Bobby Petrino
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Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
coach who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the
University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...
. He served as the head football coach at Missouri State from 2020 to 2022. Petrino previously served as the head coach at the
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
from 2014 until being fired during the 2018 season. He also held the post from 2003 to 2006. From 2008 to 2011, Petrino was the head coach at the
University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...
. He was dismissed from that position in the spring of 2012 for covering up an extramarital affair with an athletic department staffer. Petrino also coached the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) for the first 13 games of the 2007 season. He spent the 2013 season as head football coach at Western Kentucky. He also was the offensive coordinator at
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
in 2023. Petrino has directed his college teams to nine bowl games, including the first
Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of America ...
(BCS) bowl games for both the
Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...
and the
Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...
in their programs' histories. His teams have achieved four 10-win seasons along with six AP top-25 finishes.


Early years

Born in
Lewistown, Montana Lewistown is a city in and the county seat of Fergus County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,952 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Lewistown is located in the geographic center of the state, southeast of Great Falls, Mo ...
, Robert Patrick Petrino grew up in Helena and graduated from Capital High in 1979. He attended hometown Carroll College and graduated with a physical education and a math minor in 1983. While at Carroll, he played
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
for the Fighting Saints and began his coaching career there as a graduate assistant during the 1983 season. At the time, his father, Bob Petrino Sr., was the head coach of Carroll, a position he held from 1971 to 1999.


Assistant coaching career


Carroll and Weber State

After a year at Carroll, he moved to Weber State College in the
Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...
, coaching quarterbacks as a graduate assistant under
head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
Mike Price. Petrino returned to his alma mater in 1985 as offensive coordinator. In each of his two seasons in that position, Carroll had the top-rated offense in NAIA football. He then returned to Weber State for two seasons in 1987 and 1988 as the receivers coach under Price.


Idaho and Arizona State

Petrino spent a year as quarterbacks coach at the
University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...
in
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
under new head coach John L. Smith, then was promoted to
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
the next season. In
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
, he moved up to Division I-A (now FBS) as the quarterbacks coach at
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
in the Pac-10 Conference.qc> During his two seasons at ASU under head coach Bruce Snyder, he oversaw the development of future All-American QB Jake Plummer, who went on to play ten seasons in the NFL.


Nevada and Utah State

In 1994, he moved to the Nevada Wolf Pack football, University of Nevada, serving as both
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
and quarterbacks coach under Chris Ault. During his one season there, the Wolf Pack were second in the nation in both passing offense and total offense, and third in scoring offense. The next year, he began a three-year stint as
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
at
Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...
, reuniting with Smith.


Louisville

When Smith moved to Louisville in 1998, Petrino followed him there as offensive coordinator. In his one season there, the Cardinals were top-ranked in Division I-A in scoring and total offense and posted the biggest positive turnaround among I-A football teams, winning six more games than in the 1997 season. Petrino left the collegiate ranks to coach in the NFL for three years.


NFL

Petrino's first stint in the NFL was with the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
from 1999 to 2001, where he spent two seasons as the quarterbacks coach and a third as
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
.


Auburn

In 2002, Petrino returned to the college ranks, replacing Noel Mazzone as offensive coordinator under
Tommy Tuberville Thomas Hawley Tuberville (; born September 18, 1954) is an American politician and retired college football coach who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from Alabama, a seat he has held since 2021. Before ...
at Auburn, whose offense significantly improved that season under Petrino's watch.


Head coaching career


Louisville

Petrino returned to
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
in 2003 as
head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
, replacing John L. Smith, who had departed for
Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...
. After only one season at Louisville, Petrino secretly interviewed for the coaching job at Auburn, as the Tigers were considering whether to retain his former boss, Tuberville. In four years at Louisville, Petrino built the Cardinals into a national power. He led them to 11 wins in 2004 and 12 wins in 2006—only the second and third times that the Cardinals won as many as 11 games in a season, and to date their only appearances in the final top 10 of a major media poll. They spent much of 2006 as contenders for the national championship, rising as high as third in the nation before suffering their only loss of the season, against Rutgers. The 2006 team was invited to the
Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...
, only the second major-bowl appearance in school history. On July 13, 2006, Petrino signed a 10-year, $25.6 million contract to stay on as head football coach. The deal gave Petrino a raise from $1 million to $1.6 million annually, and he would have been paid $2.6 million in the final year of the deal. The contract included a buyout clause of $1 million. On January 7, 2007, less than six months after signing the 10-year contract above, it was announced Petrino had accepted the head coaching position for the NFL's
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
.


Atlanta Falcons

The
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
hired Petrino to a five-year, $24 million contract. A major reason Petrino was brought in was to develop star quarterback
Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Norfolk State Spartans football, Norfolk State University. He played quarterback in the National F ...
into a more complete quarterback, Vick being known more for his ability to run than as a pocket passer. However, before Petrino's first training camp, it emerged that Vick had bankrolled an illegal dog fighting operation near his hometown in
Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...
. The terms of Vick's bail barred him from leaving Virginia before the November 26 trial, ending any realistic chance of him playing a meaningful down in
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
. In a case of exceptionally bad timing, the Falcons had traded Vick's backup, Matt Schaub, to the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
in the offseason. Thus, Petrino was forced to begin the season with back-ups Joey Harrington, Byron Leftwich, and Chris Redman as his quarterbacks. With their franchise quarterback effectively sidelined for the season, the Falcons appeared to be a rudderless team. On December 10, 2007, with the Falcons at the bottom of the
NFC South The National Football Conference – Southern Division or NFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season when th ...
with a 3–10 record after suffering a home loss to the division rival
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
, Petrino resigned to become head coach at Arkansas, less than 24 hours after personally promising owner
Arthur Blank Arthur Morris Blank (born September 27, 1942) is an American Businessperson, businessman. He is best known for being a co-founder of the home improvement retailer Home Depot, The Home Depot. Blank owns three professional sports teams based in At ...
that he was staying in Atlanta. Petrino informed his players of his departure via a four-sentence laminated note left at the locker of each player, a move that many in the organization and in the NFL harshly criticized. Even before resigning, Petrino had rankled the Falcons players with his aloof manner. He was known to walk through the locker room without speaking to the players. He was also reluctant to share personnel decisions with the players; Harrington learned through the media that Petrino considered Leftwich the starter even though Harrington had engineered two straight wins in Leftwich's absence. According to a 2022 article in ''
The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...
'' about Petrino's tenure at Arkansas, Petrino told Jeff Long, who was due to formally succeed Frank Broyles as athletic director at Arkansas after the 2007 season, that he was interested in coming to Fayetteville. Long was not willing to wait until after the end of the NFL season, and asked
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
owner and Arkansas alumnus
Jerry Jones Jerral Wayne Jones Sr. (born October 13, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman who is the owner, president, and General manager (American football), general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He bought t ...
to ask Blank for permission to negotiate with Petrino. When Blank turned the request down, Petrino's agent suggested that Long would be free to talk to Petrino if Petrino resigned from the Falcons during the season. Long met Petrino at a law office in Atlanta, and Petrino stepped away long enough to formally resign as Falcons head coach. Petrino's thirteen game tenure is tied with Lou Holtz in 1976 and
Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green F ...
in 2021 for the third shortest non-interim coaching tenure in NFL history. His tenure as the Falcons' head coach is widely considered to have been among the worst head coaching tenures in league history.


Arkansas

Once Petrino resigned from the Falcons, he and Long negotiated a contract calling for Petrino to be paid $2.85 million per year for five years; it was later extended to seven years before Petrino formally signed. The Razorbacks ended the 2008 season with a record of 5–7 (2–6 in the SEC); The two conference wins were over Auburn, and a last second win against
LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
in the annual Battle for the Golden Boot. Under Petrino, the Razorbacks showed significant improvement in the 2009 season with analysts from both ESPN and CBS regularly citing starting quarterback Ryan Mallett as one of the most impressive collegiate quarterbacks in the country. The Razorbacks came close to upsetting the No. 1-ranked Florida Gators on October 17, 2009. That game culminated in a controversial fourth quarter personal foul call on an Arkansas lineman. The resulting 15-yard penalty allowed the Gators to continue what turned out to be their game-winning drive. The SEC ultimately issued an apology for the call and suspended the officiating crew. Arkansas would go on to finish the season 8–5 after beating the Conference-USA champion East Carolina Pirates in the 2010 Liberty Bowl, 20–17 in OT. The Razorbacks also enjoyed success under Petrino in the 2010 season, finishing 10–2 and notching their first major bowl appearance in two decades, against Ohio State. In the 2011 Sugar Bowl, Ohio State built an early lead behind the play of Terrelle Pryor and Daniel Herron, but Arkansas came back in the second half. As the Razorbacks were driving for a go-ahead score in the final minutes, Ryan Mallett threw an interception near the Ohio State 20-yard line, and Ohio State ran out the clock. On July 8, 2011, under scrutiny from the NCAA due to a variety of program irregularities and violations of Ohio State University and NCAA policies, Ohio State vacated the 2011 Sugar Bowl win along with 11 other victories in their 2010 season. Arkansas was still forced to count the game as a loss, finishing 10–3. The Razorbacks won the 2012 Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas, defeating Kansas State by a score of 29–16. The Hogs concluded the 2011 season with an 11–2 record, with their only losses at Alabama and at LSU, both of whom played in the BCS national championship game. It was just the third 11-win season in Arkansas' 119-year football history, and their first since 1977. The Razorbacks also finished ranked #5 in both major polls, their first top-ten finish in 30 years.


Motorcycle incident

On April 1, 2012, Petrino was involved in a motorcycle crash on Arkansas Highway 16 near the city of Crosses. He was riding with former Arkansas All-SEC volleyball player Jessica Dorrell, whom he had hired on March 28 as student-athlete development coordinator for the football program after she served as a fundraiser in the Razorback Foundation. Petrino initially said he was alone on the motorcycle. However, on April 6, just minutes before a police report was to be released showing Dorrell was also aboard, Petrino admitted that Dorrell was not only a passenger, but that he had been conducting an affair with her. Long placed Petrino on indefinite paid administrative leave while he investigated the situation. According to ''The Athletic,'' shortly after the accident, Larry Henry of KFSM-TV got a tip from "a lock-down, high-up source" at the university that Petrino was not really alone on the motorcycle. This prompted Henry to collar Petrino after a press conference held after Petrino's release from the hospital and ask him if he was sure he was alone during the accident. Two days after the press conference, Henry learned the police report was about to be released, and that Dorrell was indeed the other passenger. The police investigation revealed that Petrino and Dorrell refused offers to call 911, then flagged down a passing car who drove them to a Fayetteville diner. A state trooper who served as Petrino's game-day police detail drove a badly injured Petrino to the hospital. On April 10, Long announced that Petrino had been fired. During Long's investigation, it was discovered that Petrino and Dorrell's relationship was an open secret in the football office. Petrino frequently sent Dorrell gifts, including a previously undisclosed $20,000 cash gift as a Christmas present. Dorrell used the money to help buy a new car. It was also revealed that Dorrell may have received preferential treatment in her hiring on the football staff, as Petrino's relationship with Dorrell was not disclosed and Petrino was on the hiring committee. Long determined that Petrino's attempts to mislead both him and the public about the accident and his relationship with Dorrell were grounds to fire Petrino for cause. In his formal termination letter to Petrino, Long said that he would have never allowed Dorrell's hiring had Petrino disclosed his relationship with Dorrell, and concluded that this and other lies on Petrino's part were "contrary to the character and responsibilities" of his post, and "negatively and adversely affected the reputation of the University of Arkansas within the State of Arkansas and on a national level." Long also determined that the $20,000 payment could expose Arkansas to a sexual harassment suit if Petrino were retained. In the course of hiring Dorrell, according to ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'', Petrino also circumvented university
affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...
guidelines requiring job postings to be listed for 30 days before interviews could begin. He claimed that he needed an assistant to help him with recruiting right away, allowing him to interview and hire Dorrell 16 days after the job was posted. Dorrell was also the only candidate with no previous experience in a football program, and the only candidate without a master's degree. Petrino was succeeded by his former boss, Smith, as interim head coach. Smith had been the Arkansas special teams coach before briefly taking the head coaching job at Weber State. On December 4, 2012, Bret Bielema was named Smith's successor.


Public apologies

In July, Petrino contacted Smith and members of his former team, including quarterback Tyler Wilson, who said the outreach provided "a little closure." Running back Knile Davis said, "He apologized. He said, 'I'm sorry for everything that happened.' ... He was very humble. He was very hurt. I told him not to be so hard on himself. I told him, 'You made a mistake. You'll get back from it.'" Smith's phone call with Petrino was "basically about our football team at Arkansas, of which he's always concerned about" ic In August 2012, Petrino sat down for a video interview with ESPN college football reporter Joe Schad to express remorse and regret, saying there was "no justification" for his decisions. On September 9, 2019, Petrino was the guest at the Little Rock Touchdown Club. During his interview session, Petrino explained to the sell-out crowd what happened that led to his termination in 2012. He also expressed profound remorse for his actions, and his deep admiration for the Arkansas Razorback football program, stating that he was a different person from the man who was fired seven years earlier. The gathered crowd gave Petrino a round of applause.


Western Kentucky

On December 10, 2012, Western Kentucky hired Petrino as their new head coach, replacing
Willie Taggart Willie Author Taggart (born August 27, 1976) is an American football coach who is the running backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He has held the head coach position at five NCAA Division I Football Bowl ...
, who had departed for
South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...
. Petrino signed a four-year contract with a base salary of $850,000 annually. If Petrino left early, conditions of the contract required Petrino to re-pay the university $1.2 million in six monthly payments starting the month after he leaves. In Petrino's only season at WKU, the Hilltoppers began with a second straight win over
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
and finished with an 8–4 record; however, they were not invited to a bowl game.


Return to Louisville

After Charlie Strong left Louisville for the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
, Petrino was rumored as one of the candidates to become the next head coach, even after his departure in 2007. However, in early 2014, Eric Crawford of WDRB recalled that athletic director Tom Jurich had been somewhat critical of Petrino's tenure there. In a 2008 interview, Jurich told Crawford that Petrino's successor, Steve Kragthorpe, dismissed several players he'd inherited from Petrino for drug-related reasons. Due to drug problems and other disciplinary issues, Jurich said, some 21 of Petrino's players had been "cleared out" since 2007. As a result, by 2009 only three players from Petrino's last recruiting class were starting, and only seven were playing regularly. Jurich was also displeased that Petrino seemed to be more concerned with burnishing his resumé than building the program for the future. On January 9, 2014, Petrino officially returned to Louisville at a press conference after being unanimously approved by the University of Louisville Athletic Association. Petrino reportedly signed a deal that was to pay $24.5 million over seven years with a buyout of $10 million. The best years of Petrino's second tenure came from 2015 to 2017, with Lamar Jackson as quarterback. Jackson won the
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...
as a sophomore in 2016. In that same year, the Cardinals steamrolled then second-ranked Florida State 63–20, at the time the most points ever surrendered by a Florida State team. However, the Cardinals regressed significantly in 2018, after Jackson gave up his senior year to enter the NFL Draft. Petrino led the Cardinals to a 2–8 record in 2018, which included a seven game losing streak and consecutive blowout losses to rival ACC teams Clemson and Syracuse. In those two routs, Louisville lost by a combined score of 131–39. Days after the loss to Syracuse, Louisville fired Petrino on November 11, 2018, agreeing to buy out the remaining $14.1 million of his contract. Athletic director Vince Tyra said that he did not believe the players were responding under Petrino, and felt he needed to make an immediate change to start the turnaround. Secondary coach Lorenzo Ward was named interim head coach for the rest of the season. In a postmortem, ESPN's Andrea Adelson wrote that Jackson's presence masked serious deficiencies in the Louisville program that were exposed in full in 2018. For example, during his Heisman season of 2016, Jackson was sacked 47 times. During the 2018 season, the running game was suspect, and the defense was on its third coordinator in as many seasons. Crawford, who has covered the Cardinals for almost three decades at both WDRB and ''
The Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...
,'' recalled that the 2018 season, and with it Petrino's tenure, effectively ended when Petrino ripped into his players in the locker room following a close loss to Florida State. According to Crawford, Petrino lost the team at that point; they would not win another game that season.


Missouri State

On January 15, 2020,
Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second-largest u ...
, of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in the FCS, announced that they had hired Petrino to replace Dave Steckel as their head football coach. In Petrino's first season with Missouri State, the Bears compiled a 5–4 record and were selected to compete in the FCS playoffs for the first time since 1990. However, the Bears lost their first-round matchup with the
University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...
by a score of 44–10. Petrino's second season with Missouri State was also successful; he led the Bears to an 8–3 record in the regular season and a berth in the FCS Playoffs with a first-round matchup against UT-Martin. They lost a close matchup, 32–31. In 2022, Petrino's final season at Missouri State, the team regressed to post a 5–6 record, which included a 5-game losing streak that started with a loss to Petrino's former team, Arkansas, in Fayetteville (No. 10 ranked Arkansas won 38–27).


Return to assistant coaching


UNLV

On December 15, 2022, Petrino joined the
UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Footb ...
under Barry Odom as the offensive coordinator. This position was short lived, as Petrino departed 21 days later on January 4, 2023, for
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
.


Texas A&M

Petrino's tenure as the offensive coordinator for Texas A&M lasted one season, as he was not retained by new head coach Mike Elko.


Arkansas

On November 29, 2023, Petrino was hired by the
Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...
under
Sam Pittman Sam Pittman (born November 28, 1961) is an American college football coach who is the head football coach at the University of Arkansas. Prior to being hired at Arkansas, he was the associate head coach and offensive line coach at the University ...
to be offensive coordinator, 11 years after being fired as head coach by Arkansas due to a motorcycle accident and a covered-up affair with a subordinate.


Personal life

Petrino has two sons and two daughters with his wife, Becky. His older daughter, Kelsey, graduated from the
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
; his older son, Nick, also attended Louisville. His younger son, Bobby Jr., attended the
University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...
and his younger daughter, Katie played on Louisville's golf team. He also has five grandchildren. Petrino's younger brother,
Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...
, is the wide receivers coach at the University of South Alabama.


Head coaching record


College


NFL


References


External links


Arkansas profile

Louisville profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrino, Bobby 1961 births Living people American football quarterbacks Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Atlanta Falcons head coaches Auburn Tigers football coaches Carroll Fighting Saints football coaches Carroll Fighting Saints football players Idaho Vandals football coaches Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches Missouri State Bears football coaches NFL offensive coordinators Nevada Wolf Pack football coaches Texas A&M Aggies football coaches Utah State Aggies football coaches Weber State Wildcats football coaches Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football coaches People from Lewistown, Montana Sportspeople from Helena, Montana Coaches of American football from Montana Players of American football from Montana