Pittman pleased with new offensive assistants so far
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman has had six different offensive assistants working under him over the past two years, and the Head Hog seems pleased with his new crop for the 2024 season.
Headlined by former Razorback head coach and first-year offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, the offensive staff also features new faces in wide receivers coach Ronnie Fouch, offensive line coach Eric Mateos and running backs coach Kolby Smith.
Petrino's return to the Natural State was a very popular move among Hog fans, as he led the Razorbacks to back-to-back season with double-digit wins in 2010 and 2011. After his infamous motorcycle accident, it took Petrino a while to get back on the big stage, but he took the Texas A&M offensive coordinator job last year and now he remains in the SEC with Arkansas.
With the Aggies, Petrino's offense averaged 34.2 points per game (25th in FBS, fifth in SEC) while averaging 403.8 yards per game despite losing starting quarterbacks Conner Weigman and Max Johnson to injury during the season. Now back in Fayetteville, Petrino's coaching ability is already leaving an imprint on the team and Pittman.
"You can tell by the speed," Pittman said March 8. "How fast does a guy play? Or whether he’s thinking about his assignment or he’s thinking about where’s my fit or what am I doing? What’s my depth of my route and all that kind of stuff. I think anytime you’re quoted as a good coach, or a brilliant coach or whatever the terms that Bobby’s had and things. It’s your ability, first and foremost, to teach.
"And then obviously your mind has to be a little bit different than others, which his is. But it’s the ability to teach. It’s the ability to communicate. And he’s exceptional at that. I believe so is Ronnie Fouch and Eric. Those guys have done a really good job of buying into Coach Petrino’s system."
Fouch's near-seamless transition into the Hogs' coaching staff is thanks in large part to his previous experience working under Petrino. Arkansas marks the third stop in Fouch's career that he will work with Petrino after spending time with him at Louisville and Missouri State.
"The thing about Ronnie is that, he's really a good communicator, really good teacher," Pittman said March 14. "Bobby (Petrino) whenever I hired him, Bobby said, 'Do we have any availability for staff?' Somebody on the staff? And I said, 'No, I don't right now, but if I have one besides offensive line,' because I knew Cody (Kennedy) had left or whatever, that I was going to go after Eric. But after that, to be honest with you, I interviewed Ronnie and he hadn't coached wideouts. He was a running backs coach and Bobby swore by him."
At Louisville, Fouch served as Petrino's offensive quality control analyst for three seasons before working as his co-special teams coordinator and running backs coach with the Bears. He eventually because Missouri State's co-offensive coordinator while also serving as recruiting coordinator and helping lead the team to a top-10 FCS offense in multiple categories.
"I remember talking to Bobby, he said, 'Coach, he's a really good coach, he can coach wide receivers, he knows the offense, he knows everything,'” Pittman said. "And it was a great hire. Not just a good hire, a great hire. He's meticulous in everything he does and he's, he going to be one of the best recruiters we have. He works all the time."
Kolby Smith joined the Arkansas coaching staff quickly following the departure of former running backs coach Jimmy Smith to TCU on March 8, something that can also be credited to Smith's connection to Petrino and the Razorbacks' football program.
A former four-year NFL running back and NFL assistant coach, Smith was a graduate assistant in Fayetteville in 2012 before joining Petrino's staff at Western Kentucky as running backs coach in 2013. He then coached Louisville's running back room for five seasons, the same place he once played as a running back for Petrino from 2003-06. Under Smith, the Cardinals set school rushing yard records in 2016 (3,148 yards) and 2017 (3,186).
"Going to the running backs, I asked all the coaches to give me names of guys," Pittman said. "I had some give me names of guys. Bobby just gave me a name, Kolby's name, and didn't say a whole lot. I said I'll interview him and this, that and the other. When he gave me the name, I didn't know they had worked together or anything like that. He just said, 'Hey, here's the guy I'd like for you to talk to.' And (Kolby) was the best guy for the job."
Following his stints as a college coach, Smith took an opportunity to work in the NFL and spent the last four seasons with the Miami Dolphins helping with running backs. During the 2023-24 campaign, the Dolphins totaled a franchise record 6,899 yards while ranking sixth in rushing yards per game (135.8).
"But the thing about him is he knows the offense too," Pittman said. "At the timing of all those things. I hired him because he was the best guy in my opinion for Arkansas that I interviewed. Nothing against the other guys I interviewed. Same thing with Ronnie. But he came in and we’re clicking pretty fast with him. I guess it is a long answer to say that they both know the offense really well and that’s a great advantage. They know that verbiage."
Mateos is the lone new assistant to not have any former working experience with Petrino, but he does have years of shared time with Pittman. Hired to lead Arkansas' offensive line Dec. 4 following the departure of Kennedy to Mississippi State, Mateos was Pittman's graduate assistant with the Hogs from 2013-15 before joining LSU's staff in 2016.
"The verbiage is the biggest thing," Pittman said. "Communication of the calls and things can become much faster when it’s just rolling off your tongue. When Bobby came in, I said, ‘hey look, I’ve coached o-line forever. You and Eric get together and figure out whatever the calls you want to call. I’ll learn them. It’s rolling off of your tongue. I will learn the calls and we’ll go from there.’ That’s what we did and I think that’s helped us all communicate. I’m the only guy that really had to learn it.
Once a two-year starting center for Southwest Baptist from 2009-10, Mateos became Texas State's offensive line coach in 2017-18 and then took the same role at BYU from 2019-20. With the Cougars, Mateos led an offensive line that protected an offense that finished the season in the top-15 in 10 different statistical categories. Mateos' most recent stop came at Baylor from 2021-23, where he was named to Dave Campbell Texas Football's 40 under 40 list.
"Up front on the line, we need to find a couple more guys, to be honest with you, to get us to eight where we think we can go win with all those guys," Pittman said. "I do think they’re on our team. I think we found a center or two, what we're looking for. I think Eric Mateos done a wonderful job with those guys and, and we protected a little bit better today."
Pittman and his coaching staff will resume spring football practice on March 26 following the conclusion of spring break. Follow along on our premium message board — The Trough — for coverage of every Arkansas football practice.