interview.

"Our wide receiver room looks like a wide receiver room," Pittman said. "It doesn't look like a high school football team."

Jadon Haselwood-Spring Practice — Oklahoma transfer Jadon Haselwood catches passes during the Arkansas spring game. Haselwood will be one of several receivers hoping to combine to make up for the receiving production lost with the departure of Treylon Burks to the NFL's Tennessee Titans.
Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images

Now picture your cousin or uncle on the couch or out on the porch swing saying the same thing. Those words fit in their mouths just as easily as anything they have already said if they haven't already said those exact words.

Try on another one.

"Let me tell you something, if talking makes you a good player, he's going to win the Thorpe Award," Pittman said.

If that doesn't have 40-50 something middle-aged Arkansas dad written all over it then your dad moved to Arkansas from somewhere else.

When the SEC Now crew commented on his tan, he immediately came back with a quip every big boy in Arkansas could rip off the top of his head.

"You got this much surface, you gon' get tan," Pittman said with a chuckle.

Minutes later, when Laura Rutledge asks about the hog statues at his lake house and seeks out names, the Razorback head coach carefully navigates what he really wants to say by telling her to make sure they are boy names. Every Arkansan watching understood he was being tasteful and respectful by not pointing out exactly why he's certain those statues are male hogs and not female.

Pittman again carefully navigated being a southern gentleman and his own modern day wisdom by breaking down the suit game of the mean on set while being open that he was intentionally not commenting to Rutledge's clothes as a proper man should and not just leaving her out.

It's easy to see that Pittman isn't a guy who had to come in and study how to fit in with the people of Arkansas. He truly is a man of the people.

If Pittman showed up at the family fish fry or barbecue wearing a camouflage hunting shirt with just a hint of oil on it and a Stihl mesh ball cap and started talking Hogs and fishing, he'd fit in so well no one would even notice they were hanging out with the Razorback football coach.

Fish fry - child — *Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman has the ability to show up to any fish fry in Arkansas and fit right in.*
Mike Hensdill – USA TODAY Sports

Even when closing out his interview, his words about seeing the crew when they come up to host SEC Nation at the Cincinnati game to open the season even felt like my grandmother when she used to tell us to "Come on up. There'll be plenty of food. I'll even make a crustless egg custard just for you."

Pittman has to win games to stick around for that contract he thanked Hunter Yurcheck for during his devotional time. However, Arkansans aren't quick to give up on family, and Pittman has found a way to become just that for the majority of Razorback fans – family.