Sep 27, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman during the fourth quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Notre Dame won 56-13. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

You could see this one coming in the SEC. After Arkansas football got crushed by Notre Dame on Saturday, the Razorbacks fired coach Sam Pittman, adding to the list of coaching changes in this volatile 2025 season. We wrote about Pittman after his Hogs lost an 18-point lead -- and the game -- to Memphis:

"Blowing an 18-point lead to Texas or Georgia would sting more than one can possibly comprehend, but blowing a 28-10 lead to Memphis is simply clownish and pathetic. As we have seen with other coaches who have been fired (DeShaun Foster, Brent Pry), humiliating losses are often the events which bring down the hammer. Losing is bad enough; losing in an embarrassing way is what drives home the final nail in a coach's coffin."

This was simply a case of a tidal wave of awful events crashing down on a coach. Some coach firings contain a measure of ambiguity. This one did not. Let's talk more about Sam Pittman and the Arkansas football vacancy in the SEC:

Bright start

Sam Pittman was excellent in his first years on the job at Arkansas. He took over for previous coach Chad Morris, who ran the program into the ground in a short time, and immediately made Arkansas relevant again. An Outback Bowl win over Penn State in Year 2? Not bad at all. The start of the Pittman era was so good that it naturally raised expectations for what he and the program could achieve. When that standard wasn't matched in subsequent seasons, it created flames under Pittman's seat.

The one-more-chance strategy

Sam Pittman is one of several coaches who easily could have been fired last season. His administration decided to give him one more chance. Instant failure in a "one more chance" season spells doom.

Billy Napier and Florida

Sam Pittman somehow beat out Billy Napier of Florida, becoming the first SEC head coach fired this season. Napier is another "one more chance" head coach who is almost certain to be fired due to a bad start this year. This won't be the SEC's last coaching vacancy of 2025, barring something truly remarkable.

September coaching carousel carnage

Sam Pittman joins DeShaun Foster of UCLA, Brent Pry of Virginia Tech, and Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State as coaches fired in September. There is a lot of churn in the coaching carousel, and we are still two months from Thanksgiving. A lot of jobs will open and possibly change places this coming offseason.

Next for Arkansas

Alex Golesh of South Florida, from Josh Heupel's coaching tree at Tennessee, will come up a lot in coaching search speculation for Arkansas. Jon Sumrall of Tulane might be mentioned. If Billy Napier is fired at Florida, Arkansas will have to compete with the Gators for top coaching talent. It will be fascinating to see how the carousel dynamics unfold in Fayetteville and elsewhere, both in the SEC and on a national level.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Sam Pittman fired by Arkansas as September coaching carousel changes continue

Reporting by Matt Zemek, College Sports Wire / College Sports Wire

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