Meet the Coaches:Jeff Pitman

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Meet the Coaches: Auburn strength & conditioning coach Jeff Pitman

Auburn University Athletics

6-7 minutes

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AUBURN, Ala. – Growing up on a dairy ranch in Idaho, Jeff Pitman contemplated two careers: football or farming.

“The competitive piece and being together with the players was such a powerful thing,” said Pitman who walked on at Boise State in 1988 and later asked himself, “How can I keep this going?”

As a young man, Pitman participated in every part of his father’s dairy operation – except actually milking the cows.

“Those cows were pretty precious,” Pitman said. “They were the moneymakers and I wasn’t allowed to mess with them. I fed them, did the irrigation, shoveled manure, pulled calves. I did everything but milk the cows. That was his deal.”

“I always loved to lift,” said Pitman, describing weightlifting as the tool he used to earn playing time at Boise State.  “Otherwise, I would have had zero chance to get on the field.”

Competing in sports, for Pitman, provided a welcome break from the rigors of dairy farming.

“Going to football camps, competing and going to athletic events was like Christmas for me,” he said. “That was the only thing my dad would let me off the ranch for. Anything else, I was there.

“I relish those moments, being with the guys, working, playing and competing. That was my draw.”

That draw directed Pitman to pursue a career as a strength and conditioning coach. After earning his master’s at Minnesota, where he worked with former Auburn strength coach Kevin Yoxall, Pitman became the head strength coach at his alma mater in 1999, when the Broncos featured a senior quarterback named Bryan Harsin.

“He was one of those guys who worked very hard,” Pitman remembered. “Always a hard worker; still is. He’s a prime example of somebody who has developed and has not stopped developing. That’s what I love about him. He continues to search and find and try new things.”

After seeing the results Pitman’s training yields both as a student-athlete and an assistant coach, Harsin has since hired Pitman three times to be his head strength and conditioning coach, first at Arkansas State, then at Boise State and now at Auburn.

“I have some old-school ways,” Pitman said. “But I have a staff that’s pretty young so they bring that modern flavor to us. We try to blend the two together to come up with something a little bit different than what other people are doing.”

After arriving at Auburn in January, Pitman met individually with each student-athlete.

“It’s about you and your development,” he told them. “I’m here to help and I have a lot of experience to draw on to help you get to where you want to get to.”

From nutrition to speed and agility, to strength and conditioning, continuous development is the goal of Auburn’s program under Pitman.

“That’s really the single greatest piece that we can bring to these young student-athletes,” he said. “We’re going to develop you. You’re going to work hard. That’s something that Auburn has been known for and we’re going to continue to be known for, and we’re going to develop you daily.”

To enhance that development, Auburn will unveil its Football Performance Center in 2022.

“The new weight room going in, that’s a critical piece,” Pitman said. “It’s going to be an awesome feature for Auburn University. Current and future players can look at that and say, ‘This is really something. They built this for us.’ That new weight room is all about developing, so I’m excited about that.”

Pitman, whose oldest son, Nicholai, also played at Boise State, sees parallels between the Broncos program and the Tigers, especially their mentalities.

“I always felt the program my son and I played at mirrored that type of work ethic,” Pitman said. “Getting in there every day and doing what you’re supposed to do, working hard and doing extra.

“That’s something all Auburn people can be very proud of. It gives you a strong backbone and the ability to accomplish anything you need to accomplish. If you have that piece, you can overcome and take great satisfaction in doing things you need to do.”

After spending most of his life and career in Idaho, Jeff Pitman has found a new home in Auburn, one that reminds him of his western roots.

“That’s one of the things I love about Auburn,” he said. “It has that small community feel which my wife and I enjoy.

“I’m really excited to be here and really happy with the way the players have responded to what we’re doing. I think it’s going to be a fun season. Excited to get fans in the stadium. I think they’re going to enjoy the product we put out there.”

From the blue turf of Boise to the blue collar vibe outlined in the Auburn Creed.

“Lifting, training and work, hard work, growing up the way I did on the ranch,” Pitman said. “It fit perfectly in my world, so here I sit today.”

 Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer

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