SPRINGDALE -- University of Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek offered a strong endorsement of Sam Pittman on Thursday when he spoke to the Hawgs Illustrated Sports Club.
"I have all the faith in Sam Pittman as our head football coach," Yurachek said to the crowd at the Home2 Suites. "We had to make a decision with four games left to try to re-infuse some energy, especially on the offensive side of the ball, and at least for one game in, it appears that was the right decision."
Yurachek said he and Pittman made the decision jointly to fire Dan Enos as offensive coordinator Oct. 22 -- the day after Mississippi State won 7-3 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium n Fayetteville to extend Arkansas' losing streak to six games.
Following an open date, Arkansas won 39-36 in overtime at Florida last Saturday with Kenny Guiton being promoted from receivers coach to interim offensive coordinator.
Guiton called plays for the first time against the Gators, and the Razorbacks (3-6, 1-5 SEC) won at Florida (5-4, 3-3) for the first time in six visits to Gainesville, Fla.
The Razorbacks gained a season-high 481 yards led by quarterback KJ Jefferson and running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders.
Jefferson completed 20 of 31 passes for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed for 92 yards and s touchdown. Sanders had season-highs of 18 carries for 103 yards and had 2 catches for 14 yards.
"I thought that KJ and Rocket, everybody, they were having fun again," Yurachek said. "A big part of it was they were playing good, they were having success."
Arkansas drove 75 yards for a touchdown on its first possession.
"That opening drive, there was some creativity on some of the play-calling," Yurachek said. "It just felt like a different team.
"Felt like the team we expected to see from the start of the season on the offensive side of the ball."
Yurachek hired Pittman, a long-time offensive line coach whose previous stops included Arkansas from 2013-15, from Georgia to replace Chad Morris as the Arkansas coach after the Razorbacks were a combined 4-20 in 2018-19.
"The way I look at our program, I'll make a comparison to when we didn't have a great feeling in our mouth several years ago when we had back to back 2-10 seasons and evaluating our football program," Yurachek said when asked about his message to fans who are concerned about a 3-6 record this season. "I didn't think we were competitive in any of those games [in 2019]. I didn't think we played hard. I didn't think we were well-prepared in any of those games.
"And other than the offensive side of the ball for the Mississippi State game [this season], when I looked at our team I thought we were well-prepared. I thought we have played hard.
"Our players have not quit. They're still very much bought in. We've had some tough breaks."
Five of Arkansas' losses have been by seven or fewer points, including 34-31 at LSU and 24-21 at Alabama. The lone game the Razorbacks have lost by more than seven points was 34-22 against Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas.
"The Texas A&M game, I don't make excuses for anyone, but when Luke Hasz got hurt on the first drive, that dramatically changes what our offense can do," Yurachek said of the Razorbacks' standout freshman tight end. "And we didn't adjust quick enough on that."
Yurachek said he and Pittman, who has a 22-23 record in his fourth season at Arkansas including back-to-back bowl victories over Penn State and Kansas, meet after every game.
"Sometimes those meetings are five minutes, sometimes they're an hour," Yurachek said. "We're talking a little bit about the game, his feelings after the game. Things he saw he thinks he needs to work on and how I can help him continue to win football games."
Yurachek said the Mississippi State postgame meeting lasted an hour. Then he and Pittman talked again Sunday morning when the decision to fire Enos was finalized.
Enos was hired from Maryland after last season to replace Kendal Briles, who left to be TCU's offensive coordinator. He was in the first year of a guaranteed three-year contract in his second stint at Arkansas, including $1.1 million this season, and he will be owed approximately $2.6 million for the balance of the contract to be paid in monthly installments.
If Enos gets another coaching job, his salary will be subtracted from the buyout he's owed by Arkansas.
"Sam and I are on the same page with that," Yurachek said of making a change at offensive coordinator. "He doesn't have the ability to terminate a contract that has a multiple million dollar buyout in it.
"That's a decision he and I are going to make together."
Arkansas has to win its final three games -- all at home -- against Auburn, Florida International and No. 14 Missouri to finish 6-6 and become bowl-eligible.
"I still think we have some inexperience on the offensive line that's gaining more experience and getting a little bit better as each game goes on," Yurachek said. "I'm not making excuses.
"I mean, I know we're 3-6 and we've lost some close games. We're also in the SEC.
"Do we have challenges and some areas where we need to improve? Absolutely. But this is not where we're at a make-or-break [situation] having to win the last three games or anything here down the stretch."
Yurachek said Saturday's game against Auburn (5-4, 2-4) is essentially a sellout.
"I think this past weekend [winning at Florida] will do a lot to have people show up," Yurachek said. "It's supposed to be great [weather]. It's a mid-afternoon start at 3 o'clock, and so I expect that we will have a great atmosphere."
Yurachek said he's felt the positive vibes around the Arkansas campus and Fayetteville this week after the Razorbacks beat the Gators.
"About the best Monday I've had in several weeks," he said. "It's just a different feeling. I think we all feel it around our community, around the state.
"Everybody just has a little more bounce in their step and a little bit more energy coming off a win. Especially a win like that at Florida."
Yurachek said he's confident the Razorbacks will have another strong game against Auburn.
"I was out to practice once this week and I thought our energy level was really, really good," he said. "I thought our preparation and game plan looked really, really good.
"Whether that means we win or lose, I don't know that. But I'd be shocked if we didn't play well again."