Bobby Petrino is new offensive coordinator for UNLV football

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022 | 8:15 a.m.

Updated Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022 | 3:11 p.m.

At his introductory press conference on Dec. 7, new UNLV head coach Barry Odom said his phone was already being blown up by prospective assistants looking for a spot on his staff.

Odom said he received nearly 700 text messages on his first day on the job.

On Thursday he made his first hire, tabbing former Louisville and Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino to be UNLV’s offensive coordinator, the university announced today.

Petrino is a huge, if controversial, name in both the college and pro football coaching ranks due to his track record of high-scoring offenses and his penchant for bizarre exits.

He served as offensive coordinator at UNR, Utah State, Louisville and Auburn from 1994 to 2002, and he was named Louisville’s head coach in 2003. Petrino had instant success in his first stint as a head coach, running up a 41-9 record over four seasons with the Cardinals. He signed a 10-year extension before the 2006 season, only to jump to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons less than one year into the contract.

Petrino topped that vanishing act a year later; after starting his first NFL season with a 3-10 record, Petrino abruptly quit during the season and returned to the college ranks, accepting an offer to become the head coach at Arkansas.

Petrino’s run at Arkansas was successful. After going 5-7 in Year 1, the Razorbacks went 8-5, then 10-3, and finally 11-2 in 2011, a campaign which concluded with a win in the Cotton Bowl.

After the 2011 season, Petrino had his strangest departure of all. He crashed his motorcycle, then lied to Arkansas about the circumstances surrounding the accident. It was eventually revealed Petrino was having an affair with an office staffer, and he was fired.

Petrino took a year off, then returned to college football as the head coach at Western Kentucky in 2013. He went 8-4 in one year there before Louisville rehired him for a second stint.

He had moderate success the second time around, going 34-18 from 2014 to 2017 before bottoming out in 2018. The Cardinals started that season 2-8, and Petrino was fired.

He has spent the past three years as the head coach at FCS Missouri State, where he has posted an 18-15 overall record, including two trips to the playoffs.

Petrino’s calling card is a wide-open offense that has proven to work at all levels, across all conferences, and against all defenses. In 2016, he coached quarterback Lamar Jackson to a Heisman Trophy, as Jackson posted 3,543 yards and 30 touchdowns through the air while running for 1,571 yards and an additional 21 TDs.

UNLV employed co-offensive coordinators under previous head coach Marcus Arroyo. Quarterbacks coach Nick Holz and offensive line coach T.J. Woods split the duties, though Arroyo was the offensive architect and play-caller.

Odom said in his introductory press conference that he planned to meet with the coaches on staff to see if any would be worth retaining.

Now it appears he has made a decision, at least on the offensive side, turning the playbook over to Petrino.

“We will find folks that want to be here,” Odom said of his plan to build a staff. “That are determined to have success, that are great teachers, great leaders, great mentors, and that will be tremendous coaches that will elevate our players’ lives in every way that they can.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.