Bobby Petrino: Difference between revisions

Bobby Petrino

Bobby Petrino (born (1961-03-10)March 10, 1961^[1] in Lewistown, Montana) is an American college football coach and the head coach of the University of Arkansas. Petrino previously spent a majority of the 2007 season as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, and four seasons at the University of Louisville. He generated controversy due to how he left the Falcons, for issues including but not limited to 1) notifying the players only by notes left in the locker room, and 2) leaving with three games remaining in the season.

Petrino grew up in Helena, Montana, and graduated from Capital High in 1979. He attended hometown Carroll College, graduating with degrees in math and physical education in 1983. While at Carroll College he played quarterback and he began his coaching career there as a graduate assistant during the 1983 season. The next year he moved to Weber State University in the Big Sky Conference, coaching quarterbacks as a graduate assistant under head coach 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.

spending a year as quarterbacks coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator under head coach John L. Smith. In 1992 he took a step up the collegiate coaching ladder when he became quarterbacks coach at Arizona State. During his two seasons at ASU, he oversaw the development of future All-American and former NFL QB Jake Plummer.^[2]

In 1994 he moved to Nevada, serving as both offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. 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 at Utah State under John L. Smith.

Petrino arrived at University of Louisville in 1998 as offensive coordinator, following Smith. In his one season there as offensive coordinator, 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 for three years. His place at Louisville was filled by Scott Linehan.

In 2002, Petrino returned to the college ranks, replacing Noel Mazzone as offensive coordinator under Tommy Tuberville at Auburn, whose offense significantly improved that season. He returned to Louisville in 2003 as head coach.

On July 13, 2006, Petrino signed a 10-year, $25.6 million contract with Louisville 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 was an effort by the university to put an end to the annual wooing of its football coach. During his tenure at Louisville, Petrino talked with Auburn, LSU, and the NFL's Oakland Raiders before finally leaving the Cardinals in January 2007 to accept an offer from the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.

On December 11, 2007, Petrino resigned as head coach of Atlanta Falcons and took the head coaching position at the University of Arkansas.^[3] The Razorbacks ended the 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 in the annual Battle for the Golden Boot.

The Razorbacks under Bobby Petrino showed significant improvement in the 2009-10 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 #1-ranked University of Florida Gators on October 19, 2009. That game culminated in a controversial 4th quarter personal foul call on an Arkansas lineman (giving the Gators a 15-yard penalty on their game-winning drive). The SEC ultimately issued an apology for the call, suspending the referee crew in question.

The Raxorbacks also enjoyed success under Petrino in the 2010 season finishing 10-3. Leading them to their first BCS bowl appereance against Ohio State.

Petrino's first stint in the NFL was 1999-2001, as he spent two seasons as the quarterbacks coach and a third as offensive coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Petrino was praised as an offensive mastermind. Tom Coughlin, then head coach of the Jaguars, called Petrino “the best play-caller I've ever been around.”

After five seasons as a college assistant and head coach, Petrino returned to the NFL on January 7, 2007, accepting an offer to become the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.^[4] His contract in Atlanta paid him $24 million over five years. The NFL Network reported that a clause in Petrino's contract with Louisville required him to pay the school $1 million for failing to honor his 10 year commitment to the school.

Like Lou Holtz, who left the 1976 New York Jets after less than one year at the helm in the midst of a three win season to succeed Frank Broyles as the head coach at the University of Arkansas, Petrino resigned his position in Atlanta to succeed Houston Nutt as the Arkansas Razorbacks head coach.^[5][6] He was heavily criticized for resigning before the end of the season and for notifying Atlanta Falcons players through a note of explanation left in the locker room. Mike Zimmer, Petrino's defensive coordinator during his partial year with Atlanta, called Petrino a "coward" and a "gutless bastard." ^[7]

In June 2008 sports agent Darek Braunecker gave an interview on The Sports Animals with Shawn and Wally with a personal account of Petrino's departure from the Falcons. In that highly disputed description, Petrino was initially given permission by Falcons owner Arthur Blank to interview for the Arkansas job and Blank later reneged after Michael Vick's conviction due to the public relations hit the Falcons would take losing their coach on the same day. The controversial account is transcribed in a blog post under the topic "Petrino's Battle for Arkansas" at Hog Database ^[8]

Petrino was featured at #1 in the NFL Network program NFL Top 10 under the topic "Coaches Who Belonged in College". ^[9]

• Arkansas profile
• Template:CFBCR
• Photo gallery: introducing Bobby Petrino to Arkansas at Hog Database

Template:Persondata