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Signs say Pittman on verge of delivering way more than Arkansas pays for

Originally posted on Arkansas Razorbacks on SI
By Kent Smith | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 12:12 PM ET

As the Arkansas Razorbacks get set for another football season with hopes of breaking the seven-win barrier for the second time in the Sam Pittman era, the administration office does so knowing it's trying to squeeze success out of one of the toughest leagues with one of its lowest paid coaches.

Following a significant boost in pay for South Carolina's Shane Beamer after a late season surge had the Gamecocks in the College Football Playoff conversation, Pittman has fallen to third worst paid coach in the SEC at less than half what Georgia's Kirby Smart pulls in yearly according to various salary listings.

1. Kirby Smart, GEORGIA,
$13 million
2. Steve Sarkisian, TEXAS,
$10.8 million
3. Kalen DeBoer, ALABAMA,
$10.25 million
4. Brian Kelly, LSU,
$9.9 million
5. Eli Drinkwitz, MISSOURI,
$9 million
6. Lane Kiffin, OLE MISS,
$9 million
7. Josh Heupel, TENNESSEE,
$9 million
8. Mark Stoops, KENTUCKY,
$9 million
9. Shane Beamer, SOUTH CAROLINA,
$8.15 million
10. Brent Venables, OKLAHOMA,
$8.1 million
11. Billy Napier, FLORIDA,
$7.3 million
12. Mike Elko, TEXAS A&M,
$7 million
13. Hugh Freeze, AUBURN,
$6.7 million
14. Sam Pittman, ARKANSAS
$6.49 million
15. Jeff Lebby, MISSISSIPPI STATE,
$4.51 million
16. Clark Lea, VANDERBILT,
$3.1 million

This is a position that's unlikely to change for Pittman no matter how well his team does this season. While there have been rumblings that Razorbacks Athletics has been strapped for cash behind the scenes trying to cover debts left behind by previous administrations, the lack of flexible funding available has become public with the lay-offs of multiple well-liked staples in the department.

Yes, a good chunk of the money comes from the Razorback Foundation as far as coaching pay, but the Hogs have a premium pay basketball coach in John Calipari and a baseball coach in desperate need of a significant boost in pay to get his salary remotely close to where his performance demands.

What it would do is further entrench him as one of the SEC's elder statesmen. In fact, if Mark Stoops can't get momentum swinging back in a positive way over in Kentucky, Pittman may find himself ascending into the role of second most tenured coach in the conference before Thanksgiving.

Stoops has worked miracles in Lexington, but without Calipari as a rival and a solid foundation that flows NIL money toward football as willingly as basketball, the train he once had rolling has slowed to a crawl.

While Pittman has seemingly turned things around at Arkansas, Stoops has slowly fallen off. His Wildcats went 7-6 in back-to-back years before falling to 4-8 last year.

1. Mark Stoops, KENTUCKY
12 years
2. Kirby Smart, GEORGIA
9 years
3. Sam PIttman, ARKANSAS
5 years
4. Eli Drinkwitz, MISSOURI
5 years
5. Lane Kiffin, OLE MISS
5 years
6. Shane Beamer, SOUTH CAROLINA
4 years
7. Josh Heupel, TENNESSEE
4 years
8. Steve Sarkisian, TEXAS
4 years
9. Clark Lea, VANDERBILT
4 years
10. Billy Napier, FLORIDA
3 years
11. Brian Kelly, LSU
3 years
12. Brent Venables, OKLAHOMA
3 years
13. Hugh Freeze, AUBURN
2 years
14. Kalen DeBoer, ALABAMA
1 year
15. Jeff Lebby, MISSISSIPPI STATE
1 year
16. Mike Elko, TEXAS A&M
1 year

There are several things on Pittman's side while trying to get beyond this season. The first is obviously the years of experience.

He's had to learn on the job through an ever-changing college landscape that drove even the most respected coaches out of the game in large numbers. That perserverance and growth matters, and if he can make it through this season into the true dawn of the Revenue Sharing Era, then he will finally be coaching as close to the conditions under which he was originally hired as he ever has.

He has also settled down on a strong group of assistant coaches. Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino is getting his system in place while offensive line coach Eric Mateos and tight ends coach Morgan Turner appear to be getting things a little more settled going forward along the line.

Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Travis Williams has been hot on the recruiting trail and is set to have a stacked linebacker room over the next few years if Pittman can stick around long enough to land the latest class.

The last time Pittman had significant success, it was a strong linebacking corps led by Grant Morgan that anchored the team. Also, with a much larger than normal freshman class slated to come in next season, it appears the philosophy is shifting to one of more stability and less reliance on the chaos created by overuse of the transfer portal.

It should mean more wins going forward if Pittman can just hold it together this fall. That will make him a grizzled vet among SEC coaches.

What it won't make him is in the top half in SEC salary. No amount of stability and wins will fix that.