Here's a good ESPN article on Bobby Petrino:
Bobby Petrino returns to Arkansas and faces his past
Bobby Petrino knows what's coming.
He has been called many things over the years, but he is not naive.
The job he's done in resurrecting a moribund Missouri State program and turning the Bears into FCS title contenders speaks for itself. But this week, Petrino's past, and not his present, will be the focus when his team, ranked No. 5 in the latest FCS poll, makes the 120-mile trip to Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Petrino is well aware the first thing that pops up when doing a Google search of his name is the picture of him with a battered red face and neck brace after the motorcycle wreck that set off a chain of events leading to his dismissal at Arkansas and turning him into a punchline.
Now, 10 years after the accident and the national embarrassment that followed, Petrino is returning to Arkansas to face the school he took to the doorstep of playing for a national championship in 2011.
"Unfortunately, I will always get to carry that with me, how it ended there," Petrino told ESPN.
Between the end at Arkansas and a previous reputation for job-hopping and profanity-laced tirades (along with a whole lot of on-field success), Petrino knows there's not much middle ground when it comes to his reputation.
"There's instantly a reaction when you hear my name, whether it's negative or positive," Petrino said. "I wish it was more positive, but it's probably more negative and a lot of that's on me. But a lot of those people don't really know me. They know what happened when I was fired at Arkansas and how poorly I handled everything, and that's what sticks with them."
JEFF LONG THOUGHT it was a bad April Fool's joke.
The then-Arkansas athletic director got a call April 1, 2012, that his football coach had been in a motorcycle accident, sliding off a winding two-lane road near Crosses, Arkansas.
Based on what Petrino told school officials, Arkansas released a statement saying the accident "involved no other individuals," Long said. On April 3, Petrino insisted on holding a news conference -- against the wishes of Long and others -- in which he appeared in the now-infamous neck brace. As Petrino was exiting the room, a media member approached him and asked if he was alone on the motorcycle, and Petrino said he was.
But then, minutes before an Arkansas State Police report was scheduled to come out April 5, Long said Petrino acknowledged that Jessica Dorrell, a 25-year-old female staff member Petrino had hired and was having an affair with, was also on the motorcycle. At that point, Arkansas launched an investigation and later that night, Long held a news conference announcing Petrino had been placed on administrative leave with pay. During the probe, Long said Dorrell disclosed Petrino had given her $20,000 to buy a car.
On the evening of April 10, an emotional Long held another news conference and announced that Petrino had been fired for cause.
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THE MISSOURI STATE football program was in dire straits.
In 2019, the Bears finished 1-10, their 10th consecutive losing season. They had not gone to the FCS playoffs since 1990. Missouri State president Clif Smart said it was to the point where there was serious conversation about disbanding the program.
Enter Petrino, who sat out in 2019 after being fired at Louisville. He spent the year writing a book about football and traveling to visit different coaches and friends. Two hiring cycles had come and gone, and Petrino didn't get even a sniff for a head-coaching opportunity. But then Missouri State's job became open late, more than a week into January 2020. Missouri State AD Kyle Moats worked with Petrino in his first tenure at Louisville, and Petrino had told him he'd be willing to work in the FCS ranks.
"We needed to make a bold move to change the game," Smart said. "I'd say Bobby has done that and done it very quickly."
Some called Petrino's hiring a Hail Mary. Smart, who grew up in Arkansas and sold sodas at Hogs' games as a kid, called it an "easy risk" to take.
"Football drives everything in college athletics, so we didn't apologize then and we don't now," Smart said. "Whether he's here for one more year or 10 more years, he's shown us that we can win in football at Missouri State and do it the right way."
Larry Benz, a longtime member of the Louisville board of trustees, immediately recommended hiring Petrino when Smart called looking for input. Smart and Benz were old Army buddies.
"Bobby's a good example of the proverb 'fall down nine times and get up 10,'" Benz said.
Petrino, 61, is surrounded by family in Springfield, including his eight grandchildren. They all call him "Coach," at least the ones who are old enough to talk. His son, Nick, is his offensive coordinator. One son-in-law, Ryan Beard, is his defensive coordinator, and another son-in-law, L.D. Scott, is his defensive line coach.
Petrino's small office on the second floor of the 42-year-old Forsythe Athletics Center is noticeably void of mementos from past coaching stops. There are no photos from memorable wins, helmets of previous teams or bowl trophies. Instead, his shelves are filled with family photos, most of which are of his grandkids.
"I've seen a lot of different versions of him. This might be the happiest," said Scott, who played for Petrino on the 2006 Louisville team that went 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl as well as coached under him at Arkansas, Western Kentucky and Louisville.
After 34 years in college coaching, Petrino shrugs at the thought of being stuck in the FCS ranks, unsure if he'll ever get another shot on the big stage. His starting salary was $250,000 and is now $325,000, less than most SEC position coaches make. The Bears ride a bus to about half their road games, including those five hours away, and capacity at Plaster Stadium is 17,500.
Back-to-back FCS playoff appearances under Petrino have helped attendance figures at Missouri State, and there are plans for a project that would house a new locker room, meeting rooms, coaches' offices and club seating.
"I'm in a really good place right now, mentally and physically," Petrino said. "And the best part is we're giving a lot of kids second chances here at Missouri State."
Jason Shelley is one of 47 transfers on the Bears' roster. He started his career at Utah and transferred to Utah State before landing at Missouri State and earning Missouri Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors last season.
"I kind of gave us a little nickname, the 'Bad News Bears,'" joked Shelley, who threw five touchdown passes in Missouri State's 35-30 win over UT Martin last Thursday. "Everybody has a story here. Everybody has a struggle they went through that brought them to this point, even Coach Petrino."
Entire article:
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/34535454/bobby-petrino-returns-arkansas-faces-past
