Petrino hits back roads for third attempt at saving head coach's career

Offensive guru failed to save Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher, Arkansas' Sam Pittman, but will third time be charm with Belichick?

Arkansas Razorbacks interim coach Bobby Petrino talks to an official during game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Well, it looks like Bobby Petrino has crammed his playbook under the seat of his Harley and is off for a ride through the Smoky Mountains to his new Atlantic Coast destination.

Petrino will try to save the career of an aging head coach for a third time as he heads to North Carolina to join the only other college coach who is more well known for his relationship with a much younger lady — Bill Belichick.

BREAKING: Bobby Petrino has agreed to become the next North Carolina offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick, @clowfb, @PeteNakos & @InsideCarolina report🐏https://t.co/Xj3JfwYAKn pic.twitter.com/jrYnVUI5RZ

— On3 (@On3sports) December 22, 2025

The Tar Heels were among the worst offenses in all of college football under the short-lived guidance of former SEC assistant turned NFL head coach Freddie Kitchens. They finished No. 129 in yards per game at 288.8 and No. 119 in scoring at 19.3 points per game.

That puts North Carolina at over 50 yards per game less than the SEC's worst offense — the LSU Tigers. That also puts them 2.3 points per game behind the Florida Gators, which wear the dubious crown of worst scoring team in the SEC.

Petrino will be without at least one quarterback as Max Johnson has already announce he's had enough of the Belichick - Jordan Hudson experiment in Chapel Hill. Right now, Gio Lopez, who completed just over 65% of his passes for roughly 1,750 yards, is his best bet if he can convince him to stay.

Petrino's first two efforts to save an aging coach's career failed miserably, although for Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, it did result in not having to work for enough money to set up multiple coaches for the rest of their lives at roughly $77 million.

While working for Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, Petrino put up numbers that looked good on paper which swayed a lot of fans to his side. However, he had a knack of disappearing for the entire second half, and at one point, went over three halves without a skill position player scoring a touchdown.

He also failed to play complementary football with a defense that was short-handed on defensive line, meaning the Hogs needed longer drives to keep Travis Williams' group off the field and rested as much as possible. Instead, the Hogs put up short drives, usually three to five plays, that either resulted in touchdowns or abruptly ended on back-breaking turnovers.

It was that last stretch of no skill position players scoring that raised eyebrows when analysts looked back on it because his inability to put points on the board when Pittman needed Petrino most is exactly what sent his head coach packing and landed him the job for a seven-game tryout for the head coaching job.

Despite a well-earned reputation as a first half flash, Petrino technically did do what he was asked to do in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks were 10th on offense in a messy 2023 when Pittman made the mistake of hiring his pal, Dan Enos, to run the offense for a few weeks before having to fire him mid-season.

Petrino picked up the pieces and got the Razorbacks closer to the offense that won so much in the early 2020s, averaging 30.9 points per game. However, key turnovers at the absolute worst time became a hallmark of Petrino's offense that carried into 2025.

The Hogs snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by fumbling in back-to-back games a mere inch from the ground on game-winning drives. Had Petrino's offense avoided the turnovers, Arkansas would have been 4-0 and ranked heading into the dreadful performance against Notre Dame.

Instead, the Hogs went 2-2 in that stretch, losing to what turned out to be very good teams in Memphis and College Playoff winner Ole Miss, on freak miscues. When Petrino took over, Arkansas no longer felt the heartbreak of having a win possible only to lose it in a crazy way.

His offense racked up 454.8 yards and 32.9 points per game, but never threatened to actually win a game, sparing Hogs fans the feeling of heartbreak that plagued them under Pittman.