Arkansas hires Sam Pittman as new football coach

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The University of Arkansas has hired Sam Pittman as its next football coach.

Arkansas announced the hire Sunday. Pittman will take over for the Razorbacks after spending the last four seasons on the staff at Georgia. He is widely regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches and recruiters in the Southeastern Conference.

Pittman was promoted to associate head coach in February at Georgia. He was an original member of coach Bret Bielema's staff in 2013 at Arkansas.

The Razorbacks fired coach Chad Morris in November. Morris coached the team for less than two seasons, posting a 4-18 record. Arkansas was 2-10 in 2019.

Arkansas went 0-14 in SEC games coached by Morris.

"Sam Pittman has been an integral part of successful teams that have competed at the highest levels, including for SEC and NCAA championships," Arkansas vice chancellor and athletic director Hunter Yurachek said in a news release.

"As one of the nation's premier offensive line coaches, he has built a remarkable body of work thanks to his tremendous passion for his student-athletes, including teaching the fundamentals and developing his players on and off the field.

"Sam instills in his players the motivation, grit and determination required to compete and win. Throughout this process, I heard from many of his former players about the tremendous influence he had on them as a player and as a man."

Pittman began his coaching career in 1987 at Princeton High School in Missouri. He coached at Hutchinson Community College before he got his first Football Bowl Subdivision opportunity at Northern Illinois in 1994. Pittman joined the Tennessee staff in 2012. He worked on the Arkansas staff from 2013 to 2015, before leaving for Georgia.

Pittman played college ball at Pittsburgh State.

Arkansas introduce Pittman at 3 p.m. EST news conference Monday in Fayetteville, Ark.