LAS VEGAS — Former Louisville and Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino will become UNLV’s new offensive coordinator, a source with knowledge of the hiring confirmed to the Review-Journal Thursday.
He joins new Rebels coach Barry Odom, who was hired Dec. 6 to replace Marcus Arroyo following a 5-7 finish to the 2022 season.
Petrino, who spent the past three seasons coaching FCS school Missouri State, is famous for his second stint with Louisville, where he coached Heisman Trophy winner and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
This will be Petrino’s first assistant job since 2002, when he was the offensive coordinator at Auburn. Across 14 seasons as a coach at the FBS level, the 61-year-old has a record of 175-119. He’s won at least 10 games four times and finished with losing records just twice.
However, Petrino is also well-known for his exits from programs. He landed his first coaching job at Louisville ahead of the 2003 season and guided the Cardinals to four consecutive bowl games while overseeing the team’s transition from the Conference USA to the Big East.
Ahead of the 2006 season, Petrino signed a 10-year contract extension before leading Louisville to a 24-13 win against Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl to cap off a 12-1 record and a top-10 finish.
But a year later, Petrino was gone. He took over as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL during the 2007 season, but then left that job after a 3-10 start to become the coach at Arkansas.
Petrino’s time with the Razorbacks was successful. He led the team to two 10-win seasons and a Cotton Bowl win following the 2011 season But his tenure in Fayetteville came to a close shortly after.
He was fired in April 2012, after school officials said Petrino lied about a motorcycle accident he’d been involved in near the city of Crosses, Ark. He’d been riding with a woman who’d been hired as a football staffer.
Petrino was also having an affair with the woman and failed to disclose their relationship when she’d been added to the staff.
Petrino returned to coaching in 2013 at Western Kentucky before going back to Louisville — this time in the ACC — in 2014. He won at least eight games in each of his first four seasons and helped Jackson become the first Heisman Trophy winner in program history during the 2016 season. The quarterback threw for 3,543 yards and 30 touchdowns while completing 56.2% of his passes.He added 1,571 yards and 21 touchdowns rushing as a sophomore.
But Petrino’s time at Louisville ended again. The Cardinals went 2-8 to start the 2018 season, including an 0-7 run in the conference, and he was fired with two games remaining. At Missouri State, Petrino led the team to two FCS playoff appearances in three seasons.
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Sam Gordon contributed to this report.
Contact repoter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.
