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Former Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bobby Petrino is reportedly returning to the program as the team's next offensive coordinator, sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN's Pete Thamel on Tuesday (November 28).
Petrino, 62, who was fired amid accusations that he unfairly hired his mistress and intentionally mislead his boss about their relationship following a motorcycle accident the two were involved in in 2012, had reportedly "indicated" in the recruiting space that he's in the mix for an SEC coordinator job" amid reports that the Razorbacks were vetting hiring him, according to Thamel.
Petrino, who spent the past season working as an offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, led the Razorbacks to a 34-17 (17-15 SEC) record during his four seasons in Fayetteville from 2008-11. The 62-year-old is regarded as a top offensive-minded coach, but has had numerous tenures end in controversy at both the collegiate and NFL levels.
Petrino suddenly resigned 13 games into his first season with the Atlanta Falcons in order to take head coaching position at Arkansas, which concluded with the aforementioned drama that led to his firing in 2012. The veteran coach would later work as a head coach at Western Kentucky in 2013, Louisville -- where he had previously coached for four seasons (2003-06) prior to joining the Falcons -- from 2014-18 and Missouri State from 2020-22.
Petrino has a 137-71 collegiate head coaching record, which includes a winning percentage above .500 at all four schools.