SECMD22: Pittman, Smart leading respective programs with similar philosophies

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman speaks to the media during SEC Media Days in Atlanta on Wednesday. (Courtesy SEC Media Relations)

By GRAHAM DUNN

Two of the four coaches speaking Wednesday at SEC Media Days have similar goals.

One finally got his; the other is still a work in progress.

Yet, both had a smile on their face when they walked to the podium to greet the scribes.

Georgia’s Kirby Smart had a smirk for most of the day as he paraded around the College Football Hall of Fame. He’d finally gotten the monkey off his back a few months ago, dropping Alabama for the first time in his career and in the process winning the program’s first national championship since 1980.

Sam Pittman had a similar smirk, if only because he has found a home as the head coach of a program that has known success but more recently found the bottom of the barrel. Last year’s nine-win season was a magic elixir and Pittman was the pharmacist and not the snake oil salesmen some thought he might be.

“Most wins by the program since 2011,” Pittman said of the 2021 season. “Finished ranked in the Top 20 in the coaches poll. Won four trophies. That was a big deal to our football team, big deal, to have all three of our rivalry trophies… certainly the Outback Bowl trophy.

“No one on our team had ever had one of those trophies. We were fortunate to have all three of them.”

The baby steps the Razorbacks have taken after four consecutive losing seasons might mean the program has returned to normal. But Pittman isn’t concerned about future prospects. He’s just happy his fan base is enjoying football again.

“We'd like our program to reflect our state, the great state of Arkansas,” he explained. “Loyal, tough, hard working. One of our goals every year is to make the state of Arkansas proud of the football team. In my office is a sign that says, You're not coming to play for the University of Arkansas, you're coming to play for the state of Arkansas. And it's true, true to the core.

“We've established a true home-field advantage in our stadium because of the state's passion for the Razorbacks. From 2019 to '21, we were number two in the nation, number one in the SEC, with fan attendance increase of 14,000 fans, additional fans, per game.”

Kirby Smart led the Georgia Bulldogs to the first national title in four decades last season. (Courtesy SEC Media Relations)

Before last season, Smart had put up with the unreal expectations with Georgia fans demanding a national title as soon as he put on the red and black. They played for one in 2017 and got a taste of it until Tua Tagovailoa struck with the 2nd-and-26 lightning bolt along with DeVonta Smith to wipe away the opportunity to celebrate.

It’s was a slow build that included another loss to hated Alabama in the SEC Championship game. But the deed was complete with the title and, maybe just as important, a win over his mentor.

“We started this thing off last year with the quote: ‘Success comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it,’” Smart said. “Well, we embraced that last year. Guess what? That doesn't change. For our team, it's embedded in what we do.

“We didn't build this program on hoping for one-year-wonders or hoping for one opportunity. We built the program to be sustained. You sustain it by what you do every single day.”

Arkansas’s expectations are much different as the 2022 season arrives. A win over Alabama would be nice but a Western Division title and a trip to Atlanta would be better.

“Obviously you can't live in a cave and not hear what people say about you or predictions and all that stuff,” Pittman said. “If that's the only driving force that you have, you're going to lose. If that's the only driving force to be good, you're going to lose.

“If we can keep our core values, let's go out-work people, let's out-tough people. Let's be the hardest-playing team in football. I don't know if we are or not. That's the goal. By the way, that's the expectation.”

Georgia’s goal is to maintain and return to the College Football Playoffs.

“People ask the question, How does it feel to be hunted?,” he said. “We will not be hunted at the University of Georgia. I can promise you that. The hunting we do will be from us going the other direction. We're not going to sit back and be passive about.

“Our guys have asked questions, and we've done a lot of studies on how the mighty have fallen. We have skull sessions, 15-minute meetings, 20-minute meetings and breakout groups. We talk about how the mighty have fallen. I'm talking about in business, sports, history. You learn from the mistakes of others.”

There is an outside chance the two could meet in the championship game in December. But that would mean Arkansas has topped the mighty Crimson Tide to get there.

But anything’s possible, at least Pittman thinks so.

“If we can keep our core values, let's go out-work people, let's out-tough people,” he said. “Let's be the hardest-playing team in football. I don't know if we are or not. That's the goal. By the way, that's the expectation. Then whatever people may say, everybody has a mouth, everybody has an opinion. Some of 'em, the opinions are worthy and some aren't.

"I'm going to let our football team, myself, drive what we need to accomplish. If we do, the kids and the coaching staff did a great job. If we don't, I screwed it up.”