Anonymous coaches burn Arkansas: ‘Roster looks like NCAA sanctions hit them’
By SDS Staff
Published:
Arkansas has turned the page from the Chad Morris era to the Sam Pittman era; however, the Pittman era has been delayed due to the coronavirus.
Canceling spring practice hurts all coaches, but Pittman’s Hogs could be hurt the worst.
The Razorbacks are scheduled to kickoff the season against the Georgia Bulldogs on September 26, and ESPN’s FPI only gives the Hogs an 8.8 percent chance to win the game. Furthermore, the FPI predicts the Hogs will finish with a 2-8 record during the 10-game conference-only schedule. It truly is one of the toughest schedules ever.
AthlonSports.com recently spoke to some anonymous SEC coaches, and their comments prove that Pittman has a tough job rebuilding the roster and program.
“It’s a total mess from top to bottom,” one coach says.
The switch in schemes over the last few years certainly didn’t help things too much either. The team went from power running game under Bret Bielema to a spread-it-out attack under Chad Morris.
“What’s the identity of this program?” a coach asked. “Are they a hard-nosed smashmouth team? That didn’t work. Are they going to beat you with spread and tempo and use Texas kids? That didn’t work.”
Kendal Briles now takes over the offense, and he’s known for a potent attack. Still, any offense to be successful has to have guys who can bust a grape, and one anonymous coach isn’t even sure they can do that.
“(Offensive coordinator) Kendal Briles is a strange hire,” another coach said. “They don’t have the bodies to run that system, and he’s had chemistry issues on other staffs. That hire told a lot of coaches that Sam wasn’t alone in making the decisions.”
“That they landed on Sam (Pittman) is really telling. He’s a well-respected career assistant who is great at his job, but it’s hard to find what he can say or do with that program that could suddenly turn things around. They’ve got no personnel. The roster right now looks like NCAA sanctions hit them,” one coach said.
Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.
