With news Wednesday that Arkansas offensive coordinator Kendal Briles is likely to fill the same position at TCU, it’s time to take a look at potential candidates for Head Hog Sam Pittman with whom he will fill the vacancy can occupy.
Pittman has already replaced former defensive coordinator Barry Odom with co-defensive coordinators Travis Williams and Marcus Woodson. He also filled the vacant tight ends coaching spot left by Dowell Loggains with former Stanford tight ends coach Morgan Turner.
Though these were all major hires, and Pittman must also fill a defensive assistant role left by former cornerbacks coach Dominique Bowman, none is more important than the offense coordinator role in which Briles excelled.
The Arkansas offense ranked 35th in points per game (32.5) and 16th in yards (471.4) nationally last season. The Hogs’ total offense yards of 6,128 that season was the second-highest in a single season in program history (the 2010 team had 6,273). The team’s 471.4 total offensive yards per game ranked second in school history, and the 6.37 yards per game ties with the 2021 team for fifth-best in the team’s record book.
Replacing this type of output is going to be difficult, but here are some names that could potentially get the job done: