Are there some workings behind the scenes in Fayetteville with athletic director Hunter Yurachek? Maybe. With Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman going into his fifth season squarely on the hot seat, Pittman went out and hired former Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino as his offensive coordinator.
With Petrino’s prior success with the Razorbacks during his time as head coach and his offensive wizardry, one theory is that he may be a succession plan of sorts to replace Pittman after the 2024 season.
Three reasons Bobby Petrino will be the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks in 2025.
Prior Success in Fayetteville: During his time as the head coach of the Razorbacks from 2008-2011, Petrino had turned the Razorbacks from a losing program into a program that won at least 10 games in his final two seasons at the helm.
Sam Pittman’s lack of success: Sam Pittman’s winning percentage is the lowest amongst the lowest in the SEC at 47%. The Hogs are coming off of a 4-8 season which ended with an apparent lack of on-field discipline and an embarrassing 48-14 defeat at the hands of the rival Missouri Tigers .
Transfer Portal era of college football: Sam Pittman does not seem to have adapted well to the transfer portal era on college football with the Hogs finishing 28th in the rankings in 2024 according to On3. The counter argument is that in 2022 and 2023 the Hogs finished 9th and 7th respectively.
High school recruiting however seems to have taken a dip as well with the Hogs finishing 15th in the SEC and 33rd nationally in 2024. So far for the 2025 class, the Hogs rank 12th in the conference with only two four star recruits and 12 three stars. It will be difficult to get it done on the field with this kind of talent coming in compared to the rest of the league.
Taylen Green: Green has stolen the show since he arrived on campus this past spring for the Hogs and separated himself as the clear cut starting quarterback for Petrino in 2024.
Green was one of Petrino’s first acquisitions out of the transfer portal when he arrived as the offensive coordinator in Fayetteville this past off season and is someone that Petrino has been wanting since his days as head coach at Missouri State.
The anticipated return of Green in 2025 could be just one more piece to the puzzle in reasons why it would make sense for Petrino to take the head coaching reigns.