FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Head Razorback football coach Sam Pittman and former head coach/recently announced offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino spoke on the record for the first time since the controversial announcement.
Pittman and Petrino answered questions at the Broyles Center at 3 p.m. See the full video on our YouTube.
Notes from the conference:
With the return of Bobby Petrino and a recent win for the men's basketball team, Pittman said, "It's been a great few days for the state of Arkansas."
Pittman and Petrino were full of positivity about the new hire despite some critiques. “This was the best hire for our university, our program, and our state,” Pittman said.
Though some think Petrino is undeserving of a second chance with the University of Arkansas, Petrino said, "It's OK for people to disagree ... I don't have any ill feelings towards anybody that disagrees."
Pittman shared similar feelings and is confident in Petrino's ability to run the Razorback's offense. "We hired him because he is a brilliant offensive mind," Pittman said.
Most Razorback coaches, players, and fans want a winning football season, and Pittman thinks Petrino will be the first step in accomplishing that. "The bottom line is that we need to win games and I thought that was the best possible way to do it,” Pittman said.
Petrino feels the same: "I want to win... I want to support coach Pittman in winning."
Petrino said he is happy to be back in Arkansas again.
“I thought about it, dreamed about it … I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back here,” Petrino said. “I truly do love Arkansas, the university, and the state, and the people. I think it’s the most special place I’ve ever been.”
Petrino made his first return debut at the Duke game on Nov. 29, with Pittman by his side. “You can see how much confidence [Pittman] has in himself as a man, and how much he loves the university and wants to do what he believes is best for us to go forward to win,” Petrino said.
Although he's glad to be back, he said the Northwest Arkansas area has changed so much and he has a lot of learning to do.
Since leaving the Razorbacks 11 years ago, Petrino believes he has grown.
“Hopefully I’ve grown as a coach, as a teacher, as a husband, as a father. I believe totally that I have. Hopefully, I’m better tomorrow than I am today,” Petrino said.
As for the offense, he doesn't think it has changed much since he's been away, rather the offense is dependent on utilizing the players and the situation of the game at hand.
“I don’t think it has changed… I don’t think it’s about what you do. It’s about the players that you have,” Pittman said.
Petrino praised former quarterbacks the late Ryan Mallet and Lamar Jackson after he was asked what kind of quarterbacks he likes to work with.
"Ryan was pretty perfect because Ryan was as smart as you could possibly be. He understood the game. He understood the players around him. He understood when you made a call, what you were thinking. He was really a guy that you could anticipate what he was going to do ... Lamar was the same way," Petrino said. "Both of them could get you out of a bad play.”
Pittman also mentioned new developments in Razorback athletics, including ArkansasEdge and KJ Jefferson's possible transfer.
He said the new NIL collective, ArkansasEdge, is helping the athletic program "tremendously."
Amid the questions surrounding Jefferson possibly entering the transfer portal, Pittman said he did not want to discuss it out of respect for KJ, but he will be supportive of whatever he decides to do.
Full press conference:
Background
Petrino was first hired to the University of Arkansas football program in 2008 as the team's head coach and led the Razorbacks to a few successful seasons between 2008 and 2011.
In 2010, the Razorbacks finished the season 10-2 and secured a spot at the 2011 Sugar Bowl against Ohio State, making it the first bowl appearance for the Razorbacks in two decades. The Razorbacks ended the 2011 season 11-2. They also won the 2012 Cotton Bowl Classic against Kansas State.
However, on April 1, 2012, this success came to an abrupt end after Petrino was involved in a motorcycle accident with a woman who worked with the athletic department. As a married man, the university said the incident raised concerns for the Razorback's image. Just nine days after the accident, on April 10, 2012, athletic director Jeff Long announced Petrino had been fired.
Between each job, Petrino told ESPN in 2022 that lying about his extramarital affair continues to follow him.
"There's instantly a reaction when you hear my name, whether it's negative or positive," Petrino said. "I wish it was more positive, but it's probably more negative and a lot of that's on me. But a lot of those people don't really know me. They know what happened when I was fired at Arkansas and how poorly I handled everything, and that's what sticks with them."
Fan reaction
Petrino rejoining the Razorback coaching staff comes on the heels of a disappointing 4-8 season and the firing of Dan Enos. Arkansas students and lifelong Razorback fans seem to see Petrino's hiring as a possible light at the end of the tunnel, looking past the scandal causing his 2012 dismissal.
"Being a fan for my whole life, he was the coach when I was growing up. And he showed intelligence and offered the best progress in our program and it killed the program when he left," one fan said.
"It's really exciting, like I think back to when he was here as a head coach, you know, we were going to BCS [Bowl Champion Series] bowls, and I think that'd be cool if he could get us back to that," another fan said.
One fan even thought this hire would put the Hogs in prime position to win 10 games next season. Another said he felt Petrino had been instrumental in him being a Razorback fan.
“[I] started to become a fan during the Petrino era, so it’s good," he said. "And hopefully we can get back to the winning we had in the Petrino era."
Another fan said this is something that could at least get people talking about Razorback football.
"After the disappointment this year, we need something to at least generate some buzz and some energy," the fan said. "We'll see what happens in the transfer portal but at this point it can't get any worse can it?"
Press conference highlights:
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