Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman entered his fifth SEC Media Days knowing the kind of questions he was going to receive following a 4-8 season in 2023.
While Razorbacks' fans have made it clear that their excitement for the 2024 season is very low, media pundits galore took to their sets Thursday morning to also set the bar near the bottom of the Southeastern Conference for Pittman's team ahead of his speech at the podium inside the Omni Hotel in Dallas.
Sporting a 23-25 overall record through four full seasons as the head coach in Fayetteville, Pittman said his expectations for this year's team are at an all-time high.
"Over the past four years we been invited to three bowl games," Pittman said. "Two of the last three years at some point in the season we been ranked in the top 10. I love this team. I love our coaches. Our expectations are as high as they've ever been for this season coming up. If we can take 4-20 to 9-4, we can deal with 4-8, too, and that's what we're going to do. I'm very excited about the Arkansas Razorbacks."
Part of Pittman's confidence come from the leadership of Boise State transfer quarterback Taylen Green, new faces on the offensive line via the transfer portal and an incumbent at defensive coordinator in the talented Travis Williams. But everyone wanted to focus on new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino — obviously.
"I had Barry (Odom) before that I could bump some head coaching questions off," Pittman said. "As I get older the questions aren't as many, but -- or as I get more years of being a head coach. But it's like a security blanket. I got Bobby there. I had Barry there. I had Bobby there that I can run off things. Both of those guys are not, hey, we need to do this, this, this.
"I'll ask them a question and I want their opinion and they know it. We'll agree on it or won't, but we're both grown men. If we do, we do. If we don't, we don't. We move on down the road. That's been very beneficial to me, and I really like him and I have a lot of the respect for him. It's just -- he spends more time in my office than anybody, and I apologize to him. I don't know if he likes it or not. I do make him talk to me a lot."
Whether or not there is a specific number of wins Pittman is trying to get to this year is still unclear. What is clear, as stated by Athletics Director Hunter Yurachek multiple times, is that there must be improvement from last year's abysmal showing. Pittman alluded to the turnaround from the Hogs winning four total games over two season under previous head coach Chad Morris.
"We went from 4-20 to 9-4," Pittman said. "We can sure as hell go from 4-8 to 9-4 or 10-3, we can. We've got a very good football team. I'm very honored to be the coach for five years now at Arkansas. I'm not close to finished. I'm not close to done. I love our football team. I love being the head coach at Arkansas."
"I've been on several different staffs that got fired," Pittman said on SEC This Morning. "Everybody felt bad for the head coach. Hell, the head coach got a buyout, he's got this, he's made a lot of money. It's never been about me, nor will it ever be about me. I want to win for the state of Arkansas and the kids and the coaching staff. That's really all I care about."
Arkansas' season will kickoff Thursday, Aug. 29, against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The game will get started at 6:30 p.m. CT and it will be broadcast on ESPNU.
