Bret Bielema brought position group to doorstep of assistant who left for Georgia
Published:
If you’re not convinced by all the stories stressing how important Sam Pittman was to Arkansas, maybe this will do it.
Two days ago, it was reported that Pittman was leaving for Georgia to be a part of Kirby Smart’s new staff along with former Razorbacks offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. Before that, Bret Bielema’s attempts to talk Pittman into staying didn’t work, so what did he do?
On Friday night, he showed up to Pittman’s house with the offensive line.
“This one took place within the conference, and I just wanted Sam to address the linemen as to why this was happening,” Bielema told Fox Sports. “I thought that was the last thing he could do, and he didn’t want to do that, so I just took them to him.
“I think when you’re dealing with 19, 20, and 21-year-old kids, they’re going to be emotional,” Bielema said after the last-ditch attempt failed to convince Pittman to stay in Fayetteville. “Some were mad, sad, sad then mad. It’s a part of the job no one wants to talk about, and Sam, because of the way he recruits and the way he handles people, until this matter, had been very personal.”
Pittman didn’t agree with Bielema’s take that he didn’t want to address his position group and made that clear via Twitter.
I had a meeting set for 10:30am today to talk to my guys. They came to see me last night at home never said I wouldn't meet them not true
— Coach Sam Pittman (@CoachSamPittman) December 13, 2015
Two days later, Pittman received a warm welcome from his new coach.
Thanks you for the beautiful flowers to Jamie from Coach Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs! #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/D8e3Ue75jT
— Coach Sam Pittman (@CoachSamPittman) December 14, 2015
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
