Ross Bjork explains why Bobby Petrino was a great fit for Texas A&M

Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork is down in Florida for the SEC spring meetings along with several other key pieces from the athletic department. During a brief moment away from the meetings, Bjork sat down for an interview with ESPN’s Paul Finebaum. In the middle of the interview, the Aggies’ athletic director was asked about their recent hiring of Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator and what went into the decision-making to bring him in.

“I was the athletic director of Western Kentucky for a couple of years, from 2010 to 2012. And the guy who succeeded me there hired Bobby Petrino as a head coach. And that was one of the first phone calls. When Coach Fisher brought his name up, obviously, we all did our background homework. So I called Todd Stewart, and he goes, ‘(he) could not have been better to work with, (and) could not have been more humble.’ (Petrino) took responsibility for what happened. (He) was a family man, had his grandkids around, (and) had his children around. I mean, when he was at Missouri State, part of his family’s coaching with him. He’s a family guy.”

Bjork was able to swipe Petrino away from UNLV in early January, convincing him to take a similar position with the Aggies. The move of bringing in the former Missouri State head coach drew some ire from individuals outside the program. Still, the Aggies athletic director remembers his first meeting with Petrino fondly.

“So the first time I met coach Petrino, again, gracious, nice, (and) appreciative of the opportunity to be back at this level. That’s really what the hunger was, ‘hey, I wanna be back. I wanna prove myself at the highest level. Maybe not the head coaching role at this level, but I wanna prove myself.’ So, it’s been really fun just to watch him work with our quarterbacks, work with our offense. Again, no one can argue that the guy could call plays, right? I think that’s gonna add a twist to our program that’s gonna be just fun to watch.

Petrino has worked in the SEC before as the Arkansas head coach for four seasons, having success before turmoil struck. Before leaving Fayetteville, the Razorbacks had just completed an 11-win season capped off by a win in the Cotton Bowl. And with the success he’s enjoyed in the past, he could be just what the Aggies need to ramp up their offensive productivity.