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FAYETTEVILLE — In the hours immediately following the announcement he had been hired as Arkansas’ next football coach, Sam Pittman’s phone blew up with 400-500 text messages.
There were the usually congratulations from friends and former players, but a lot of them, he said, were from coaches across the country who expressed interest in joining his staff with the Razorbacks.
“A lot of people in America think about the Arkansas Razorbacks the same way I do,” Pittman said. “You might be shocked - you might not - to see some of the coaches that want to come here and be a part of Arkansas football, and where they are at right now - not unemployed, but great, great programs around the country.”
Athletics director Hunter Yurachek said Pittman would have about $5 million to divide up amongst his 10 assistants as he sees fit. That is slightly more than the program-record $4.915 million Arkansas’ assistants made in 2019.
“I’m very comfortable with the salary pool,” Pittman said. “I think we can do what we need with that salary.”
Despite apparently having a lot of options, Pittman’s primary focus right now is making sure he gets the hires right. He doesn’t have a specific timetable, but one or two could be hired as early as Tuesday - such as Missouri offensive line coach Brad Davis, who joined him on a recruiting visit Monday night.