Former Missouri State coach Bobby Petrino returning to Arkansas as offensive coordinator

Former Missouri State head coach Bobby Petrino will return to Arkansas and serve as its offensive coordinator, the school officially announced Wednesday.

The former Razorbacks head coach from 2008-11 will return to Fayetteville since he was fired for cause in April 2012 following his infamous motorcycle accident scandal.

Since then, Petrino has taken head coaching jobs at Western Kentucky (2013), Louisville (2014-18) and Missouri State (2020-22) before becoming Texas A&M's offensive coordinator this past season.

Petrino joined Jimbo Fisher's staff at College Station where the team went 7-5 overall and 4-4 in SEC play. Fisher was fired midseason and will receive more than $75 million in his buyout. The university announced the hiring of Duke head coach Mike Elko as its new head coach on Monday.

Petrino was the head coach of the Razorbacks from 2008-11 where he led the Hogs to a 51-34 record, Cotton Bowl and Liberty Bowl victories along with a Sugar Bowl appearance.

More: How time has healed wounds left by Missouri State head coach Bobby Petrino at Arkansas

Petrino was fired as Arkansas' head coach in April 2012 after he was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in northwest Arkansas on the first day of the month. He initially told university officials he was alone on the motorcycle, but it eventually came out that he had a passenger — then-25-year-old Jessica Dorrell.

In the coming days, it came to light that Petrino had an affair with Dorrell and he had hired the former Arkansas volleyball player to work in the athletics department after giving her a $20,000 gift. He had not previously disclosed his relationship with university officials.

By April 10, 2012, Arkansas fired Petrino with cause, as then-Athletics Director Jeff Long told reporters Petrino had "engaged in a pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior" before and after the motorcycle crash.

Petrino has apologized and expressed regret on multiple occasions over the last decade.

A few months before his Missouri State hiring in 2020, Petrino was a guest speaker at the Little Rock Touchdown Club where he gave a teary-eyed apology for how his time as the Razorbacks' head coach came to an end.

"I wanted to be able to come here and apologize to everybody, the fans, the players, and truly tell you how sorry I am for the way it ended," Petrino told the crowd. "But I also wanted to come here to thank you for everything that people in this room and in this state do for me and my family. They are great to us."

Petrino was given a standing ovation.

Petrino made his first trip back to Fayetteville during the 2022 season with Missouri State. He nearly led the Bears to a shocking win over the then-No. 10 Razorbacks as MSU held a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Arkansas rallied to win 38-27.

After nearly pulling off the upset country, the coach took a second to look at the stadium that he used to call his home. Former players greeted him while he fought off choking up during his postgame press conference.

"It just hit me a little bit," Petrino said.

Missouri State is scheduled to visit Arkansas on Aug. 30, 2025, to open up the 2025 season. Current Missouri State head coach Ryan Beard and defensive coordinator L.D. Scott are Petrino's son-in-laws. MSU offensive coordinator Nick Petrino is the former head Hogs' son.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Bobby Petrino returning to Arkansas as its offensive coordinator