Ex-Louisville, Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino resurfaces at FCS Missouri State

Petrino takes over an FCS program after being fired by Louisville in 2018 and sitting out in 2019

By Chip Patterson

Jan 15, 2020 at 9:37 am ET • 1 min read

Bobby Petrino will return to college football in 2020 after one year removed from the game. Petrino is set to make that return at the FCS level as Missouri State announced Tuesday that he has been hired to lead its football program. He will officially be introduced at a Thursday press conference.

Petrino was fired by Louisville in 2018 after compiling a 2-8 record with the Cardinals. The team went 2-10 and 0-8 in ACC play, finishing the season with the second-worst scoring margin in all of FBS at -28.7 points per game.

Across his stops at Louisville (twice), Arkansas and Western Kentucky, Petrino has a 119-56 record in 14 seasons as a college coach. The highlights of his career so far include two conference championships at Louisville -- in the Big East and Conference USA during his first stint -- and guiding Lamar Jackson in both his Heisman Trophy-winning and Heisman Trophy finalist seasons in 2016-17.

Petrino parlayed his 41-9 record in his first four years at Louisville into a job with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. However, after a 3-10 start, Petrino resigned in the middle of the season and returned to college football in 2008 at Arkansas.

After leading the Razorbacks to back-to-back 10-win seasons and top-15 finishes in 2010-11, he was fired for attempting to mislead both the public and the school about the details surrounding a motorcycle accident in April 2012. Petrino's relationship with a staff member in the football program, who was discovered to be on the motorcycle with him at the time of the accident, ultimately gave the school reasons to fire him with cause.

Western Kentucky revived Petrino's career after two years away from the game, and he led the Hilltoppers to an 8-4 record in 2013. He then returned to Louisville in 2014, but the program fell sharply two seasons ago after averaging 8.5 wins over Petrino's first four years in his return.

In joining Missouri State, Petrino will be replacing Dave Steckel, who was fired after five seasons and a 13-42 record. He takes over a program that has not won a conference championship or even made a postseason appearance since 1990.