HawgBeat - Updated potential Arkansas offensive coordinator replacements
HawgBeat breaks down the potential names to watch for in the likely upcoming offensive coordinator search.
arkansas.rivals.com
As news spilled out Wednesday of Arkansas offensive coordinator Kendal Briles likely moving on to take the same position at TCU, it is time to take a look at potential candidates for Head Hog Sam Pittman to fill the open spot with.
Pittman has already replaced former defensive coordinator Barry Odom with co-defensive coordinators Travis Williams and Marcus Woodson. He also filled the open tight ends coach spot left by Dowell Loggains with former Stanford tight ends coach Morgan Turner.
Though those were all important hires, and Pittman also has to fill a defensive assistant role left by former cornerbacks coach Dominique Bowman, none is more important than filling the offense coordinator role, which Briles excelled at.
Arkansas' offense ranked 35th nationally in points per game (32.5) and 16th in total yards (471.4) last season. The Hogs' 6,128 total yards of offense this season was the second most in a single season in program history (the 2010 team had 6,273). The team's 471.4 total yards of offense per game ranked second in school history and the 6.37 yards per play is tied with the 2021 team for fifth best in the team's record book.
Replacing that type of output will be tough, but here are some names that could potentially get the job done:
Seth Littrell - Former North Texas HC
Littrell posted a record of 44-44 over seven seasons before being let go by the Mean Green following the 2022 season. His teams were best known for their prolific offenses, as they ranked top three in Conference USA in total offense, top two pass offense and top three in scoring offense for four consecutive seasons from 2017-20.
In 2022, North Texas had the nation's No. 22 total offense, No. 28 scoring offense, No. 37 passing offense and No. 25 rushing offense.
Prior to his time at North Texas, Littrell was the offensive coordinator for North Carolina (2014-15), Indiana (2012-13) and Arizona (2011).
Littrell was a running back for Oklahoma from 1997-2000, and two of those seasons overlapped with Pittman being the offensive line coach for the Sooners.
Jim Svoboda - OC, Tulane
Svoboda wrapped up his first season as the offensive coordinator for Tulane, who went 12-2 with a Rose Bowl victory over USC. His offense placed well in the nation, ranking 31st in total offense, 19th in scoring offense, 61st in passing offense and 20th in rushing offense.
Prior to his time at Tulane, Svoboda served as the head coach at Central Missouri for 11 years. His teams broke 108 school offensive record and he coached 28 All-Americans.
Before Central Missouri, Svoboda was the quarterbacks coach at UCLA from 2004-06 and the assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach at Montana State from 2007-09.
Clint Trickett - OC/QB, Marshall
At 31-years-old, Trickett has been rising through the coaching ranks at a fast pace and he is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Thundering Herd. He arrived at Marshall in 2021 as the wide receivers coach and passing-game coordinator before he was bumped up to his current position.
Marshall's offense ranked 14th nationally with 3,830 yards through the air with Trickett running the passing game in 2021.The Thundering Herd's offense took a step back in 2021, though, as the program was 90th in scoring offense nationally, 110th in passing offense and 58th in total offense.
Prior to his time at Marshall, Trickett was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Florida Atlantic in 2020 and he served as FAU's tight ends coach from 2017-19, overlapping with Briles, who served as FAU's offensive coordinator in 2017.
Harrison Bryant won the John Mackey Award (first non-FBS winner) in 2019 under Tricket after he tallied 1,004 yards receiving on 65 catches with seven touchdowns. He was only the third Conference USA tight end ever over 1,000 yards, as well as the third Owl all-time.
Also worth noting, Trickett was the quarterbacks coach at Eastern Mississippi Community College from 2015-16. He was featured on the popular Netflix series "Last Chance U".
Trickett played quarterback at Florida State and West Virginia from 2010-14.
Zach Kittley - OC/QB, Texas Tech
Another rising star in the industry, Kittley just wrapped up his first season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas Tech. His squad posted the nation's 20th best total offense, 12th best passing offense and 27th best scoring offense.
The resume for Kittley is quite impressive, as he served as Western Kentucky's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2021, when Bailey Zappe broke the NCAA record of single-season passing yards (5,967) and passing touchdowns (62). The Hilltoppers offense averaged 44.2 points per game and 535.3 yards of total offense, and they led the nation in passing yards per game (433.7) and first downs (384) and ranked second for both scoring offense and total offense.
Prior to his time at WKU, Kittley called the offense from 2018-20 at Houston Baptist, an FCS school that was led also led by Zappe during Kittley's time there. Zappe led the nation with 35 passing touchdowns in 2019 and ranked second in passing yards per game for a Huskies offense that was third nationally in passing offense with 334.3 yards per game through the air.
Before going to Houston Baptist, Kittley was a student assistant (offensive intern, 2013-14) and graduate assistant (assistant QB coach, 2015-17) at Texas Tech under Kliff Kingsbury. Kittley worked with Kingsbury in the development of Patrick Mahomes II, tutoring the future NFL MVP into becoming the nation’s leading passer in 2016.
Jimmy Smith - RB Coach, Arkansas
If there was going to be a hire within the program, it likely would have been Loggains, who left to take the offensive coordinator position at South Carolina in December. That leaves Smith as an option, likely as a co-offensive coordinator.
Smith is a very talented recruiter, and during his short time as a running backs coach on the collegiate level, his groups have flourished.
In 2022, Arkansas had the nation's No. 7 rushing attack, rushing for 3,077 yards and averaging 236.7 yards per game. Running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders' 1,443 came just short of Ole Miss' Quinshon Judkins of being the most in the SEC.
Smith’s squad led all Power 5 teams and ranked second nationally with 227.8 rushing yards per game in 2021 – the most by an Arkansas team since 2007 when running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones helped the Hogs set a school record.
Prior to arriving at Arkansas in 2020, Smith served as the running backs coach at Georgia State in 2019, and he was the head coach of Cedar Grove (Ga.) High School from 2013-18.
Dan Mullen - Former Florida and Mississippi State HC
After taking the 2022 season off from coaching and spending the year as an analyst for ABC and ESPN, Mullen might have the itch to get back into coaching.
Mullen is known as an offensive guru and his job done with current Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott at Mississippi State is something that seems like he could do the same with KJ Jefferson at Arkansas.
With the Bulldogs (2009-17), Mullen's offenses set plenty of school records. In 2014, Mullen’s squad set 22 single-season records, including 10 by Prescott. The Bulldogs led the SEC in total offense for the first time since 1982, putting up a school-record 513.8 yards per game.
At Florida (2018-21), Mullen's squad led the nation in passing offense for the second time in program history in 2020, as they averaged 378.6 passing yards per game (which also ranks fourth in SEC history). Florida finished the season ranked ninth nationally in total offense (509.8 yards per game), marking its highest national finish since 2009.
It might not be the right time for Mullen to get back into coaching, and he might not be the type of recruiter Pittman is looking for, but he would be a great fit with the quarterbacks the Hogs have on the roster.
Other potential candidates
~ Barry Lunney Jr. - OC, Illinois
~ Buster Faulkner - OC/TE, Georgia Tech
~ Dan Enos - OC/QB, Maryland
~ Chip Lindsey - OC/QB, North Carolina
~ Casey Woods - OC, SMU
