Bobby Petrino
Bobby Petrino is an American football coach born on March 10, 1961, who is currently the offensive coordinator at the University of North Carolina. He has coached at both the college and pro levels and has been a head coach at Louisville, Arkansas, and Western Kentucky, with additional stints in the NFL.
Petrino first rose to prominence as a college assistant before becoming Louisville’s head coach in 2003. He led Louisville to strong seasons, including 11 wins in 2004 and 12 wins in 2006, and the program’s first major-bowl appearances. In 2007 he left Louisville to coach the Atlanta Falcons, a tenure that lasted part of a season and is widely viewed as one of the more controversial NFL coaching tenures.
He then took the Arkansas job from 2008 to 2011. His time there ended in controversy after a motorcycle crash revealed an extramarital affair with a staffer, leading to his firing in 2012. Petrino then coached Western Kentucky in 2013 before returning to Louisville in 2014 for a second stint that lasted through 2018. His second Louisville run included guiding quarterback Lamar Jackson to the Heisman Trophy winner in 2016 and a high-powered offense, but the 2018 season ended with a 2–8 record and dismissal.
After Louisville, Petrino coached at Missouri State from 2020 to 2022. He then served as Arkansas’s offensive coordinator in 2023 and again took on interim head coaching duties in 2025. In 2026, he moved to North Carolina as the offensive coordinator.
Petrino has four children with his wife, Becky, and his younger brother Paul is also a college coach. Known for his offensive systems and play-calling, Petrino has spent most of his career building up programs and reviving offenses, though his career has been marked by high-profile controversy off the field.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 04:56 (CET).