Arkansas’ Sam Pittman explains Bobby Petrino hire: ‘I want to win’

Bobby Petrino wasn’t in the room in Dallas, but the offensive coordinator’s return to the Arkansas Razorbacks was a popular topic of conversation at SEC Media Days on Thursday.Head coach Sam Pittman told ESPN his decision to hire the controversial Petrino was all about the Razorbacks’ desire to win, going on to claim at the podium that he is not worried about meshing with the man who once held his position.Petrino was at the helm of the Razorbacks from 2008-11 and led them to a Cotton Bowl win in the 2011 season. But he was fired in April 2012 after a motorcycle accident led to the revelation that he was conducting an extramarital affair with an athletic department employee.Petrino’s figure now looms behind Pittman, whose seat is getting hot after a 4-8 season in 2023.”I want to win. I don’t care about all the rest of it,” Pittman told ESPN. “This has never ever, ever been about me. I’m grateful to be the head coach at Arkansas, and I’m trying to make the people of the state of Arkansas, the team and the staff proud to be a part of the program.”Pittman told reporters that Petrino has been “a great resource for me” with his head coaching background and he is not expecting to butt heads with the Arkansas icon.”I would want to work for me,” Pittman said. “I would want to work with me if I was an offensive coordinator because I’m going to let you go get them. Now, I’ve got (many) ideas and I’m going to come in and have my tape up there and go, ‘OK, I see this, I see this, I see this.’ But I would think if you ask Bobby and (defensive coordinator Travis Williams) and (special teams coordinator Scott Fountain), they say, ‘He gives me the freedom to run what I think is best.'”Petrino, 63, spent 2023 as the offensive coordinator for Texas A&M. Jimbo Fisher faced nearly identical questions about Petrino’s persona at last year’s SEC Media Day session and said it wouldn’t make things “volatile” on the coaching staff.Fisher was fired 10 games into the season with a 6-4 record, and Petrino wasn’t retained by new coach Mike Elko.

Playlist