Pittman and Kiffin Compare and Contrast in SEC Recruiting Styles
Take a heart from Mama, or take one straight from the doorway of a rival coach? Which works better?
Arkansas’s FAYETTEVILLE It’s been fascinating to watch Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman and recently hired offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino race from meal to meal in an attempt to forge bonds over sour croissants. It has a secure, wholesome vibe about it. Similar to Santa Claus, but instead of cookies, it’s fried catfish.
This portrayal is a sharp contrast to Lane Kiffin, the Ole Miss coach, and his recent actions. Coaches who ventured to leave their university to recruit must be living nightmares after seeing his whirlwind tour around the nation, which included picture after picture of airports, floor mats, and other schools’ names slapped across various objects in images. Another coach swears in every picture, slightly lessening his heart in the process.
He’s not showing up in Gainesville, Florida, Pine Bluff, Fayetteville, College Station, or other cities because he wants to spread Christmas cheer. He’s there to steal every unattached player, wreaking havoc on rosters and recruiting classes. Coaches only realize what’s lacking after the event. For the Razorbacks, Kiffin just marched into Fayetteville and left with Chris “Pooh” Paul as his flashy new linebacker.
It’s advantageous. Kiffin seems to be a contented spouse with kids and a devoted dog. What if he was a single man? There would be a photograph of his shoes next to some poor, gullible coach’s bed instead of images of rival school jets and golf carts. Then, you find his wife and his top receiver on the transfer portal, hoping to spend some quality time together in “The ‘Sip.”
In relation to “The ‘Sip,” Kiffin’s “Come to the Sip” marketing initiative has proven to be a tremendous hit. It’s hard to make Mississippi feel hip and swagger-free, as anyone who has visited even once would attest. It shouldn’t be feasible at all, but Kiffin has managed to pull it off with a mastery of social media branding and a good knowledge of subtle trolling.
Kiffin has successfully won over the hearts and minds of recruits, who are the most important audience, with a combination of unabashed barnstorming of other teams’ back yards and a catchphrase that doesn’t smack of cheesiness and desperation (Left lane, hammer down anyone?).
Everyone has heard the rumors about how Arkansas was supposedly very close to hiring Kiffin. Everyone agrees that before everything fell apart at the end, things were quite hot and heavy. It would have been intriguing to observe how everything transpired.
The broad consensus is that Pittman was the appropriate man at the right time. He did everything it took to pull the Razorbacks out of the abyss of hopelessness and got along well with the people of Arkansas.
The only thing left to consider is if Kiffin could have accomplished the same results at Arkansas as he did at Mississippi. Would he have been permitted the same liberty as he has in Oxford?
His strategies appeal to the younger audience and recruits, but would Kiffin’s approach be acceptable by the 55+ demographic, which likes to remind everyone that it finances the program with what little it has to work with? How long would it have taken for a supporter to phone Hunter Yurachek and urge that the head coach behave as though he’s been there before rather than acting so rowdy on Twitter?
Because he couldn’t resist tweeting a picture of himself in front of the same airport with the words, “But I have been here before,” essentially outing the thin-skinned supporter and wounding his pride, Kiffin would definitely be fired before he could reach his 10-win seasons.
At the very least, it would have been intriguing to see the slogan he developed for Arkansas. It’s the one area where the program has encountered difficulties. While “Yes, sir!” was served in a variety of ways, it was never as popular as “Come to the ‘Sip.” Naturally, Pittman stays off social media, which is a component of his brand that makes him popular with some fans.
His style is more grounded. a relic from a more relaxed, gentler period of college athletics. One cheddar biscuit at a time, Pittman hopes to win over mom and dad by looking them in the eye and demonstrating that he has their son’s best interests at heart.
In the meanwhile, Kiffin wants to take a more direct approach and get to the level where he knows he can’t give up. His mobile.
Someone who wants to win mommy over with kindness. The other person only wants to take her son. Neither could work well using the other’s technique.
In what is always a close game between the Rebels and Razorbacks, both fan groups will find out sometime in the autumn of next year who performed better in this particular recruiting cycle. Additionally, remember. Paul “Pooh” will also be back.
