Oddsmaker Gives Coach Prime Great Odds to Be at Arkansas

If Hogs have an opening in November, would Hunter Yurachek look west for replacement?

Author:
Jacob Davis
Publish date:
Feb 20, 2024 2:59 PM EST

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - With the college football offseason well underway, it's already time for hot seat and coaching carousel talk. There was no other coach or program talked about more, for better or worse, than Deion Sanders and his 2023 Colorado Buffaloes program.

Although the bright lights dimmed following an electric 3-0 start to the season, Sanders' continues to be talked about as an elite recruiter and artist of the transfer portal. Bet Colorado has released odds for Coach Prime's next coaching venture, assuming he leaves the Buff's at some point.

His alma mater, Florida State, has the best odds at +600. Rival Florida Gators and the Arkansas Razorbacks both have odds set at +1,000 with the likelihood both jobs could come open during the next round of coaching hires. Auburn opens at +1,200, while Miami and USC start at +1,750.

Sanders' unusual use of the portal bucked a new trend around college football as his program took only seven players for its incoming high school class. While bringing in a total of 24 transfers, ranked No. 5 in the country by 247sports.

Sam Pittman's job seemed to be on the line the whole month of November. Blowout home losses to Auburn and Missouri along with an uninspiring victory over FIU did nothing but add fuel to the flames on his seat.

The Arkansas coach will certainly be the man at least for 2024. Beyond that it's up to his new hires and additions via the recruiting class and transfer portal to blend together and improve off last seasons' 4-8 mark.

The Razorbacks would certainly benefit from a coach of Sanders' type. A high profile celebrity who can recruit based off name recognition alone would do wonders for Arkansas in the SEC. Out of the box hires have done well in Fayetteville like Bobby Petrino's return to college football in 2008 and Lou Holtz's tenure from 1977-83.

Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek reportedly interviewed Sanders before the hiring of Pittman in 2020. Former Razorback and owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, was able to secure at least a meet-and-greet between the two, but his lack of college coaching experience was a deal breaker for Yurachek.

“I was thoroughly impressed with Deion,” Yurachek says. “I didn’t think this was the right starting point for him as a collegiate head coach in the SEC, but I think Jackson State is a great landing spot. Some are going to say this is a publicity stunt. Yes, it’s going to sell more tickets, but the time I was able to visit with Deion, he knows football.”