Bobby Petrino

Bobby Petrino

Bobby Petrino (born (1961-03-10)March 10, 1961 in Lewistown, Montana) is an American college football coach and the current head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Early years

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

College coaching career

He then became a full-time assistant in the Division I ranks as wide receivers and tight ends coach at Weber State in 1987 and 1988. In 1989, he moved to the University of Idaho, 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 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.

In 1994, he moved to Nevada, serving both as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. During his one season there, the Wolf Pack was 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 for the first time in 1998 as offensive coordinator, following Smith. In his one season there, 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, while his place in 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 its position in the Division I-A rankings in that season. He would return to Louisville in 2003 as head coach, and has since burnished his reputation as one of the top offensive minds in football.

On July 13, 2006, Petrino signed a 10-year, $25.5 million contract with Louisville to stay on as its head football coach. The deal immediately 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.

College head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	Coaches#	AP°
Louisville Cardinals (Conference USA) (2003–2004)
2003	Louisville	9–4	5–3	T–3rd	L GMAC Bowl	—	—
2004	Louisville	11–1	8–0	1st	W Liberty Bowl	7	6
Louisville:		20–5	13–3
Louisville Cardinals (Big East Conference) (2005–2006)
2005	Louisville	9–3	5–2	2nd	L Gator Bowl	20	19
2006	Louisville	12–1	6–1	1st	W Orange Bowl†	6	5
Louisville:		21–4	11–3
Arkansas Razorbacks (Southeastern Conference) (2008–present)
2008	Arkansas	0-0	0-0
Total:		41–9
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
†Indicates Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, BCS, or CFP / New Years' Six bowl. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll.

Pro coaching career

Petrino's first stint in the NFL came 1999-2001, as he spend two seasons as the quarterbacks coach and a third as offensive coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite Jacksonville finishing last in the AFC Central in 2001 and statistically having only a mediocre offense, 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.”

File:BobbyPetrino.jpg

Petrino at an Atlanta Falcons practice.

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. His contract in Atlanta will pay him $24 million over five years. The NFL Network reported that a clause in Petrino's contract with Louisville will require him to pay the school $1 million for failing to honor his 10 year commitment to the school.

In November 2007, The Sporting News reported that Petrino “basically can walk out of his deal to coach a college team.” He was rumored to be a candidate for Auburn and LSU if those jobs open, but Les Miles of LSU and Tommy Tuberville of Auburn eventually signed extensions that will keep them at their respective schools.

Despite declaring his intentions to return in 2008 for his second year as coach of the Atlanta Falcons, Petrino resigned his position in Atlanta to succeed Houston Nutt with the Razorbacks.

Pro head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Finish	Playoffs
2007	Atlanta Falcons	3–10	4th NFC South
TOTALS		3–10

Personal

Petrino is married to the former Becky Schaff and the couple has four children: Kelsey, Nick, Bobby and Katie.

External links

• Bobby Petrino Bio at AtlantaFalcons.com
• Photo gallery: introducing Bobby Petrino to Arkansas at RazorbackLegacy.com