Bobby Petrino Missouri State Bears head coach Bobby Petrino during the bears win on the Western Illinois Leathernecks at Plaster Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. Tmsu00310

It was recently rumored that former Louisville and Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino might return to the FBS ranks as an offensive coordinator with Texas A&M. It’s true that he is taking an offensive coordinator job at the FBS level, but he’ll be doing it at UNLV instead.

The news was reported by ESPN’s Chris Low, who said “Bobby Petrino is returning to the FBS ranks as the offensive coordinator at UNLV under new coach Barry Odom, sources tell ESPN. Petrino was head coach at Missouri State for the last three seasons. He’s widely regarded as one of the top offensive minds/play-callers in the game.”

Petrino was 18-15 in three seasons as the head coach at Missouri State, taking them to the FCS Playoffs twice.

Low is correct in saying that Petrino is regarded as one of the top offensive minds in the game but he also comes with a ton of baggage and controversy. He developed a reputation for going back on his word and often putting himself and his football teams in bad positions.

After finding success as the head coach at Louisville, and six months after signing a 10-year contract, Petrino accepted the head coaching position for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. In the middle of a terrible rookie season, Petrino stepped down as head coach of the Falcons. A year later he became head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, where he was successful on the field but a motorcycle crash involving a female staffer that he was having an affair led to his firing. He was able to rehab his head coaching career with a brief stint at Western Kentucky and then a second stint at Louisville, though that ended poorly.

We’ll see if Petrino can rehab his image once more in the OC role with UNLV, but in the meantime, his hiring garnered a lot of reactions around the CFB world, especially considering the location.

“Bobby Petrino in Vegas. I repeat: Bobby Petrino in Vegas,” said Mike Golic, Jr.

“Petrino in Vegas is a real move,” said The NY Times’ Jane Coaston.

“Petrino in Vegas needs to be a reality show,” said ESPN’s Matt Miller.

“Wow. Significant hire for Barry Odom at UNLV,” said St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Ben Frederickson. “Petrino’s Bears offense was electric, and he crushed it in the transfer game, which should play well in Vegas. Missouri State knew he could leave whenever he got that itch, but now has a more desirable job to sell to next hire.”

[Chris Low]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.