Why Sam Pittman looks to the past for confidence in Arkansas football's future

Sam Pittman finds himself as the calm captain of an Arkansas football flight battling turbulence all around it.

Before Pittman ever took the stage at the 2024 SEC Media Days on Thursday in Dallas, a number of SEC Network personalities expressed their concerns for the Razorbacks . The "SEC This Morning" show directly asked Pittman if he's feeling the pressure, and Dari Nowkhah said the head coach is entering a "pivotal" fifth season. Roman Harper wanted Pittman to "calm the waters," while Benjamin Watson wondered if he could give the fans any reason to believe in the program.

Negativity surrounds Arkansas, but Pittman feels that a brief look into his past can provide optimism that a surprise season is on the horizon.

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"We went from 4-20 to 9-4," Pittman said. "We can sure as hell go from 4-8 to 9-4."

The struggles of last year felt like a shock, because the program had been trending in the right direction. KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders returned off back-to-back winning seasons with bowl victories. The 2023 team couldn't match that level of play, however, dropping to 4-8 and raising questions if Pittman has hit his ceiling.

Perhaps, but he certainly hasn't hit the floor. Fans have quickly forgotten that the Hogs went 2-10 under Chad Morris in both 2018 and 2019. That's the 4-20 mark Pittman referenced, bringing up that record again during his official press conference.

Two years after that stretch, Pittman gave Arkansas arguably its signature moment in more than a decade when the Hogs beat Texas 40-21 during a 9-4 season in 2021.

That game may have raised expectations to a place that wasn't sustainable. Pittman is trying to remind those watching SEC Media Days he's already elevated the Arkansas football team out from the abyss once. He believes he can do it again.

"We've been working tirelessly to address the areas we need improvement," Pittman said. "We know our fans deserve a team that competes a the highest level. We're committed to making that happen."

Pittman went on to speak more specifically about what needs to change. Arkansas must be better along the offensive line and find a way to win close games. The Hogs' rushing offense ranked seventh in the country during both the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but they dropped to 87th last year. Pittman lamented the five one-score losses his team suffered in 2023. If two of those games go his way, last season has a much different feel to it.

But hypotheticals won't save Pittman in 2024. The bumpy flight has everyone questioning whether Pittman is the man to land the plane. Over the next 12 games, Pittman's passengers will have their answer.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Why Sam Pittman looks to the past for confidence in Arkansas football's future