Bobby Petrino motorcycle scandal: Why former Arkansas football coach was fired in 2012

Unexpectedly, Petrino has apparently been appointed to Arkansas, where he served as head coach from 2008 to 2011, as the new offensive coordinator. Petrino has returned to a prior coaching position before: in 2014, he was appointed head coach at Louisville, where he had held the same position from 2003 to 2006. The Cardinals sacked him later that year (2018).

As one of college football’s most creative and successful offensive designers, Petrino has long been recognized for producing squads that put lights out on the scoreboard. His career at Arkansas, where he finished with a 21-5 record in his last two seasons in 2010 and 2011, may have been the greatest example of his accomplishment as a head coach.

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However, three months after leading Arkansas to an 11-2 record and a Cotton Bowl victory, Petrino was dismissed in 2012 after a motorcycle accident that turned scandalous; this turbulent departure makes his comeback even more remarkable, coming nearly a full year later.

Everything you need to know about Petrino’s initial departure from Arkansas is provided here:

However, a state police investigation clarified the situation and refuted some of the university’s limited publically available data. Petrino had been riding his motorbike with someone, Jessica Dorrell, the player development coordinator for the Razorbacks that he had hired the month before. Dorrell, a former volleyball player for Arkansas, was formerly employed by the university’s athletic department’s fundraising arm, the Razorback Foundation.