Bobby Petrino looking forward to first game back on Arkansas sideline

Bobby Petrino had quite the run of success at Arkansas in his previous stint as head coach before an off-the-field incident derailed his tenure there.

When the Razorbacks take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Thursday, Aug. 29, it’ll be a homecoming of sorts for the former head coach, who is now the offensive coordinator for Sam Pittman and the Hogs.

To date, though, Petrino hasn’t spent much time thinking about his home debut.

“Gosh I wish I could think about it but coach has been grinding us, man,” he said on Tuesday evening. “I haven’t had time to think about a whole lot. We’re here early in the morning and getting home late at night. But it’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to it.

“I’ve always enjoyed going down to Little Rock and playing down in Little Rock. I think it’ll be fun. I can’t wait till we get down there.”

The offensive guru is looking to revitalize the Arkansas attack, which loses star quarterback KJ Jefferson. The program brought in Boise State transfer Taylen Green, who Bobby Petrino will now get to mold.

There’s a lot of room for improvement, both for Green and for the Razorbacks.

Arkansas finished the 2023 season ranked 69th nationally in scoring offense and 107th nationally in total offense. Those figures aren’t going to cut it if Pittman hopes to keep his job going forward.

So where will Bobby Petrino set up shop?

“I’m going to be on the sideline,” he revealed. “You’ve got the clicker now where you can talk to the quarterback and earpiece. Can’t do that from upstairs.”

So all the noise, all the pomp and circumstance, Petrino will get to experience it all in his return to the Razorbacks. It wasn’t a decision he made lightly, going from the booth down to the field.

“I thought about it. I kind of liked it last year upstairs and calling the game and being away from all the elements that go down there,” Bobby Petrino said. “But I didn’t like not being able to see the quarterback’s eyes and how they were reacting and what was going on on the sidelines. So I think it’s the right decision to be down.”