Bobby Petrino will return to Arkansas as the program’s offensive coordinator, the school announced. Petrino coached the Razorbacks from 2008 to 2011 and spent the 2023 season as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M after spending a few years at Missouri State.
Petrino went 34-17 in his career with the Razorbacks and finished the 2011 season ranked No. 5 in the final AP Top 25 poll with two BCS bowl bids. His career at Arkansas ended in April 2012 when he was fired amid allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a female employee.
Arkansas fired OC Dan Enos in November as the Hogs failed to find consistency and maintain quarterback KJ Jefferson during his tenure. Jefferson is expected to enter the transfer portal. Kenny Guiton took over as interim manager for the last four games. The Razorbacks finished the year 2-2 with blowout losses to Auburn and Missouri.
Personnel changes of all sorts are expected this time of year, so getting ahead of the transfer window is a priority for the Razorbacks.
“Obviously you want to be right with the dedicated kids we have, but you also want to be as fast as possible,” coach Sam Pittman said this week. “You might want to get a few people here on Tuesday and Wednesday so they can talk to the kids before we have to hit the road. I don’t know if that’s possible or not, but obviously we’ve had conversations with several different people.
Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek announced Nov. 19 that Pittman will return in 2024 despite its 4-8 record.
“This wasn’t the season that any of us expected,” he said. “We have a lot to do. I am confident that together we can achieve the goals and expectations of our program. I want to thank the many Razorbacks fans who have supported our team this season.”
Petrino was on Jimbo Fisher’s team at Texas A&M last season. The Aggies struggled offensively, finishing the regular season with just 403.8 yards per game and 5.89 yards per play. However, they were also plagued by injuries, including the loss of their two best quarterbacks – Conner Weigman and Max Johnson.
Petrino’s short exit
Petrino succeeded longtime coach Houston Nutt in 2008, whose tenure ended in a spiral. Petrino shook off a 5-7 debut in 2008 and made a bowl as a sophomore. From there it took off. Arkansas won 10 games in 2010 and finished in the top five of the AP poll in 2011, its highest ranking in 30 years.
But in April 2012, Petrino’s infamous motorcycle accident occurred. Arkansas released a statement saying no other people were involved, a statement Petrino repeated at a news conference on April 3; However, he was placed on administrative leave on April 5. The next day, Arkansas State Police confirmed that Jessica Dorrell, a former Arkansas volleyball player who was hired as the football program’s student-athlete development coordinator, was on the motorcycle with Petrino at the time of the crash.
Petrino released a statement admitting to an adulterous relationship with Dorrell. He was fired for cause on April 10.
“He made a conscious decision on Tuesday to mislead the public, thereby negatively impacting the reputation of the University of Arkansas and our football program,” Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long said. “In short, Coach Petrino demonstrated a pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior before and after the motorcycle accident that was intended to deceive me and members of the athletic staff.”
Petrino was committed to Western Kentucky in 2012 and spent one season with the Hilltoppers before returning to Louisville.