Sam Pittman is Solidly Back on the Hot Seat at Arkansas

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports
By Mark Pszonak | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 9:48 AM ET

Being on the coaching hot seat doesn’t always guarantee unemployment. However, it does make life much more stressful. And once a head coach is on once, the likelihood of returning quickly is increased tenfold. Sam Pittman has been on a hot seat seesaw for years at Arkansas. And now, after consecutive losses to Ole Miss and Memphis, he has quickly seen the temperature rise once again.

Currently in his sixth season with the Razorbacks, Pittman entered 2025 with a 30-31 record. There were rumblings regarding his future last season, but an improbable 19-14 victory over No. 4 Tennessee lessened the negativity and seemingly saved his job.

Sep 20, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Tigers quarterback Brendon Lewis (2) runs for a touchdown against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second half at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

While he returned, the leash was far from long as the 2025 season began. Starting 2-0 with convincing wins over Alabama A&M and Arkansas State kept the situation at neutral, but since then everything has slid into reverse.

Losses at No. 17 Ole Miss (4-0) and Memphis (4-0) by a combined seven points weren’t bad on paper but they were immediate reminders of recent faults. Most notably, the defense performed miserably. In the two losses the unit gave up an average of 36.5 points and 482 yards per game. These are the types of performances that quickly brought negativity back into the program.

And that negativity is likely to grow in the coming weeks considering the schedule that Arkansas has to deal with during the remainder of the season. Amazingly, seven of the eight games are against teams ranked in the AP Top 25. This starts on Saturday with No. 24 Notre Dame (1-2) coming to down, and then includes No. 3 LSU (4-0), No. 8 Texas (3-1), No. 10 Texas A&M (3-0) and No. 15 Tennessee (3-1).

It is very difficult to find a realistic path through this schedule that concludes with Pittman being the head coach in 2026. As the losses likely pile up during the next two months, it will become a question of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ Pittman gets fired.

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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