Texas A&M To Hire Bobby Petrino As Offensive Coordinator

The Missouri State head coach is headed to College Station after all.

Jimbo Fisher has found his next offensive coordinator, and it was the name everyone projected from the start.

Texas A&M is planning to hire former Missouri State head coach Bobby Petrino as its next offensive coordinator, a source confirms with AllAggies.com. Petrino had initially accepted the same position under first-year coach Barry Odom earlier this offseason at UNLV.

Petrino, 61, was hired by Missouri State in 2020 to replace Dave Steckel following a 1-10 season. He posted an 18-15 record with the Bears in three seasons, reaching the FCS playoffs twice that included an 8-4 finish in 2021.

Prior to his arrival in the Show Me State, Petrino previously served as head coach at Louisville, Western Kentucky, and Arkansas in college. He also served as head coach of the NFL Atlanta Falcons during the 2007 season. Petrino has experience as an offensive coordinator in the SEC, serving as Auburn's primary play-caller under Tommy Tuberville in 2002.

As a head coach, Petrino found success at nearly every location. In his first stint with Louisville, he posted a 41-9 record that featured a pair of 11-plus win seasons. After a 3-10 run with the Falcons, Petrino resigned before the season finale to become the head coach at Arkansas, where he led the Razorbacks to a 34–17 record.

Petrino spent 2013 at Western Kentucky, where he led the Hilltoppers to an 8-4 record. That offseason, Louisville hired him for a second stint with the program. In five years, Petrino posted a 36-26 record, never surpassing more than nine total wins.

The Aggies fired offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey following a five-year run in Aggieland after Texas A&M (5-7, 2-6 SEC) finished below .500 for the first time since 2008. Texas A&M's offense spiraled out of control after an 8-4 finish in 2021, ranking near the bottom of every category among SEC programs.

The Aggies ranked 82nd in passing offense (219.4 yards per game), 83rd in rushing offense (141.8 yards per game), 95th in total offense (361.2 yards per game), and 101st in scoring offense (22.6 points per game). Three quarterbacks took starting reps during the season, with freshman Conner Weigman finding the most success.

Fisher, who has been the primary play-caller since arriving in College Station in 2018, said that the expectation would be for his next offensive coordinator to have full control of the personnel moving forward.

“There are a lot of things going on now in college football — my job has changed so much in the last two years it’s ridiculous,” Fisher said last month of his role with the offense moving forward.

Texas A&M will open the season at Kyle Field against New Mexico. Petrino will have a bit of a reunion against the Razorbacks on Sept. 30 at AT&T Stadium as part of the Southwest Classic. 

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