Arkansas' Petrino clears out defensive staff after Pittman firing

Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said Monday he felt sixth-year coach Sam Pittman had “lost the team” and it was time for a change.

The Razorbacks fired Pittman on Sunday, a day after a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame.

“I just felt like how we performed on Saturday gave me an indication that maybe Sam had lost the team a little bit because they generally had played really hard for him throughout his tenure,” Yurachek said.

Yurachek promoted offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. It's familiar territory for Petrino, who served as the Razorbacks' head coach from 2008 to 2011 before he was fired due to a scandal. Petrino was brought back as offensive coordinator in 2023.

“Coach Petrino, as we met yesterday, he accepted this opportunity with the understanding that he also wanted an opportunity to formally be a candidate for our head coaching position, and he will have that opportunity, but we’ll also subsequently run a search for our next head coach at the same time,” Yurachek said.

Pittman's dismissal and Petrino's temporary promotion weren't the only changes. Defensive coordinator Travis Williams, co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson and defensive line coach Deke Adams were all let go. Chris Wilson was named the team's interim defensive coordinator.

Petrino had high praise for Wilson.

“My experience goes way back to having to battle against him when he had all the great defensive linemen at Mississippi State,” Petrino said. “Very, very impressed with what he's done throughout his career. Guy's got a Super Bowl ring. He brings a lot of credibility into the room.”

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