Hayes: Why Bobby Petrino is the absolute last person Jimbo Fisher should hire

Nov 9, 2018; Syracuse, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Bobby Petrino yells at a referee during the first quarter against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Editor’s note: This column originally published on Dec. 12, 2022 as part of Matt Hayes’ weekly First and 10 column. Wednesday, ESPN reported that Texas A&M is finalizing a deal to hire Bobby Petrino. SDS’ Matt Hayes weighed in on the possible marriage soon after reports surfaced that it was possible.

Of all the moves Jimbo Fisher could make this offseason, this is the most dangerous.

And impulsive. And short-sighted. And reckless.

And reeking of desperation.

Bobby Petrino is a helluva offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach and play-caller. Bobby Petrino is a horrible assistant coach.

It will end at some point for Fisher at Texas A&M, and it will more than likely end badly. The history of failed coaches in College Station is the ultimate roadmap.

The end will come quicker with Petrino by his side.

We’re 5 years into the Fisher experiment at Texas A&M, and 247Sports is reporting that Fisher will interview Missouri State coach — and longtime coaching mercenary (I say mercenary, you say conman) — Bobby Petrino for the Aggies’ vacant offensive coordinator position.

The idea of Fisher and Petrino — two of the biggest egos in the coaching fraternity (and I say that with no malice, it’s who most coaches are) — standing side by side trying to win SEC games is frightening. Not because of the potential impact on the game, or the Aggies or the SEC.

But because of the inevitable implosion, simmering from the moment they sit at the same table for the first staff meeting to introduce Petrino to an already combustible situation. The only thing lacking is ignition.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the match to set the thing ablaze: the quarterback position.

Fisher believes he knows a thing or two about the quarterback spot. He’s coached 2 No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks (JaMarcus Russell, Jameis Winston), has 4 first-round NFL Draft picks at the position (Christian Ponder, EJ Manuel) and he’d just as soon keep his unofficial title of head ball coach/offense — but no one is hiring a guy who got pushed out of a dream job with a $95 million parachute.

Fisher has to make this work.

But instead of hiring a young, charismatic offensive coordinator with new ideas and the ability to recruit quarterbacks and skill players, the first move is apparently Petrino. The one guy who will absolutely make sure it doesn’t work.

It’s unthinkable, really. Petrino doesn’t have the temperament to be an assistant coach. Hasn’t since he was a quarterbacks coach/OC with NFL’s Jaguars in the early 2000s, when then Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin called him the best play-caller he’d ever been around.

Petrino wanted bigger, better things and instead of waiting and working his way through the NFL, he jumped for the offensive coordinator job at Auburn in 2002, and a year after that, the head coach job at Louisville.

He hasn’t been an assistant since, but between then and now, his massive ego and need for control of all things football, led him to:

— Be part of a failed coup in the early 2000s to unseat Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville. Auburn officials wanted Tubs replaced, and flew clandestinely to Louisville to interview Petrino in the middle of the season.

The coup was exposed, and Louisville officials were furious. They stuck with Petrino, who rebuilt the program over the next 2 years and won big.

— After getting a massive raise from Louisville and declaring he’s a lifer there, Petrino left soon after to coach the NFL’s Falcons.

— Before his first season with the Falcons ended, he walked out on his team to accept the head coaching job at Arkansas.

— After leading Arkansas to a top 3 ranking and the Sugar Bowl, he later lied about a relationship with a subordinate, and was fired despite his successful run.

— He resurfaced 2 years later at Western Kentucky, trying to reboot his career and proclaiming he was there for the long haul. After 1 season, he left to return to Louisville.

— Coached Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, before it eventually all unraveled and he was fired after 5 seasons.

— Two years later in 2020, in yet another reboot, he agreed to coach FCS Missouri State.

This is the guy who is going to play well with Fisher? The same Fisher whose own legendary ego dates back to his days as the coach-in-waiting at Florida State, where he forced the university’s hand to push iconic coach Bobby Bowden out 1 year early — or Fisher would walk.

That move took unthinkable stones.

This move would top that — and eventually collapse the whole thing he’s trying to put together in College Station.

2. A bold, bad move

Years ago I wrote a profile of Bret Bielema arriving at Arkansas and cleaning up the mess Petrino left behind.

It wasn’t just the inappropriate relationship with a subordinate or lying about it to his superiors or the infamous motorcycle crash that unearthed the unseemly events.

It was how Petrino’s management of the program had worn down all involved. Yep, they were top 3 at one point under Petrino — but there were cracks everywhere.

One Arkansas staffer told me, “He was an ass—-, but he was our ass—-.”

Last week, I reached out to an assistant coach on that staff of more than a decade ago, and asked him about the idea of Fisher hiring Petrino.

“I can’t begin to imagine what that’s going to look like,” the former Petrino assistant told me. “I’ve never been around a more dysfunctional and demeaning environment than what we had (at Arkansas). I thought, well, he’s just coaching hard. No, it was humiliation at times — for players and coaches.”

Bobby Petrino is not an assistant coach. There will be power struggles between he and Fisher, and there will be a winner and a loser.

Understand this: Petrino is a terrific coach. He will whip the offense into shape, and they will score points — but the interaction between 2 mega personalities won’t work, and will eventually bleed over into the locker room and on the field.

The losses will mount while the offense will be among the SEC’s best. At some point, someone will have to answer.

Take a wild stab in the dark who gets fired? I’ll give you a hint: the guy with $80-something million remaining on his contract.

Not interim Aggies coach Bobby Petrino.

3. The wrong choice, The Epilogue

Hiring Petrino will eventually lead to conflict of egos over how the offense is run, the plays are called and the quarterbacks are coached. That conflict then soils everything.

Fisher needs a coordinator who has the chops to handle full control of the offense, and the humility to allow Fisher to peek under the hood every once in a while and give opinions.

No chance that happens with Petrino.

He can always throw a ridiculous amount of cash (A&M is good for it) at an OC of an SEC rival to weaken its program in the process. Like Kendal Briles at Arkansas, or Charlie Weis Jr. at Ole Miss.

Or he can hire Petrino, and move ahead the clock that’s already ticking on his departure.

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  • This might be a terrible hire for TAMU but a great hire for fans since drama is inevitable between these two.
    I cannot wait to see Jimbo and Bobby fighting on the TAMU sideline next season.

    • This is what my Arkansas fan coworker and I were talking about....distinct chance of throwing hands on the sideline. Odds are not 100% the fight would be over football either.

    • The inevitable mushroom cloud over College Station in the next year will be something to behold. I can’t believe Jimbo is this desperate, and this stupid.

      • Petrino is an elite OC. Arkansas has been an utter dumpster fire of dog sht ever since Petrino left Arkansas. Lol

        • Petrino is a great offensive mind. No doubt. He's also a corrosive scumbag. When it implodes, and it will, I'll laugh and you'll be nowhere to be found.

        • Petrino lit the dumpster on fire is the thing most people forget about Petrino.

          His last year in Fayetteville he wasn't recruiting, he was having an affair with a person he put on staff as a recruiting coordinator (a position she was not qualified to do), and then lied to his boss about the hiring and then affair (he was married and the woman was then engaged to someone else).

          If Petrino had been around for the John L. year it would not have been much better as the team had been sapped of SEC quality o-line and defensive players. Nick Saban and Les Miles (among others) had figured him out.

          IMO Arkansas would have been in just as bad a situation if they kept BP for another year. There probably wouldn't have been the BERT years, but then if that doesn't happen the Hogs probably don't get Pittman and the are struggling with someone like Drinkwitz.

          Bobby Petrino is an absolute ass of a human being. I wouldn't want him near any of my kids or anything that I like. I don't know why he is seen as a "offensive super-genius" when he hasn't won anything in decades. Yes, his SEMO team almost beat Arkansas last year, but that was his Super Bowl. Plus, his team was healthy, had a roster of P5 cast-offs in the skill positions, and the Arkansas defense was still learning how to cover the pass after the large number of injuries that depleted the secondary.

      • Arkansas has beat A&M once in the last 12 years in 12 tries. Arkansas now won’t ever beat A&M again. Lol

    • why would it be a terrible hire? Lol. Petrino is an elite OC. Your team sure as hell never beating them again like you only have once in 12 tries this last decade+.

  • Wasn't he just hired by UNLV?
    Ol'Bobby running from the rebels like they're a female grad assistant in a ditch.

  • Everyone deserves 2nd chances. But this guy has burned through so many, I can't believe any team is willing to give him another shot at a power five job. He's a fantastic offensive mind, but he's a cancer wherever he has landed. He's made countless people who have vouched for him look like fools. Does Fisher really believe Petrino just wants to be an OC? This is going to backfire on the Aggies 100%. I repeat 100%.

    • He's a snake in the grass.
      I'm suspect he's going to aggie land not to be a good OC but to be the HCIW.
      His ego demands it.

        • What are you 11? You use Lol in every sentence like a dumbass that doesn’t realize it just makes you look stupid.

        • Why would they even hire him as an OC? There are plenty of qualified young coaches out there who want a chance, and who are not Grade A scumbags....the first time he and Dumbo do not agree all hell will break loose....this hire is as dumb as a $95 Million buyout.

        • Because there is a shift at A&M from Jimbo calling the plays. He would likely not listen or intimidate a younger canididate. I think Jimbo made a hire that took some serious self-reflection. Bring in an experienced veteran that Jimbo has some respect for. I didn't love the move at first, but after seeing the uproar, bring it on.

    • stick to your dog sht offense at kentucky. A&M made an elite OC hire and your squealers can whine all you want. A&M just upgraded immensely.

      • The dog sht offense at Kentucky will be just fine. In fact, I'm confident it will be better than the A&M offense next year. And that's without all the 5* talent on the roster.
        Keep thinking they made an "elite OC hire" and you'll live with the fallout. You obviously didn't read the article if you're still wondering what any program should be concerned about.

        • Matt Hayes is not the gospel on neutral Texas A&M reporting......

          And confident it will be better than our offense? We sucked, but y'all just got shutout by Iowa.... Oh, and our worst offense in a decade was still better than Kentucky's this year....

  • The conflict potential between Fisher and the OC would be present with any decent OC.

    Given the doubts surrounding Fisher truly giving up the reins, this may be the best he could do.

    • That is what I was thinking. Much like Malzahn, hard to attract competent OCs when they are basically going to be a yes man.

    • Yep. Petrino wasn't his first (or second or third.....) choice from what has been reported. I imagine the better OC prospects wouldn't touch the job.

  • i blame aub. i'm guessing a&m and fisher figured petrino had no worse of a moral character than freeze

  • Moral scum attracts moral scum. Why should we be surprised? Somewhere Bobby Bowden is smiling.

      • There is sufficient evidence outside of his affair to suggest that Petrino is a man of low character. Whether that makes him scum is a judgment call.

        Personally, at this point, I wouldn't want the man anywhere near anything I cared about, football or otherwise. He has no honor, no loyalty, and no credibility.

        If you don't value those things, that's on you.

  • We will see how it plays out. No denying he had the Arkansas offense humming while he was there.

    • I don't particularly care for Petrino, but otoh it's articles like this that make me hope it actually works out. I mean even if it works out for a few years and Petrino gets the HC itch and leaves the narrative will be "Told you it wouldn't work out!"

    • "No denying he had the Arkansas offense humming while he was there."

      Arky was good for 2 years. There were better offenses in the SEC in those two years. AU being one of them. Bobby's best offenses were at Louisville.

      • Where does he say "the best offense in the SEC". Being a great offense while not being statistically the best are not mutually exclusive, mam.

        • "Where does he say “the best offense in the SEC”. Being a great offense while not being statistically the best are not mutually exclusive, mam."

          Learn English, retard.

        • "Where does he say “the best offense in the SEC”. "

          Weird, I never said she said "best offense in the SEC" you colossal pile of cow dung.

          Did you fail remedial English at TAM?

          G F Y

        • Go easy on him ...

          He's probably just mad because AU publicly and humiliatingly bungled their own attempt to get Petrino back in the day.

          Being a clown show isn't anything new on The Plains.

        • "He’s probably just mad because AU publicly and humiliatingly bungled their own attempt to get Petrino back in the day."

          Not nearly as humiliating as you getting impregnated by your dad.

        • @Ronald Mam, I believe it is you that needs to learn English....

          "Arky was good for 2 years. There were better offenses in the SEC in those two years. AU being one of them. Bobby’s best offenses were at Louisville."

          Now Ronnie, if you claim there were "better offenses" than Petrino's, you are refuting the notion that Petrino's was the "best", are you not? So, your statement refuting @DHenry2013's statement ipso facto indicates you interpreted that Petrino's "offenses were humming" as a claim that he had the best offenses, does it not?

          You claim I can't read and failed remedial English, but your grasp of the English language and ability to comprehend your own statements indicates that you might be in need of some assistance. Love when the insults start flowing from you. That's all you got.

        • "Now Ronnie, if you claim there were “better offenses” than Petrino’s, you are refuting the notion that Petrino’s was the “best”, are you not? "

          Why are you stupid?

      • Also, Arky's offense in 2011 was the best in the SEC. In 2010 it was #2 (by 17 yards and 3 points to National Champion Auburn). Google is free, mam.

        • "In 2010 it was #2 (by 17 yards and 3 points to National Champion Auburn). '

          Why are you stupid?

          "Arky’s offense in 2011 was the best in the SEC."

          Yet somehow they finished 3rd in the SEC West with blowout losses from LSU and Alabama.

          GFY.

        • "Why are you stupid?"

          What was stupid about that comment you petulant child.... Did Auburn not win the national championship during the 2010-2011 season? Goodness I feel sorry for whoever has to interact with you. Maybe I should have added a "per game" stipulation so your feeble brain will comprehend.

          "Yet somehow they finished 3rd in the SEC West with blowout losses from LSU and Alabama.

          GFY."

          Way to move the goal post, dumb@$$. You claimed there were team with better offenses. Statistically, you are wrong.

        • "Now Ronnie, if you claim there were “better offenses” than Petrino’s, you are refuting the notion that Petrino’s was the “best”, are you not? "

          Somewhere in Texas is a remedial English class with your name on it.

        • "Somewhere in Texas is a remedial English class with your name on it."

          That's all you got? Sad!

    • You know who had his offense humming at that same era? Gus Malzahn. And he's actually been more successful since then. But defenses caught up to both of them.

      • Exactly right AU T. Those in the know at ARK at the end of Petrino's tenure will tell you thew hogs were in a for a drop off. Defensive recruiting was lacking. That's been Bobby's problem everywhere he's gone. Good offenses but when the recruits he inherited are gone, his defenses suck. Ever wonder why he's never been anywhere more than a few years?

        • Lol. Petrino was the only good thing about Arkansas this century. Arkansas is a dumpster fire program of Losing beyond his tenure.

        • Good thing he's not the head coach and won't be asked to recruit defense... I'm confused at why this is being pointed out.

      • Eh, malzahn has sucked for a long time. Petrino is more genius than him. Malzahn is a high school coach.

        • Gus was part of two teams that went to national championships you moron. Petrino got his @ss beat by a golf club.

    • I have friends that work in the Atlanta Falcons organization. They still talk about the party they had when Bobby Petrino left the Falcons. He was universally disliked, no despised by everyone.

        • Continue to live in denial. Does not affect me that some people cannot accept things they don’t want to hear.

  • High risk, high reward. Fisher is desperate. He is willing to blow it all up if just for the chance to compete again for a natty. BP is the guy that could get them there. Still more likely to end bad than good but a bold move none the less.

  • And just how long will it be when both Fisher and Petrino rides off in the sunset on a motorcycle together?
    Who is driving?
    Sorry TAMU and my deepest sympathy to the beautiful Ms.Reville who has to deal with these two nincompoops

  • What?!!! Did A&M not have enough drama already this year? Ha ha ha! We all may as well get used to laughing.

    What did Kiffin say? GET YOUR POPCORN READY!

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Chris Wright