Petrino gets a second chance

Steve Brawner

It’s been said that news is what people are talking about. That being the case, today we’ll skip the politics and talk about Bobby Petrino coming back to Arkansas as the Razorbacks’ offensive coordinator.

Petrino’s improbable return came 11 years after then-Athletic Director Jeff Long fired him in 2012.

That happened because … well, you know why. Coming off two of the program’s best seasons in decades, the married 51-year-old Petrino crashed his motorcycle while riding with a much younger staff member with whom he was having an affair — a detail he hid from Long and everyone else.

It was a huge national story that disgraced Petrino. The totality of his actions went beyond a simple “mistake.” They revealed deep character issues. No one can know for certain the extent to which he’s actually addressed them, but he has had no further controversies and is still married to his wife. If he’s not at least somewhat of a changed man, then he’s a great actor.

Since the firing, Petrino has coached at several programs. He most recently spent a season as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, which recently fired its head coach.

The Razorbacks football team has fared worse than he has since he left. After going 3417 under Petrino and 21-5 his last two years, the Hogs’ record since is 60-87 under four coaches. The team entered this season with promise but finished 4-8. The offense, particularly the offensive line, was not good. There was talk around the state of firing Coach Sam Pittman, whose previous two seasons had finished with a combined notbad record of 16-10. Firing him would be tough because Pittman has done OK, he’s a good cultural fit and it’s obvious he really wants to be here.

Petrino’s road to Razorback redemption perhaps began when he appeared at the Little Rock Touchdown Club in 2019. He waived his usual speaking fee to offer a simple but heartfelt apology. There was emotion but not slobbering. The crowd gave him a standing ovation. I was there, and it seemed sincere. Find his comments online and see what you think.

We can piece together how events unfolded based on comments Pittman made on his radio show as reported by 247Sports. com, and that Petrino made to Hogs+ and ESPN. The two did not know each other well but had a good conversation last year when the Razorbacks played (and almost lost to) Petrino’s lightly regarded Missouri State team. Pittman wanted someone tough, so he contacted Petrino and eventually asked if he wanted to come back.

Petrino told ESPN that returning to Arkansas is “something I hoped would happen. Wasn’t sure if it ever would, but it is a dream come true to be able to go back to the University of Arkansas and do anything I possibly can to make it right this time.”

It sounds like Petrino, like Pittman, also really wants to be here.

There remained a few details to take care of, including Petrino’s contract and the required sign-offs by the administration. Because he had been fired for cause, University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt had to approve the hiring. He did, at the request of University of Arkansas Chancellor Charles Robinson. The Arkansas Democrat- Gazette had the details after making a request through the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

It would have been tough for Bobbitt to say no. The potential hiring played into two complementary realities. One is that the Hogs stunk this year, and fans needed hope. Petrino offers it. He’s won in the past at Arkansas, and he’s a genius at running an offense. The other is that Americans love a redemption story. We like giving people second chances because we often need them ourselves.

It remains to be seen how it will work. A highly successful former head coach is returning to the school, where he left in disgrace, to be an assistant for a so-far less successful current head coach. There’s not much precedent for that.

The thing that might make it fit is that, for different reasons and also some of the same ones, they both really want to be here.

••• Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist published in 16 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner.