Petrino Should Help Razorbacks' Most Pressing Issue

Bobby Petrino ready to take a Barry Odom-esque role to cut back on gameday snafus

Author:
Daniel Shi
Publish date:
Nov 30, 2023 8:25 PM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There is one thing lost in the circus bringing back former coach Bobby Petrino to be Arkansas' next offensive coordinator caused this week. It needs to be mentioned his vast experience as a head coach. It should help coach Sam Pittman cut back on the moments that left fans dumbfounded.

Failing to get the field goal unit on the field in a 7-3 game against Mississippi State. Going for it on fourth down against BYU up 10. Burning all three timeouts in the second half against LSU, leaving the Razorbacks powerless as the Tigers showed a masterclass in clock management and kicked a game-winning field goal.

The list goes on. Petrino should help in that regard, Pittman was very open on the role that former defensive coordinator Barry Odom played and fully intends to lean on his new hire.

"Any time you have somebody on your staff that’s been a head coach and a successful head coach you always go over situations," Pittman said. "You go back and forth and take about, OK, you’re watching tape, what will we do here? What will we do here? What do you think about this, that and the other? I did that with Barry a lot, as well, because he had SEC experience."

Petrino also stressed the importance of calling the right play for the right situation, something he has always put at the forefront of his playcalling.

"I don’t think it’s about what you do," Petrino said. "I think it’s about how you use the players that you have. What I love to do is utilize players, be good at the situations of the game and the players really understand what we’re going to see in third-and-short and what we’re going to see in fourth-and-short. What we’re going to see in the red zone or what blitzes they run from the 15-yard line. Get everybody on the same page and then practice the heck out of it. I really like to work on situations and players."

The Razorbacks certainly could use some better production of third down. On third-and-6 or less, Quarterback KJ Jefferson was just 18-for-35 passing with 12 first downs.

Agree with the hiring or not, Petrino should bring a sense of gameday calm and maturity in key situations and avoid massive game management errors.