Sam Pittman responds to question about being on the hot seat for multiple years

Following a 4-8 season in 2023, many thought Arkansas coach Sam Pittman might be done. His program was trending in the wrong direction, having put together a worse record for the second straight year.

Then he ripped off seven wins in 2024 to quiet the noise just a bit. Still, he enters 2025 on the proverbial hot seat once more.

Sam Pittman was asked this week about whether being on the hot seat adds any additional pressure. He answered fairly bluntly.

“No, it really doesn’t,” Pittman said. “I’m not on social media or anything like that. Really all that matters is how our team plays, and I can control that to a certain degree. And I can’t control what people think about me or what they write about me, so I really am not really concerned about it.”

Still, with a 30-31 overall record through five seasons — including a 14-28 mark in SEC play — there’s no doubt Sam Pittman needs to get things going a bit.

But he still has plenty of backers, too. Including many in the 2026 recruiting cycle, according to On3’s Adam Gorney.

Pittman himself sounds extremely confident heading into the fall based on what he has amassed on the roster. That could portend big things for the Razorbacks in 2025.

“The best recruiting class we’ve had since I’ve been here was last year (2025),” Pittman said. “We have some really, really good freshmen on our team.

“I don’t know what the guys who have never played a down predicted us but I know we have a really good freshman class. If you don’t want to rank us (in preseason polls) that’s fine, don’t you have to play all of them anyway? Roll that thing out there and let’s see what happens. That’s fine. We surprised a lot of people, you’re not surprising me. We have a really, really good football team and we’re excited to play.”

And some of his recruits are also backing that theme. Added three-star offensive lineman Ashley Walker:

“Coach Pittman was one of the main reasons why I committed to Arkansas. His experience and knowledge in the trenches was something that stood out to me in my recruitment.”

He wasn’t the only one to stand up for Sam Pittman. Added three-star offensive lineman Ben Mubenga:

“Man, I love coach Pittman. He’s one of the big reasons I chose Arkansas. His track record speaks for itself. Coach (Eric) Mateos learned under him. That’s the best position I could of put myself in.”

Bottom line: Sam Pittman has plenty of supporters, but he’s also got his detractors. Ultimately, only winning will sway folks from the latter to the former side of the fence. Arkansas will open its season with a contest against Alabama A&M on Saturday, with a broadcast set for the SEC Network at 4:15 p.m. ET.

On3’s Adam Gorney also contributed to this report.