Although the Sam Pittman branch stemming off the Kirby Smart coaching tree failed to produce fruit in recent seasons, that did not stop the former Arkansas Razorbacks head coach from speaking quite glowingly about his former boss at Georgia. Prior to taking over the Hogs in 2020, Pittman served as Georgia's high-end offensive line coach during the very late 2010s. He still thinks highly of Smart, too.
When asked by ESPN's Holly Rowe working for Smart, Pittman offered this about being at Georgia.
"I loved every second of it. It gave me an opportunity to see things that I hadn't before like, you know, the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl and the national championship opportunity to go there. I hadn't ever experienced that before. Kirby is a great coach and gave me an opportunity to go over there. And then, because of that, I was [given the] opportunity to be the head coach at Arkansas."
He finished by saying this to those in attendance at the Broyles Award ceremony this about Smart.
"But, you know, it's just like all these guys here. I'm indebted to Kirby because of what he was able to do for my career."
Here is everything Pittman had to say to Rowe while attending the Broyles Award ceremony recently.
When people try to take away from Smart's shine as a head coach, guys like Pittman always deliver.
Sam Pittman speaks highly about Kirby Smart during Broyles ceremony
Over the last decade, Smart has seen many of his former assistants become head coaches in their own right. The most successful one to date is his former defensive coordinator Dan Lanning now at Oregon. While Pittman had his moments at Arkansas, he is one of the many somewhat uninspiring branches stemming off Smart's tree. At least his tenure with Arkansas ended with dignity and grace...
What stands out the most about Pittman's thoughts on working for Smart is the places he was able to go to working for him. Pittman had been an offensive line coach lifer. He had never been to the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, SEC Championship, or a national championship before. Smart's excellence opened up opportunities that would have never otherwise been possible for any position coach like Pittman.
While coordinators who served under Smart like Lanning, Mel Tucker, and most recently Todd Monken eventually got theirs, Pittman's journey back to Arkansas paved ways for other assistants like Fran Brown and Dell McGee to get their own opportunities to lead teams. The next branch is ready to sprout off Smart's coaching tree. If this is the midway point of his Georgia run, then fantastic!
Overall, you can really sense the gratitude and adoration Pittman has for Smart. It may have been a little tenuous to get him to come to Georgia by way of Arkansas in the first place, but Smart saw something in Pittman no one else did. He did not care that Pittman never called plays. He saw a man who connected with people, one who could get players to run through a wall for him as a CEO-type.
There may never be another position coach quite as beloved as Pittman was while he was at Georgia.