Pittman to SVP on SportsCenter: 'This will be my last job'

FAYETTEVILLE — As long as Arkansas will have him, fans won’t have to worry about Sam Pittman getting wandering eyes.

From the day he was hired, the first-time head coach has made it no secret that he wants to end his career in Fayetteville.

Pittman was emotional during his introductory press conference last December. He told reporters about cheering for the Razorbacks while growing up in Grove, Okla., attending Lou Holtz camps and getting family bragging rights when Arkansas shocked Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl.

This is actually Pittman’s second stint with the Razorbacks, as he was their offensive line coach from 2013-15. When he left to take the same job at Georgia, Pittman joked that his wife, Jamie, didn’t talk to him for a while because she never wanted to leave.

Those feelings haven’t changed over the past 10-plus months, even as Arkansas has gotten off to a surprising 2-2 start and outsiders are starting to change their tone on hiring a career offensive line coach as an SEC head coach.

With the Razorbacks in their open week, Pittman joined Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter for an interview Tuesday night. When asked about his 15 coaching stops over the previous 36 years and whether or not he felt like he could finally unpack the boxes and settle down, Pittman gave an answer that was music to fans’ ears.

“This statement is probably going to cost me a little bit of money one of these days, but this is it for me,” Pittman told Van Pelt. “I’m not interested in any other program. Arkansas is truly the greatest program in America to me.

“I grew up 75 miles from here, I have a lake home on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, my wife is from Pittsburg, Kansas, and we’re home and this is where we want to be. And this will be my last job.”

Pittman kept things in perspective when asked about managing expectations moving forward, pointing out that the 10-game, SEC-only schedule doesn’t get any easier the rest of the way.

Matchups with Texas A&M, Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Missouri and Alabama remain on the schedule, but he did acknowledge the newfound optimism surrounding the program.

“Our Razorback fans needed this, to be honest with you,” Pittman said. “They wanted it so bad. There’s not any pro sports in the area, so they’re so excited. It was a blessing for our kids to go out there and play really hard and coaches did a nice job of getting them prepared. It was so much fun both at Mississippi State and, of course, last week versus Ole Miss.”

Here is Pittman’s full interview with Van Pelt…