Arkansas has fired sixth-year coach Sam Pittman, following a 56-13 home loss to No. 21 Notre Dame, the university announced on Sunday, Sept. 28.
The loss dropped the Razorbacks to 2-3 during the 2025 college football season. Pittman will end his six-year tenure at two games below .500 with a 32-34 record leading the program.
Pittman, 63, is the fourth college football head coach fired through the first five weeks of the season after UCLA and Virginia Tech fired DeShaun Foster and Brent Pry, respectively, on Sunday, Sept. 14. Oklahoma State parted ways with Mike Gundy on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
The blowout loss to the Fighting Irish comes a week after Arkansas blew an 18-point lead against Memphis in a 32-31 loss on Sept. 20. The week prior, the Razorbacks’ road comeback effort against Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss came up short in a 41-35 loss.
The Razorbacks finished 9-4 in the 2021 season, which earned Pittman a contract extension. However, outside of that season, Arkansas has not won more than seven games nor finished a season ranked.
Why was Sam Pittman fired at Arkansas?
In its release, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek had this to say of Arkansas’ move from Pittman:
“I want to thank Coach Pittman for his service and dedication to the University of Arkansas throughout his time as head coach,” Yurachek said in a statement. “From Day 1, you could tell how much this opportunity meant to him. At this time, however, I feel a change is necessary to put our student-athletes and program in the best position to be successful.
‘The goal for our football program is to be highly competitive within the Southeastern Conference and compete for a national championship. As we move forward in the process of finding our next head coach, I am certain we will be able to provide the necessary resources to our staff and team to reach our goals.
‘We will begin a national search for our next head coach immediately and that search will include Coach Petrino, who has expressed his desire to be a candidate for the full-time job.”
Sam Pittman record at Arkansas
Outside of a nine-win season in 2021, the Razorbacks have not had sustained success under Pittman. He finishes his Razorback career with a 32-34 record with the program and never finished a season with a winning record against SEC opponents.
Here’s a breakdown of Pittman’s record by year at Arkansas:
2020: 3-7 (3-7 SEC play)
2021: 9-4 (4-4 SEC)
2022: 7-6 (3-5 SEC)
2023: 4-8 (1-7 SEC)
2024: 7-6 (3-5 SEC)
2025: 2-3 (0-1 SEC)
Sam Pittman buyout
A clause in Pittman’s contract makes his buyout more interesting. Pittman signed his contract after the 2021 season and the clause determines how much his buyout would be.
Pittman will be owed $9.3 million, according to his contract documents obtained by the USA TODAY Network. According to the clause, if Pittman had a record below .500 since 2021 by the end of the season, he would be owed $5.7 million. However, if his record since 2021 is .500 or better at the end of the season, he would be owed $8.5 million.
With a 29-27 record since 2021, Arkansas could have waited to see if Pittman would have lost more games to pay a lower buyout. But the Razorbacks had seen enough and decided to part ways.