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The Arkansas Razorbacks have hired a familiar face for its offensive coordinator role this week. The football team fired Dan Enos midseason due to his unit’s struggles on the field.
The play caller mustered just 21 points per game against P5 opponents, failing to reach the 23-point mark in his final four contests.
After criticism from fans, and even some personal attacks from students, Enos was shown the door. An embarrassing 7-3 loss to Mississippi State proved to be the last straw.
The Razorbacks finished the regular season just 4-8, including a 1-7 mark in conference play to finish dead last in the SEC West. Now, head coach Sam Pittman is looking for an upgrade at OC as his seat grows warmer.
Enter Bobby Petrino.
The former Arkansas head coach just wrapped up his first season back in the SEC. Calling plays for Texas A&M, Petrino helped improve an Aggies offense despite losing his starting quarterback midway through the year.
While the offense looked better in 2023, the results in the W/L column weren’t enough to keep head coach Jimbo Fisher around. TAMU paid him $75M to NOT coach, firing him before season’s end.
With Fisher out, Petrino is looking for another opportunity, and what better place than Fayetteville, where he led the program to heights not seen since his departure!
Arkansas reportedly had been showing interest.
Sources: Arkansas is vetting hiring former head coach Bobby Petrino as the school’s next offensive coordinator. Petrino has indicated in the recruiting space that he’s in the mix for an SEC coordinator job.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 28, 2023
But there was one thing potentially holding a deal back.
Bobby Petrino’s Arkansas exit was UGLY, but it didn’t keep him from becoming the offensive coordinator.
Most remember the press conference showing Petrino in a neck brace following an offseason motorcycle accident. That accident would provide the school with enough ammunition to fire the coach with cause.
On the back of that hog was an Arkansas staff member with whom Petrino was having an affair. He lied to the Arkansas AD about the extent of their relationship, which backfired once uncovered.
That exit put an obstacle in the Razorbacks’ path to re-hire the former coach.
According to Best of Arkansas Sports, the university introduced a policy shortly after Petrino’s firing saying those that have “been dismissed for cause… shall not be eligible for re-employment.”
Of course, there’s always a loophole.
The hiring needed the approval of the UA System President, Dr. Donald R. Bobbitt. And Petrino got it!
Bobby Petrino has agreed to return to @RazorbackFB as offensive coordinator and a deal is being finalized, sources tell ESPN. Petrino won 10 games in 2010 and 11 in 2011 as the Hogs’ head coach, but was fired following the motorcycle accident scandal.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) November 28, 2023
What an unexpected, yet hilarious turn of events.