After a non-compete clause scuttled Georgia coach Kirby Smart's efforts to poach Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos, Smart turned his attention to Arkansas offensive line coach Sam Pittman to lead his new offense.
These kind of intra-conference hirings are common, but Bret Bielema did not go down without a fight. So he did the only thing a sensible man would do: Round up a bunch of players and show up unannounced at the coach's house.
From gridironnow.com:
“I think when you’re dealing with 19-, 20- and 21-year-old kids, they’re going to be emotional,” Bielema said after the last-ditch effort of loading up the offensive line and showing up on Pittman’s doorstep failed. “Some were mad, sad, sad then mad. It’s a part of the job no one wants to talk about, and Sam, because of the way he recruits and the way he handles people — until this matter — had been very personal.”
Players were not the only ones upset by Pittman’s departure. Bielema was not scheduled to speak with the media over the weekend, but he felt it necessary under the circumstances. Boss Hog made it clear that having made moves himself, he understands that coaches leave, but this was different.
“This one took place within the conference, and I just wanted Sam to address the linemen as to why this was happening,” Bielema said Saturday. “I thought that was the last thing he could do, and he didn’t want to do that, so I just took them to him.”
According to Pittman, however, Bielema used a lie to wrestle up the hogs nest:
I had a meeting set for 10:30am today to talk to my guys. They came to see me last night at home never said I wouldn't meet them not true
— Coach Sam Pittman (@CoachSamPittman) December 13, 2015
If true, I'm sure Bert would just use the "he lied to me first" defense:
“(Pittman) kind of always made the comment that, ‘You don’t have to worry about me going. You can set the buyout wherever you want it,’ ” Bielema said. “I just believed it, and obviously it didn’t come true.”
No surprise to find Bert jiggling at the source of this kerfuffle.
