Let me tell you about the Pittman hire

First and foremost, for Pittman, the Arkansas HC job is not a liferaft, it's not a "first big school opportunity" for an up and coming head coach, it's not primarily about getting a huge pay day leveraged by a manipulative agent. He's 58 years old. It will be at minimum two or three years for him to get Arkansas back to winning football. Due to his age and how much he loves the area (he was our OL coach from 2013-2015; he's from Oklahoma), it's almost certain this is his last stop in his coaching career. This is the pinnacle for what has already been an incredible career.

Pittman has been one of the most highly regarded offensive line coaches and recruiters in the southeast for the last 10+ years. His linemen and the offenses that benefited from his linemen speak for itself by the numbers. "His first two offensive lines at Arkansas led the SEC in sacks allowed per game and his offensive line in 2014 paved the way for two 1,000-yard rushers in Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins. In Pittman’s final year in Fayetteville his offensive line contributed to an offense that finished second in the SEC in total offense (456.8 ypg), second in scoring (40.2 ppg), third in passing offense (264.2 ypg)." ( LINK). That 2015 Arkansas offense was #1 nationally for offense efficiency. No matter what offense you run, it can't be effective without a good offensive line.

In addition to the numbers, the testimony from his players about how much they love playing for Pittman speaks volumes.

Pittman knows the SEC and he's an elite recruiter. As far as I can tell, he brings no baggage and is a stand up guy. I expect he will have no problem hiring quality assistants who also know the SEC. It doesn't hurt that this move also weakens a SEC foe. Won't lie, taking back this coach from Georgia feels suhweet.

Interesting tidbit: he actually played DE for Pittsburgh St (Kansas) and was a NAIA All-American.