Pittman provides update on offensive coordinator search
Following a 48-14 loss to the Missouri Tigers on Friday, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said he hoped to have a permanent offensive coordinator hired within the next week or so.
The loss to the Tigers brought an end to a 4-8 season for the Razorbacks, who were 1-7 in SEC play and 2-4 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
With the transfer portal opening up on Dec. 4 and full focus on the offseason, an offensive coordinator hire is the biggest next step for the Razorbacks.
"The portal comes open on (Dec. 4), so obviously with the kids that we have that are committed, you want to be right, but you also want to be as fast as you possibly can," Pittman said. "You'd like to get some guys in here maybe Tuesday and Wednesday so they can talk to the kids before we need to go out on the road. I don't know if that's possible or not, but obviously we've been in conversations with several different people."
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Arkansas scored 27 total points in home conference games this season, including three against Mississippi State, 10 against Auburn and the 14 points against Missouri.
Back on Oct. 22, the Razorbacks decided to fire first-year offensive coordinator Dan Enos after just eight games. At the time, Arkansas ranked 119th in the country in total offense (305.9), 114th in rushing offense (109.0), 102nd in passing offense (196.9) and 82nd in scoring offense (26.5).
Former wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton stepped in as interim offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in place of Enos. In four games as the play caller, Guiton's offense averaged 26.8 points and 370 total yards of offense. The Razorbacks averaged 26.6 points and 327.3 yards per game as an offense in 12 total games this season.
As far as Guiton goes, he's interviewed for the job and did the best he could given the circumstances.
"I’m really pleased with what he did as the offensive coordinator," Pittman said. "I mean, going and beating Florida and then scoring 44 — well, I think the defense scored some — scoring 37 last week. And I’m really grateful to him because he worked his butt off and did as good a job as he possibly could do. I’m thankful for him."
In 2021, Arkansas had 5,742 total yards of offense and it improved that number to 6,128 yards of total offense in 2022 under former offensive coordinator Kendal Briles. This season's total of 3,927 yards of offense has Pittman wishing his offense looked more like Briles'.
"You certainly want a guy that brings something special to the university, whether that be what KB did in the past, whether that be a combination of what Kendal did and some pro style stuff," Pittman said. "I think we need a guy that really wants to be here and understands Arkansas. But the No. 1 thing is we need somebody who understands how to run the football, because we have to run the football in my opinion to win.
"Of all the problems that we’ve had this year, in all honesty it all stemmed, a bunch of it, because we can’t run the football. That would be my No. 1 thing is to sit down and visit with a man that knows how to run the football."
To fix the issue of not being able to run the ball, Arkansas must first fix the offensive line. Whether that be a new look at the position coach spot, or added talent through the portal, improving up front is key.
"You don’t have to be a football coach to know that we need help," Pittman said. "So we have to go and address that and that will be our No. 1 place to address because without that you really can’t have a lot of success offensively, and with that you can have a whole bunch of success. We’ve got to get it fixed, and that’s nothing negative about the kids we have, we just have to get that one fixed. I think everybody knows that."
HawgBeat will have readers covered with the latest in the offensive coordinator coaching search, plus all of the expected roster movement in the coming weeks. Make sure to stay tuned, plus first-time subscribers can take advantage of our Black Friday deal by getting 75% off your first year by using code "RIVALS2023" at checkout.