Featured image: ArkansasRazorbacks.com screenshot
By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer
Arkansas announced Wednesday it is bringing back Bobby Petrino to be offensive coordinator, 11 years after he was fired as head coach in a sordid scandal that involved a motorcycle accident, an affair with a woman who worked for him and being untruthful to his bosses.
Petrino received a two-year contract that will pay him $1.5 million next season and $1.6 in 2025, according to a contract the school released.
Petrino’s career has taken him all over college football and the NFL, often leaving a mess behind after some notable peaks. This past season he was offensive coordinator for Texas A&M, where Jimbo Fisher was fired last month.
He has done two stints as head coach of Louisville, leading the Cardinals to an Orange Bowl the first time and coaching Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson the second time.
He also spent less than one full season in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons before quitting to take the Arkansas job. He was at Western Kentucky for a season as head coach and at Missouri State before returning to the Southeastern Conference with A&M.
In four years leading the Razorbacks, Petrino went 34-17, including consecutive double-digit victory seasons in 2010 and ’11.
Petrino had the Razorbacks rolling when in April 2012 he was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle accident that left him with four broken ribs and produced a famous photo of him with skid marks on his face and wearing a neck brace at a news conference.
At first he said he was riding alone, but a police report revealed a woman was riding with him. The woman turned out to be a former Arkansas athlete who was in a romantic relationship with the married Petrino. The coach had given her a job in the football program and a $20,000 gift.
He was fired by then-athletic director Jeff Long for misleading his bosses about what happened with the accident and his relationship with the football staffer.
Petrino returns to Fayetteville, Arkansas, as coach Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks try to rebound from a 4-8 season, during which he fired offensive coordinator Dan Enos.
Arkansas finished last in the SEC in offense, averaging, at 4.93 yards play.
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