Arkansas was one of the earlier college football programs to enter the coaching carousel this season. The Razorbacks fired head coach Sam Pittman after a 56-13 loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 27 that dropped Arkansas to 2-3.
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The Razorbacks named former head coach Bobby Petrino as their interim head coach before the bye in Week 6. A few names have been linked to Pittman’s replacement, including the possibility that the program will retain Petrino.
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Colorado Buffaloes third-year head coach Deion Sanders was named as a potential candidate. On Thursday, Pete Nakos of On3 Sports provided an update on the smoke surrounding Sanders and Arkansas, saying that the idea has “cooled off.”
“On3 previously reported Colorado head coach Deion Sanders‘ ties to athletic director Hunter Yurachek, but speculation around that union has cooled off,” Nakos wrote.
Sanders’ Buffaloes are 2-4 before their contest Saturday at home against No. 22 Iowa State. Colorado is struggling in a transition year after losing former quarterback Shedeur Sanders and the winner of the 2024 Heisman Trophy, Travis Hunter, to the NFL.
Nakos named a few other coaches who are in the mix, at least in the early stages of the search, to take the job in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
“Among the list of popular names being tossed around are SMU’s Rhett Lashlee, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, USF’s Alex Goleshand North Texas’ Eric Morris,” Nakos wrote. “Interim head coach Bobby Petrino also has a legitimate shot to land the job, depending on how his stint as interim coach goes; that begins this weekend at Tennessee.
“Lashlee has publicly dismissed the ties to the job, stating he doesn’t stand ‘anywhere on speculation and hypotheticals.’ But Arkansas is not going to let the former Razorbacks quarterback turn down the job that easily.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Arkansas does during SEC play. If they make a run in October and November, Petrino could return to the job he had from 2008-2011. He went 34–17 overall at Arkansas and 17-15 in conference play.
Sanders is having a down year, but there’s no doubt that his name will be linked to other coaching jobs in this hiring cycle. He’s a big personality who can bring a lot of publicity to a Power 4 program.
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