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VOLS NAME SAM PITTMAN OFFENSIVE LINE COACH
Coaching veteran spent last five seasons on North Carolina staff
University
of Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley announced Thursday that
the Vols have hired Sam Pittman as offensive line coach. Pittman, who
has spent the last five years at the University of North Carolina staff
from 2007-11 in charge of the offensive line, was named associate head
coach before the 2011 season.
Pittman fills the position
on the Tennessee staff formerly held by Harry Hiestand, who resigned to
pursue other coaching opportunities.
“Sam has an excellent
reputation and track record as an offensive line coach and as a
recruiter,” said Dooley. “He brings a considerable amount to our
program as a coach and a person, and we are excited that he is joining
our staff.”
The 2011 North Carolina team averaged 6.3
yards per play in the regular season, the second-best mark in the ACC.
The UNC offensive line helped redshirt freshman running back Giovani
Bernard to 101.8 yards per game, a mark that led all NCAA freshmen and
included seven 100-yard rushing games. Bernard’s 14 rushing touchdowns
ranked second nationally among freshmen.
Additionally,
sophomore quarterback Bryn Renner led the Atlantic Coast Conference in
passing efficiency, a category in which UNC led the conference as a
team as well. The Tar Heels ranked fifth in the ACC in total offense at
396.6 while earning a berth in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl.
Named
one of the nation’s top 25 recruiters by ESPN.COM, Pittman has signed
the No. 2-rated offensive tackle in each of the last two years, Alex
Hurst in 2010 and Kiaro Holt in 2011. Hurst, who started all 12 games
at left tackle for UNC as a sophomore during the 2011 season, joined
teammate and left guard Jonathan Cooper as the first Tar Heel tandem to
earn All-ACC lineman honors since 1993.
Pittman also
worked to develop offensive lineman Garrett Reynolds, who earned second
team All-ACC honors in 2008 and was selected in the fifth round of the
2009 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons.
Pittman joined the
Tar Heels after four seasons as the offensive line coach at Northern
Illinois from 2003-06, including three seasons as assistant head coach
from 2004-06. During that time frame, the Huskies produced a pair of
standout rushers in Garrett Wolfe and Michael Turner. Wolfe led the
nation in rushing with 1,928 yards, while Turner, who has earned two
Pro Bowl selections with the Atlanta Falcons and has led the NFC in
rushing in each of the last two seasons, finished second in the nation
as a senior at Northern Illinois in 2003 with 1,648 yards.
His
first stint as offensive line coach for Northern Illinois was for two
years, from 1994-95. Pittman also previously coached the offensive
linemen at Kansas (2001), Missouri (2000), Western Michigan (1999), and
Oklahoma (1997-98). He coached offensive tackles and tight ends at
Cincinnati at 1996.
Before coaching at NIU, Pittman spent
two seasons as the head coach at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College
from 1992-93 after serving as the school’s offensive line coach in
1991. He was a head coach in the high school ranks at Trenton (Mo.)
High School from 1989-90 and at Princeton (Mo.) High School from
1987-88. He began his coaching career with a two-year stint as a
student assistant at Pittsburg State from 1984-85, followed by one
season as an assistant coach at Beggs (Okla.) High School.
Pittman,
a graduate of Pittsburg State (Kan.), played defensive end at the
school and was inducted into the PSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998. He
is married to the former Jamie Conrad of Pittsburg, Kan.
SAM PITTMAN COACHING CAREER
2007-11 North Carolina, Offensive Line/Associate Head Coach (2011)
2003-06
Northern Illinois, Assistant Head Coach (2004-06)/Offensive Line
2001 Kansas, Offensive Line
2000 Missouri, Offensive Line
1999 Western Michigan, Offensive Line
1997-98 Oklahoma, Offensive Line
1996
Cincinnati, Offensive Tackles/Tight Ends
1994-95 Northern Illinois, Offensive Line
1992-93 Hutchinson (Kan.) CC, Head Coach
1991 Hutchinson (Kan.), Offensive Line
1989-90 Trenton (Mo.) High School, Head Coach
1987-88 Princeton (Mo.) High School, Head Coach
1986
Beggs (Okla.) High School, Assistant Coach
1984-85 Pittsburg State, Student Coach
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