The Arkansas Razorbacks could go in several directions in the wake of Sam Pittman’s firing as head football coach, following a 2-3 start to the season. Undoubtedly, the most unhinged option would be to hire Jon Gruden, a popular name in the current hiring cycle.
Gruden has been out of coaching ever since his emails were leaked by the NFL and was forced to resign as the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach, but he’s only two years removed from a consulting gig with the New Orleans Saints that was tied to his time with Derek Carr. In 2025, headway in his case with the NFL cleared the way for an amenable PR situation for his next employer.
Could that be Arkansas? KATV’s Rowdy Baribeau doesn’t think it’s the likeliest of possibilities. He certainly didn’t write it off, either.
Baribeau also acknowledged that things could go as poorly for Gruden in the SEC as things are going for Bill Belichick and his 2-2 North Carolina Tar Heels during the disastrous debut campaign of “Chapel Bill.”
Presumably minus a Jordon Hudson-like figure, since Gruden has been married since 1991.
“There are two major caveats to this candidate. While he may have a (debatably) proven pedigree in the NFL as a head coach, Gruden has never held a head coaching position in college, or a coordinator position for that matter. It's also been 34 years since he coached at the collegiate level, when he was a wide receiver coach for the University of Pittsburgh,” Baribeau wrote.
“NFL Hall of Fame coach Bill Belichick became the head coach at the University of North Carolina, and it became fairly evident early on that even the best of NFL coaches have a learning curve in college athletics. North Carolina is 2-2 on the year, with two ugly losses to TCU and UCF.
“Gruden may be an intriguing name, but it's also one to be taken with a grain of salt, as it doesn't exactly make sense for the University and Gruden himself. Still, stranger things have happened in college athletics.”
Gruden would bring a cult of personality to a program that’ll be coming off a Bobby Petrino interim head coaching run. Perhaps Petrino can remain with the Razorbacks to form an unholy alliance with the similarly offensive-minded Gruden.
The culture might make sense for Gruden in Fayetteville, the more one expounds upon it. The Hogs would make headlines, which Gruden cannot fear anymore after going through a trial by fire in the court of public opinion.