Could Bobby Petrino Be Back with Razorbacks ... as OC?
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Great Playcaller may be back. Former coach Bobby Petrino is to be the new offensive coordinator for the Arkansas Razorbacks, per multiple outlets in the state and nationally reporting today.
This could be fun. Petrino was the last coach to lead the Razorbacks to double-digit wins with an offense that could light up scoreboards and now the path is reportedly being cleared for a return under Sam Pittman in a position where he could do what he likes with as little of a spotlight as possible on him.
Pittman lets his coordinators meet with the media one time a year (in fall camp) and that's it. Petrino never really appeared to be that happy to be dealing with the media in his four years here before. The details are still being worked out, according to reports, although multiple outlets are saying "source" have told them it's a done deal.
That would mean some sort of loophole in the UA's rules passed that employees terminated "for cause" are not candidates for rehiring, but that wouldn't be the first time there was such a development. Nothing has been officially announced yet.
Under Board Policy 405.6, Termination of Employment at the University of Arkansas, an employee who has been dismissed for cause or who has been designated by their campus, unit, or division as not eligible for re-hire shall not be eligible for re-employment within any of the University of Arkansas System's campuses, units, or divisions. The following procedure is established in furtherance of this policy.
ESPN's Pete Thamel first put the report we've been hearing about for a couple of days. There were rumors flying all over the place and that one seemed about as far out of touch as anything we'd heard. This time there may have been something to it.
Today, following a tweet by ESPN senior writer Pete Thamel on the topic, two more sources have come forward including one close to the Petrinos saying the deal is done and all but not yet signed. Other sources say the Arkansas Board of Trustees is on board with the hire. Last season, Petrino served as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M and was head coach at Missouri State before that and head coach at Louisville prior to that.
The Razorbacks' offense basically disappeared in the midst of a 4-8 season and newly-hired coordinator Dan Enos was dismissed before Halloween after a 7-3 loss to Mississippi State. They limped through the rest of the season with hits and mostly misses the rest of the way.
Petrino coached at Arkansas from 2008-11 before an infamous motorcycle wreck led to athletics director Jeff Long ultimately firing him "for cause" on April 10, 2012. That led to over a decade of very little success after consecutive 10 and 11-win seasons.
allHOGS will have more on this story as it obviously develops
