Razorback Sam Pittman Breaks This Formidable Record…
Sam and Jamie Pittman Have Moved 17 Times in 35 Years. Now They’re Home.
Even when she knew in her gut that they would be moving again in 12 months (or less), Jamie Pittman always unpacked everything, always did her best to make that time in a new house in a new town with a new job and new friends as normal as possible. Home would be home, not a transitional living space.
Her husband Sam, a gifted offensive line coach, would be in demand and get a better job. Or the head coach he worked for would get fired. Something would inevitably happen that sent them on their way again.
So much free gear to give away, so many new things to learn—fight songs, rivalries, traditions. The churn was constant.
But wherever they landed, Jamie planted herself with conviction. “You just have to enjoy every stop,” she says. “You make great friends at every new place, and then it’s on to the next adventure.”
Until now, perhaps. At stop No. 17 on their Football Coaching Life Tour, Sam and Jamie Pittman are ready for their last adventure. Pittman, age 59, is the second-year head coach at Arkansas.
He paid decades of dues to get his shot; he was hired to tepid reviews; then he seized the opportunity like a man who couldn’t wait for this chance to prove himself.
Pittman dragged the proud Arkansas program up off rock bottom last year, going 3–7 with several narrow losses, vastly improving the competitive quality of the team.
Now the 4–0 Razorbacks have taken off: They’re ranked eighth in the country after authoritative wins over Texas and Texas A&M, riding fresh momentum into an unexpected showdown with No. 2 Georgia between the hedges Saturday. If votes were cast today for national Coach of the Year awards, Pittman would likely win.
To use Pittman’s own pet phrase, yessirrrrr, it’s been a long time coming. A lifetime of boxes packed and unpacked. It has been easier to get through than it would have been with children, but that doesn’t mean it was easy. Let Jamie be the guide through every new location.