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Bobby Petrino’s Reported Return to Arkansas Led to Jokes From College Football Fans
The Arkansas football program has reportedly decided to bring back former head coach Bobby Petrino as its offensive coordinator, according to ESPN’s Chris Low. When Petrino was last at Arkansas, he was fired after he was involved in a scandal and affair with former Razorbacks volleyball player and assistant Jessica Dorrell.
One of the lasting images of Petrino’s Razorbacks tenure was a photo of him in a neck brace, which he donned after lying about riding a motorcycle with Dorrell. The coach was left with four broken ribs and damaged C2 vertebrae. Now, it appears the Razorbacks have opted to bring Petrino back as the team’s offensive coordinator, and college football fans were quick to react.
Arkansas adding Bobby Petrino back to their athletic department pic.twitter.com/pn6uSOhUp3
— Pregame Empire (@PregameEmpire) November 28, 2023
Live look at Razorback stadium during the first game of next season. Bobby Petrino leads the team out on his Harley.
— Josh Teeter (@joshteeter01) November 28, 2023
pic.twitter.com/QV6OSWEgqo
Vetting!? Did they not save the files from the last time!? https://t.co/7MkrQ7AE1d
— Bunkie Perkins (@BunkiePerkins) November 28, 2023
I'm not very good at Photoshop but here is an image of what Bobby Petrino at Arkansas might look like pic.twitter.com/YXnHJ4lNvZ
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) November 28, 2023
But the reactions weren’t all bad. Arkansas fans chimed in, and several were not opposed to Petrino’s return in an effort to help improve an offense that produced just 26.6 points per game in 2023.
Bobby Petrino has been the best coach at Arkansas since I’ve been alive. Would love him back personally
— Josh Teeter (@joshteeter01) November 28, 2023
Bobby Petrino has always said he wished he could have handled things differently at Arkansas.
— John Nabors (@JohnNaborsShow) November 28, 2023
Welp. Just come in, be the OC, and make this offense go next season & a lot of fans will be forgiving.
Petrino racked up two double-digit win seasons during his four years at Arkansas, including two bowl game victories—and he’s the only Razorbacks coach to even have a double-digit win season since 2010. Jokes aside, perhaps Petrino is not as bad an offensive coordinator hire as he would seem to be.
College football fans would certainly disagree.
Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.