Report: Arkansas hires former head coach Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator

Bobby Petrino is headed back to Fayetteville. The former Arkansas head coach who was ousted in infamous circumstances in 2012 has been brought back to the staff to serve as offensive coordinator under Sam Pittman, according to ESPN’s Chris Low.

Petrino most recently served as the Texas A&M offensive coordinator in 2023, joining the Aggies for what ended up being the final season for head coach Jimbo Fisher. Prior to that, Petrino held a trio of head coaching jobs since his firing at Arkansas.

It was reported earlier on Tuesday that Arkansas was “vetting” Petrino for the position.

After going 11-2 during the 2011 season — capping a two-year run where Arkansas went 21-5 — Petrino was involved in a motorcycle crash in the spring of 2012. Following a now-iconic press conference where Petrino spoke to media while wearing a neck brace and revelations as a result of the crash investigation that he had an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate, Petrino was fired in April of 2012.

In 2013, he coached one season at the helm of Western Kentucky and then went to coach five years at Louisville, from 2014-18, his second stint as the head coach there.

Petrino’s second run at Louisville was strong during the first four seasons, including a trio of seasons with Lamar Jackson, posting a 34-18 record and winning no fewer than eight games. Then in 2018 a 2-8 mark saw Petrino jettisoned before the end of the regular season.

Petrino popped back up as a head coach in 2020, taking the job at FCS Missouri State. He went 18-15 there in three seasons, enough to re-fire his career and get him looks at FBS jobs. He was briefly set to take over the job at UNLV in the 2023 season before Fisher and A&M came calling.

The Aggies finished No. 53 nationally in total offense through the regular season in 2023, despite a bevy of quarterback injuries and Fisher’s firing. It was also a noted improvement for a team that languished offensively in years prior. Texas A&M averaged more than 400 yards of offense a game and averaged nearly six yards per play.

Arkansas will hope Petrino can bring some offensive success back to Fayetteville, where his teams had no shortage of ability to score points and rack up yards in bunches.

In 2023, Arkansas brought Dan Enos in as offensive coordinator only to fire him midstream, replacing him with Kenny Guiton, who began the season as the wide receivers coach. The Razorbacks finished No. 103 nationally in total offense through 12 games, averaging just more than 325 yards a game.