In 1991, Pittman was hired as the offensive line coach at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas. The following year he was named head coach, replacing Glenn Percy. Pittman compiled an 11–9–1 record over two seasons. Pittman was credited with reviving a "struggling" program. Northern Illinois hired Pittman as its offensive line coach in February 1994. Then-head coach Charlie Sadler described Pittman as "one of the top up-and-coming offensive line coaches in the country." Sadler was fired after the 1995 season, and Pittman moved over to the University of Cincinnati, joining Rick Minter's staff as tight ends coach. Other coaches on that staff included future NFL head coaches Rex Ryan and John Harbaugh. Pittman left Cincinnati after the 1996 season to become the offensive line coach at the University of Oklahoma under second-year coach John Blake. Rex Ryan followed Pittman to Oklahoma after Blake reshuffled his coaching staff at the end of the 1997 season. Oklahoma fired Blake after the 1998 season and Pittman moved over to Western Michigan University to join Gary Darnell's staff, again as offensive line coach. At the end of 1999 Pittman and offensive coordinator Bill Cubit departed Western Michigan to take up the same positions at the University of Missouri under Larry Smith. Missouri fired Smith at the end of the 2000 season; Pittman moved over to the University of Kansas under Terry Allen. Allen had reshuffled his coaching staff following a disappointing 4–7 season in 2000; in 2001 team went 3–8 and Allen was fired. Pittman returned to the coaching ranks in 2003 as the offensive line coach at Northern Illinois, the same job he had held in 1994–1995. The head coach was Joe Novak, who had replaced the fired Sadler after the 1995 season. Northern Illinois promoted Pittman to assistant head coach for the 2004 season. Pittman departed Northern Illinois after the 2006 season to join new University of North Carolina head coach Butch Davis' staff as offensive line coach. Pittman was considered a potential head coach at Northern Illinois after Jerry Kill, Novak's successor, departed for the University of Minnesota after the 2010 season. Davis was dismissed before the 2011 because of an academic scandal; Pittman was considered for the interim head coach job which eventually went to Everett Withers. After the conclusion of the 2011 season Pittman took the offensive line coach job at the University of Tennessee under Derek Dooley. Not the first time, Pittman was added to a coaching staff that had been just reshuffled because of poor performance. Tennessee fired Dooley at the end of season, and Pittman joined new University of Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema's staff as assistant head coach/offensive line coach, where he spent the 2013 through 2015 seasons. Pittman departed Arkansas after the 2015 season to become offensive line coach at the University of Georgia under new head coach Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, whom Pittman had previously worked with at both Tennessee and Arkansas. Georgia paid a $250,000 buyout to hire Pittman. When Pittman informed Bielema that he planned to take the Georgia job, Bielema brought several Arkansas offensive linemen to Pittman's house in an attempt to convince him to remain at Arkansas. Bielema claimed that Pittman had refused to meet personally with his players to inform them he would be leaving, a claim that Pittman denied. At Georgia, Pittman garnered a reputation as "one of the best recruiters and offensive line coaches in the SEC." In his second season, Georgia won the SEC Championship Game and reached the College Football Playoff National Championship. That was the first of three consecutive Southeastern Conference East Division titles for Georgia from 2017–2019. Pittman's 2018 line was named a finalist for the Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in college football. Pittman was promoted to associate head coach in 2019, with a salary of $900,000 per year making him the highest-paid offensive line coach in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Off the field, he became known for a catchphrase, "Yessir!", that he would use in social-media videos posted after Georgia secured commitments from significant recruits, beginning with quarterback Justin Fields in 2017.
Head coach
On December 8, 2019, Pittman was announced as the new head coach at Arkansas, replacing Chad Morris, who was fired midway through his second season. Other candidates for the position reportedly included Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach. Several of Pittman's former players lobbied for him to get the job, including writing an open letter to Arkansas administrators shortly after Morris's firing. Pittman's hiring was announced on Twitter by athletic director Hunter Yurachek, including a video of Pittman and Yurachek yelling Pittman's trademark "Yessir!"
Personal life
Sam is married to his wife, Jamie. Pittman is close friends with his former colleague Rex Ryan. Ryan once flew Pittman out to his home to help build a children's fort that Ryan had designed:
