Pittman Prototype for OC Sound Familiar, Hints at Possible Return for Former Razorback

Whomever Arkansas coach chooses for position, fans, players won't have to wait long

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Nov 25, 2023 1:25 PM EST
Original:
Nov 25, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Clear your offensive coordinator hot boards everyone because based on the description Arkansas coach Sam Pittman provided after a blowout loss at home to Missouri, it's obvious who he intends to hire.

Let's look at the traits he described.
1. Brings something special to Arkansas.
2. Really wants to be at Arkansas.
3. Most importantly, understands how to run the football.

So, Houston Nutt? This isn't an endorsement, nor suggestion that Nutt will get the job or take it if it were offered, so ease up. He lives a few miles from me and from all indications seems to be pretty happy with his life. However, he certainly fits the description if this is the prototype.

Think about it. No one brought something more special to the Arkansas coaching room that Nutt. He was a ball of fire, and you can still hear his passion when he speaks today. It's hard for players to not be fired up to be Razorbacks when Nutt's weaving a verbal spell over their minds.

There may never have been a coach who wanted to be at Arkansas more than Nutt. It was his homecoming and was even more of a dream job for him than Pittman. No one was more wide-eyed and nervous about possibly losing a game than Nutt when he first arrived.

As for understanding how to run the football, when people were listing the stable of Razorback running backs that made Arkansas Running Back U when complaining about the inability to run this season, the vast majority were from the Nutt era. When Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz was on TV espousing the greatness of his running back Cody Schrader, the CBS announce team immediately harkened back to Nutt calling out Heisman voters to take note of former Hogs' great Darren McFadden.

It should be noted that future NFL starting running backs Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis were also in the backfield together with McFadden. The man knows how to run the ball.

So, if Nutt is the prototype, what is the closest Pittman can get to the former Arkansas coach? That title probably belongs to Barry Lunney, Jr. Pittman loves to go with coaches he knows when he can, and considering Illinois only secures a minor bowl if the Illini can beat Northwestern today, he could definitely be on the ground in Fayetteville by Sunday night to start recruiting players in the locker room and current commits.

Like Nutt, Lunney was a quarterback at Arkansas, although the former Fort Smith star had much more success. He not only led the Razorbacks to the program's first SEC West championship in 1995, he held most of the school passing records until Clint Stoerner began knocking down most of them with the arrival of Nutt in 1998.

The son of an Arkansas high school coaching legend and a former high school coach himself at Bentonville High School, Lunney provided the relationships needed across Arkansas to help former head coach Bret Bielema keep as many elite in-state players as possible as an assistant. As proven when Bielema shot himself in the foot by angering high school coaches across Texas, those positive relationships are key. Lunney's knowledge and experience in Arkansas and the surrounding area will be an instant injection of recruiting power if he ends up in Fayetteville.

Lunney served as interim coach when the Chad Morris era fell apart as the common thread that connected the Bielema era to Morris' staff as tight ends coach. There was never a question how bad he wanted the head coaching job.

However, when Pittman got the job, it became clear a promotion to offensive coordinator wasn't going to happen as the new head coach turned to Kendal Briles insteasd. It's never been made public whether there was bad blood when it all went down, but Lunney chose to follow fellow Razorback assistant and current Texas A&M head coach candidate Jeff Traylor to UTSA to cut his teeth as a coordinator there.

Lunney currently coaches under Bielema at Illinois as his offensive coordinator. He was hired following Lunney's UTSA offense putting the Roadrunners on the map early in Traylor's tenure by taking down the Illini on the road.

While in San Antonio, he directed a balanced offense that helped make a fledgling program a national name. In his second year, UTSA finished 12-2 and averaged 442.9 yards per game (254.3 passing, 188.6 rushing) and 38 points per game. In his first season with Bielema, he immediately injected octane into a tepid offense, not only boosting Illinois to 379 yards per game (211.8 passing, 167.3 rushing) under Bielema's clock management demands, he helped the Illini to their first bowl appearance in nearly a decade.

It's unclear whether Pittman intends to offer Lunney the job, nor whether the relationship is amicable enough that he would be willing to accept. He may want to bide his time elsewhere and wait for the head coaching job to come open rather than risk sullying his name if things don't go well next season for Arkansas.

The only thing for sure is he fits Pittman's description and the timeline for bringing whomever he has in mind. The good thing is Arkansas fans won't have to wait much longer to find out.