Requirements for Coaching Razorbacks Has Changed
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas fans will need to adjust how they perceive the skills necessary for a successful head Razorbacks football coach.
Sam Pittman is catching a lot of flack for potentially letting four of the Top 5 recruits in the 2025 class flee the state, mostly to neighboring SEC schools. Carius Curne, a 4-star from Marion, is the latest as he decided earlier this week to take his talents to LSU.
It irked Arkansas fans to see another major in-state recruit walk, but times have changed. Regardless of coach, this will be the norm going forward.
What they don't see is how often a lot of their favorite stars would have done the same had they come along in the current climate. Time and again over the years, Razorbacks, especially those from Little Rock to the southern border, have privately said they would have gone elsewhere had it not been for pressure from the local community and concern for what their family might have faced had they not chosen to become a Hog.
However, that dynamic has changed. Neighbors who normally would have seen going somewhere other than Arkansas as a traitorous act see the difference in money their hometown hero is getting elsewhere and prevailing thought has shifted to "Well, I can't blame him. He needs to do what's best for his family. That's a lot of money."
Without that added pressure that probably should have never been there to begin with when it comes to teenagers making important decisions for what's best for their lives, it's a lot easier to make the choice to go elsewhere.
Between talks with recruits and general trends in choices, it doesn't appear Arkansas is competing financially with Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss and Missouri. Even recruits who claim to have received competitive offers from the Razorbacks say they chose to go elsewhere because of how bad Arkansas has been as a program for the majority of their sports conscious lives.
Pittman's 9-win season in 2021 is the lone beacon in over a decade of futility. It will take a coach with a specific set of skills to maximize potential at Arkansas in the current climate.
First he has to be able to identify and assemble great assistant coaching talent. The house has to be packed with guys who can pick out high 3-stars, who are rated as such because of circumstance rather than ceiling, and develop them to their maximum skill level.
Second, he has to create a culture that will keep these high 3-stars around after they finally grow into effective SEC players. Avoiding investing tons of time and effort in building a player only to have him walk once he has become productive is key. Allowing time for players to sink roots into the school community in the form of friends and significant others increases the chances an athlete will stay.
Third, he has to be able to effectively evaluate late bloomers from Group of Five programs and below. These players have to fit need so they can fill gaps without causing the tipping point of another mass exodus as athletes hitting the portal can get contagious.
The final ingredient has to be a willingness to keep a tight leash on any outsiders involved in the Hogs' NIL situation. Money is light from an SEC perspective, so it can't also be late or short.
Athletes should be warned to stay away from people, businesses or organizations that aren't sharp with their payments when it comes to NIL. That doesn't mean killing relationships with these people. It just means having the backbone to change the relationship.
If money is being paid slow or not in the full agreed amount each payment, the money has to be directed into something that will make sure that doesn't happen. It's a sensitive discussion that requires a firm hand and soft heart all at once.
Pittman already embodies a lot of these qualities, although he will probably admit he needs to sharpen a few more. He has built a staff that seems determined to identify and develop high 3-stars and athletes who have outgrown the lower levels.
He is especially strong at bringing in the right late bloomers from lower divisions. He also knows how to be affable with boosters, businesses and organizations.
His awe shucks approach handles this aspect with supreme authority. He just has to work on how to bring about the firm side of the equation without turning people off in the process. It's a delicate balance.
Building the culture that makes players stay once developed is still to be seen. It was strong in 2021 and there has been evidence that it is still there at times as seen through guys like Landon Jackson and Hudson Clark coming back this fall.
Still, while part of it has been Pittman cleaning out bad apples and players who need to go elsewhere for playing time, the flow of players into the portal has been heavy. It's something he will have to shore up whether it be via culture or NIL management.
Pittman has the foundation to be as effective as any coach is going to be at Arkansas in the current climate. However, how far he comes in minimizing his deficiencies will determine whether someone else gets the chance years beefing up 3-stars and lower level players to go 6-6 with dreams of one day squeezing out eight wins.
Still, how successful he or his eventual successor is viewed will require a massive shift in fan perspective. The job is just different now.
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KENT SMITH
Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments.