The Second Bobby Petrino era is underway at the University of Arkansas as the Razorback football team is amid the early days of their 2024 spring practice schedule.
Petrino, head coach at Arkansas from 2008-2011, was re-hired by the Hogs after an agonizing 2023 season, this time to lead the offense after more than a decade long absence marked by high-profile stops at Louisville as the head coach and Texas A&M as the offensive coordinator.
Enter the 2nd Bobby Petrino Era
Petrino’s first tenure at Arkansas was a project in re-building a historic program, leading his teams to three bowl games in four seasons and an appearance in a Bowl Championship Game match-up against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.
The Razorbacks have struggled since, fielding poor to mediocre teams under four different head coaches. Current coach Sam Pittman is the latest to win the job only to feel the seat under him get hot. After a 9-4 mark in 2021 capped by a bowl win over Penn State, the ho-hum 7-6 record of the 2022 season bored the faithful, and the 2023 mark of 4-8 led many fans past the breaking point.
Re-enter Petrino. After an 11-2 season and Top Five finish in 2011, Petrino infamously crashed his motorcycle in the hills of the Arkansas Ozarks. Initial news reports indicated nothing more than that, with Petrino telling then Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long, who publicly announced Petrino’s initial version, that he was riding alone during the accident.
It soon became apparent from subsequent reporting that Petrino was accompanied on the motorcycle by a young female staffer in the athletic department with whom Petrino was conducting an extra-marital affair.
Petrino was soon fired, leading both him and the Arkansas football program on their respective 12-year journeys. Late last year, with the 2023 regular season concluded, Pittman was left looking for answers, especially on offense.
The rumor mill went into overdrive with whisperings of a Petrino return. It would not take long for the rumors to become reality, as Petrino was announced as Pittman’s offensive coordinator in late November, leading to lively debate over the ethics of the hiring in homes across Arkansas during the holiday season.
No evidence of that. I think he's fine with it but I don't believe Jimmy Smith was run off. BTW it may be time to retire the BMFP stuff. He's shown a totally different personality in the first two days of spring. More of a patient teacher. https://t.co/OZpHfwZ3Bc
— Mike Irwin (@MikeIrwinPTN) March 11, 2024
Petrino apologized to the Little Rock Touchdown Club in 2019, before any hint of a return was conceivable, a move that in hindsight likely aided in making his return a possibility. When hired last year, Petrino said “It’s something I hoped would happen. Wasn’t sure if it ever would, but it is a dream come true to be able to go back to the University of Arkansas and do anything I possibly can to make it right this time.”
While not the head-hog this time around, Petrino will have plenty of elbow room, and there’s already been a shake-up in staffing with a new running backs coach. “It’s his,” Pittman said soon after hiring Petrino, referring to offensive preparation, coaching, and play-calling responsibilities.
The first time around, Petrino earned a reputation as a no-nonsense taskmaster, but this time he seems to have mellowed, thus far employing a method of patient instruction.
Petrino has plenty of tools to work with in returners at wide receiver Andrew Armstrong and Luke Hasz at Tight End, along with a bevy of transfers led by the former Boise State quarterback Taylen Green, said to be turning heads in early sessions.