By: Jax Crall

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – Arkansas athletics made a leadership change in football with the firing of head coach Sam Pittman. Offensive coordinator and former Razorback head coach (2008-11) Bobby Petrino will take over as the interim head coach, the school announced Sunday. 

Pittman was named the 34th head coach after replacing Chad Morris in December of 2019. This is the earliest firing of an Arkansas head coach since 1992. 

Pittman finished with a record of 32-34 and 14-29 in the SEC. He spent six seasons as the head coach for the Razorbacks. His firing comes after a  2-3 start to the 2025 season with the recent 56-13 blowout loss Saturday against Notre Dame. 

“I want to thank Coach Pittman for his service and dedication to the University of Arkansas throughout his time as head coach,” athletic director Hunter Yurachek said.

“From Day 1, you could tell how much this opportunity meant to him. At this time, however, I feel a change is necessary to put our student-athletes and program in the best position to be successful,” Yuracheck said. “The goal for our football program is to be highly competitive within the Southeastern Conference and compete for a national championship.”

“As we move forward in the process of finding our next head coach, I am certain we will be able to provide the necessary resources to our staff and team to reach our goals,” Yuracheck said. “We will begin a national search for our next head coach immediately and that search will include Coach Petrino, who has expressed his desire to be a candidate for the full-time job.”

Petrino was hired as the offensive coordinator of the Razorbacks in November of 2023. The last time he was in Fayetteville, he led the Hogs to a 34-17 record with double-digit winning seasons in 2010 and ’11. 

Arkansas now goes into a bye-week before they travel to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Oct. 11.