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Arkansas Coaching History
By Ethan Stone
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Arkansas has had 33 head coaches and 4 interim coaches throughout its history, from John C. Futrall in 1894 to Sam Pittman in 2024. The head coaching history of this program is very interesting to look through, including names such as Frank Broyles, Lou Holtz and Ken Hatfield from 1958-1989.
The best winning percentage in school history belongs to Hatfield, who coached the Razorbacks from 1984-1989 and earned a 76% mark, finishing 36-10. His struggles in the postseason compared to Broyles and Holtz are why many consider the latter to be superior coaches in Arkansas history.
On the other side of the coin we find Chad Morris, who turned in a truly unfortunate career as Arkansas’ leader from 2017-2019. Morris won just 4 games across those 3 years, one of the worst marls for a Power 5 head coach in recent memory.
For a look at the full Arkansas coaching catalog, including years coached and win-loss record, refer below:
Arkansas Coaching History
What stands out on the list above? There’s the slew of player-coaches in the early days of the program, but really nobody has had an extended stay apart from Broyles, who will get his own section below. Interestingly, Broyles, Holtz, Hatfield, Fred Thomsen and Houston Nutt combined claim more wins than the other 28 head coaches and 4 interims.
Nutt was the last… consistent head coach at Arkansas, and in general the recent history of the program has not been good. Bobby Petrino posted some solid years from 2008-2011, but his stay in Fayetteville (as head coach, anyway) was short-lived.
Why? Well, most SEC fans know the tale. Petrino was fired after crashing his motorcycle and lying about the fact that he was having a relationship with a student-athlete development coordinator unknown to the remainder of the program.
Frank Broyles
Frank Broyles is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the only head coach to win a national championship in football at Arkansas.
Broyles is the longest-tenured coach in Razorbacks history and boasts the 3rd best winning percentage among coaches who saw more than 2 years of action, behind only Hatfield and Holtz. He led the program from 1958 to 1976.
Broyles won a national title for the 1964 season at the 1965 Cotton Bowl Classic, where the Razorbacks brushed off a slow start to beat Nebraska 10-7. It gave Arkansas its only undefeated season in school history. The Razorbacks would win 10 more games in 1965 — a 22-game win streak for those counting at home — but fell to LSU in the 1966 Cotton Bowl.
Broyles is the namesake for the Broyles Award, which goes to the best assistant coach in college football. After he retired in coaching in 1976 he was named Arkansas’ Men’s AD (women’s athletics was a different department until 2008). Broyles retired as the Arkansas AD in 2007.
Lou Holtz
Lou Holtz needs little introduction for any longtime fan of college football. Though perhaps best known for his role at Notre Dame, Holtz spent 7 years with the Razorbacks during their time as a Southwest Conference member.
Holtz had a few great years at Arkansas, most notably the 1977 regular season that ended with a shorthanded 31-6 Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma. He was named the Coach of the Year across the board for the 1977 campaign. The following year, Holtz won his sole conference championship while at Arkansas, sharing the title with Houston.
Holtz, like Broyles, is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, inducted in 2008. After his stint at Arkansas Holtz went on to coach Minnesota, Notre Dame and finally South Carolina before retiring in 2004.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
