Who knows when it will happen, but Sam Pittman promises to “run through the 'A'” before his first game as Arkansas' head football coach.
Whether or not that happens as scheduled on Sept. 5 when the Razorbacks are supposed to open the 2020 season against Nevada isn’t clear.
But when asked about how he planned to handle his first game as coach during an interview with Cross Church pastor Nick Floyd, Pittman made it clear that he’s working on his fitness with that first game in mind.
“I’ve thought about that first time through the 'A,'" Pittman said.
Pittman said his goal is to at least jog “to the 50-yard line and I’m going to have Arkansas across (my chest). I’m not exactly sure (how fast I'll jog), but I do know which side of the 'A' to run through, the one closest to the bench,” Pittman said.
That and many of his other comments drew laughter during the March 12 interview with Floyd. But there were serious sides, like his admission that his first entrance “will be really emotional.”
And, it won’t be easy. Pittman has a bad ankle and too much weight on a knee that had to be replaced a few years ago.
Among the funny lines were his answers to “hot seat” questions from Floyd. The first revealed that among his favorite “off day” trips is to Oaklawn Park.
“I did that when I was at Georgia, too,” Pittman said. “People recognize me a little more now, but I like that. I know that you might deliver a sermon (on gambling) on the other stuff that’s there, but we like to go there to watch.”
His favorite musician “is the Australian country singer.” Someone in the audience helped him remember the name, Keith Urban.
“He’s got a song we really like right now," Pittman said, referencing Urban's "God Whispered Your Name." His wife Jamie might like Urban, too, but Pittman said there isn’t a discussion.
“I control the radio,” he said.
Pittman said if a movie were made on his life, he’d want to be portrayed by Jack Nicholson.
“Some people think he looks like me,” he said, although later amended that answer to Brad Pitt.
His favorite baseball player is Pete Rose. Floyd reminded that Rose might have some issues because of gambling.
“That wasn’t as a player,” Pittman said. “But as a coach.”
That drew more laughter.
Asked what he’d request for his last meal, Pittman said, “A double cheeseburger, Ruffles potato chips and a Diet Coke.”
If he weren’t a coach, what would he want to be?
“I’d be the back-up guitar player for Keith Urban,” he said. “But at some point, I’d want to take that over. No, I’d be a rancher because I like to be outdoors.”
Floyd asked about his mentors and what he’d learned from each of his head coaches?
Oklahoma head coach John Blake taught him “the way he talked to moms in recruiting.”
As Floyd moved on to Bret Bielema, Pittman interrupted with a point to the pastor’s script.
“I’ve had Lasik and you left out Rick Minter at Cincinnati,” Pittman said. “He taught me the power of writing notes.
“Rick wanted me to write 150 a week. That’s a lot. We have 37 or 38 write five notes. I tell them to write their wives. I write Jamie, although not every day.
“In a day where it’s about text messages, I think writing a handwritten note is powerful.
“I learned structure from Derek Dooley (at Tennessee) and I learned to let your coaches coach. He did.
“Bret Bielema was a people’s person and good with relationships. He knew his players.”
There was plenty from Butch Davis from his time in North Carolina.
“He asked me what tools I needed to coach O-line,” Pittman said. “I said, ‘Well, two footballs and five (blocking) bags. That’s it.’ He started asking me about the type of shoes and other things. I said, ‘Naw, all I need was that.’
“Butch said, ‘You are just a guy from Grove.’ And, that ended that discussion.”
His roots as an Oklahoma product were relevant a short time later when Pittman interviewed for the O-line job for Rex Ryan with the New York Jets.
“I told Butch that I’d need $50,000 more to stay when I left New York after the interview," Pittman said.
Davis arranged to match it during the plane trip back. But when he called Ryan, the Jets coach said there wasn’t an offer.
“I went in to see Butch to tell him to keep the $50,000 because I wasn’t getting the job,” Pittman said. “Butch said, ‘That’s just dumb Pryor again.’ Well, he’s from Bixby, Okla., so there can’t be that much difference in our education. Butch made me sign for the raise.”
Pittman said he “loved” Davis and his ways to motivate were valuable lessons.
“He knew how to motivate his staff,” Pittman said. “He wrote us notes that made you believe you were the best thing since sliced bread. I thought I was the only one getting those notes, but he wrote them to everyone.
“In the notes, he’s stick $250 and write, ‘Take your wife out to dinner.’ I give mine $50.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart taught him the importance of urgency.
“It is fourth-and-inches every minute of the day with Kirby,” Pittman said. “And, he had urgency in recruiting. He asked about recruiting two or three times a week. If someone is going to ask that much, you better have some answers. You better do it better.”
There were some great questions from Floyd that revealed Pittman's character traits. What advice would he give those in the church crowd?
“The Lord rewards you on His time frame,” Pittman said. “Don’t get frustrated by the wait.
“God answers all prayers, it’s just not on our time frame. Try not to look at next job. Try to be the best at what you are doing now. Next will come.
“If I’m staring out the window all the time, I’m going out the window or someone is going to tell you to go out the window. And, if that’s what you are doing, you are not growing.”
There was some talk about his assistants. Pittman admitted his first call was to Brad Davis, his offensive line coach.
“He is like my son,” Pittman said.
Later there was a question about Pittman’s role during games. He said, “I’m going to have a lot to do with third-and-1 (calls) and on the goal line – unless we don’t make it. Then, that will be back on Brad Davis, the guy who I said was my son. It will be, ‘Son, we gotta get better.’”
Floyd revealed a humble side of Pittman from a conversation about how time would be spent after the interview. Pittman was not going to be asked to hang out and sign autographs. Pittman said that wasn’t him.
“I really can’t be someone else,” Pittman told Floyd.
To the crowd, Pittman added, “I’m comfortable with who I am. It works for me.
“I tell recruits, if you like what you see, this is what you will get. I’m not here or there.
“I’ve worked a lot of years to get to where I’m at and I’ve been on staffs which have been fired.
“The biggest part of humility is that I don’t think a title makes you better than someone else. A job title might make you more money, but who you are makes you who you are.”
Floyd asked Pittman, “Who is Sam Pittman?”
There was some thinking, and then Pittman said, “I’m an old man. I look in the mirror and think, ‘What happened?’
“I’m a Christian man. I have a very strong faith. I’m from Oklahoma. I’m laid back, but not as laid back on the field.
“I want to bring back to Arkansas what they deserve.”
Obviously, things have changed since March 12. They were changing that day as games and seasons began to disappear because of the coronavirus pandemic. Floyd asked Pittman what normal was at that point.
“It’s not so hard right now,” he said. “Our secretaries come in at 8, but the rest of the staff gets to work at 7:30. I get there at 6:30 because I want to have my notes prepared.
“I want everyone else there at 7:30. That’s 37 or 38 people.”
Obviously, Pittman’s day centers on putting out fires all day.
“It starts as soon as people get there and goes all day,” he said. “My door starts revolving. I learned turn my lights out because people starting coming through.
“Leaving the lights off gives me five extra minutes. I hear them outside, ‘He’s not in there, his lights are out.’
“I’m in there, but I don’t say anything. Then, when I turn the lights on, I start handling problems.”
The meeting of the day is open for discussion.
“Anyone can bring something up,” he said. “I want to listen.”
That means he does want to hear about problems.
“I want trust,” he said. “If you don’t have it, it will kill you.
“Things that kill you are things that fester. If I don’t allow people to talk to me, they will talk to someone else and then that person will talk to someone else.
“My most important thing, I want to handle that potential conversation and be honest. If it’s something I can’t do, at least it was honest.
“If I’m not willing to talk to people that I employ, then we’ve got a problem.”