Sitting squarely on the hot seat after a 6-6 season, Razorbacks head football coach Sam Pittman is digging up his professional grave, writes A to Z Spots' Justin Churchill.
Pittman outright declared that the Hogs "have money."
"Our donors have been very good financially to us. Revenue sharing coming up here in July. We have money. We're not losing these kids because we don't have money," Pittman said.
Wrong move.
Why? For starters, as Churchill explains, it pins the blame for the mass exodus at Fayetteville on the coaching and support staff.
"The Hogs have lost a ton of players this offseason, maybe the most in the SEC. They are losing players left and right, whether it be Ole Miss taking them, or any other school that has more money to offer than the Hogs do. That's how it comes off anyway," Churchill writes.
"But, nope. Pittman seems to think it would be smarter to tell everyone that it's not the money, which comes off as it's a staff or program thing."
According to 247 Sports, the Hogs have 26 players leaving as of this writing, a significant number in comparison to the two transfers coming in. Had Pittman not communicated the abundant financial resources at their disposal, the Razorbacks' recent outbound transfers would seem like a money problem; something that is out of anyone's hands.
But Pittman's statement gave everyone reasons other than money to think about the program failing on a silver platter. Or, as Churchill puts it, "gave fans more ammo to load the 'fire Sam Pittman' weapon."
The Razorbacks coach still has one last dance to save himself from all the heat heading into the off-season: a Liberty Bowl win against Texas Tech on December 28.
It won't heal all the damage the 6-6 season did, but it will give them a last win to conclude the season.