When Pushed, Sam Pittman Gave Worst Answers Possible

Very few seem concerned that Hogs' coach's answer was honest, but totally wrong

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Oct 23, 2023 6:20 AM EDT
Original:
Oct 22, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Whatever happens in the final four weeks, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has no one to blame but himself. To his credit, he was asked directly if he was making any staff changes and told us he wasn't going to answer that question.

It was how he was asked about the fourth-quarter debacle in a 7-3 loss to Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon that left even some high school coaches shaking their heads. Not deciding on a field goal decision or going for it, Pittman decided to punt it away.

"I didn't know what to do to be perfectly honest with you," is the exact answer he gave. He never should have said that much. Sam, you are being too honest at times, although some will climb on their high pedestal and praise him for it, then say he should be fired. That's not my decision and I've never called for any coach's dismissal, mainly because I don't have a vote or all the facts.

Pittman should have deflected the question and blamed it on miscommunication, or just say he screwed it up. Nobody wants a worth millions to say, "I don't know." Pittman isn't paid to NOT know or, at the very least, admit he doesn't know.

"I decided to kick a field goal and we didn't get it off in time," Pittman said, trying to explain away the fact he didn't know what he was doing. "I did not want to call a timeout at that point because I wasn't even sure I wanted to kick a field goal to be perfectly honest with you. We kicked it down to the two and the fans got really involved in it. To be honest with you, I didn't know what to do. I didn't make the decision fast enough. Once I got it in there, I thought we had plenty of time to kick it, but at that point I wasn't going to burn a timeout because my feeling was I wasn't for sure I was making the right decision anyway."

All of that was a trainwreck of one answer in the press conference that could come back to haunt him. It's doubtful anybody's going to pull the trigger on a coach while there is still a slim mathematical possibility of a bowl game. The body language of fifth-year quarterback KJ Jefferson and an offensive coordinator who exchanged e-mails with students a few weeks ago right after a disappointing loss are already problematic enough without Pittman adding fuel to the fire.

Pittman may not be looking to see what his future could be, but the groundwork was already in place as he spoke to jettison the offensive coordinator. Jefferson's comments about Dan Enos' offense by all appearances was simply the quarterback trying to sell something about which he didn't sound convinced.

If the Razorbacks loses one more game, they can't qualify for a bowl game. Pittman doesn't have a single season he can point to as hope he can bail this program beyond where he's gotten it. He has a 47.7% winning percentage overall and 32.2% wins in SEC games.

How things play out the next few weeks will ultimately determine if Pittman is around to make things interesting at SEC Media Days next season. The firing of Enos will calm the flames a little bit, but there are undoubtedly conversations under way between the folks who do have a vote and say as to what needs to be done to keep this staff intact. Get ready for a wild few weeks.