FAYETTEVILLE — One thing Arkansas fans shouldn’t expect to see under Sam Pittman is excessive - or any at all, really - meddling between the first-year head coach and his coordinators.

Instead, Pittman plans to take more of a CEO approach to running the Razorbacks and allow Kendal Briles and Barry Odom - the first pair of seven-figure assistants UA history - to call the plays on offense and defense, respectively.

“If I was better than (Kendal Briles), I’d be the offensive coordinator,” Pittman said. “If I was better than Barry Odom, I’d be the defensive coordinator. I hired those guys because I think they’re as good as anybody in the country has.”

Although he will give his thoughts during game planning meetings and things like that throughout the week, it’s unlikely the power-struggle seen at various school across the country will ever develop at Arkansas.

“I’m going to give my ideas and I’m going to ask my questions about why are we doing this and I just want a good answer,” Pittman said. “But we hired them, along with every position coach, to go coach and that’s what we’re going to let them do.”

A big reason behind that is Pittman has never been a coordinator himself. Since breaking into the FBS coaching ranks in 1994, he’s been an offensive line coach who occasionally also has the added title of assistant head coach.

During those 26 seasons, Pittman has coached at 10 different schools and worked under 12 different head coaches. That experience - although not as a head coach - gave him an idea of how he wants to run his program.

“I’m older and been to a lot of different schools and been an assistant for a long time,” Pittman said. “What I’m trying to do is be the coach that I wanted to work for.”