Bobby Petrino addresses Arkansas staff changes, firing Travis Williams

The Arkansas Razorbacks became the first SEC team to have an open head coaching position, firing Sam Pittman after their blowout loss to Notre Dame. Former head coach at the team’s offensive coordinator, Bobby Petrino, would become the interim head coach, and he quickly made his presence felt, firing defensive coordinator Travis Williams among other staffers.

Along with Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams, and co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson. were also fired. In a press conference in the wake of those moves, Petrino addressed those staff changes. explaining that they were what he felt was the best thing to do moving forward.

“First, let me say how thankful I am to Coach Pittman,” Bobby Petrino said. “For bringing me here and giving me this opportunity to come back to a place that I love. Very grateful for Hunter and Chancellor Robinson and the Board of Trustees for allowing me to come back a year ago and be an assistant coach here and then being able to do this. Whenever you make a decision, you base it off of, No. 1, what’s best for the team. No. 2, what’s best for the individual players. I felt it was in our best interest to do what we did this morning, for our players to improve individually, get a little bit more motivated, and I think it will help our team overall get out on the field and compete and find ways to win a game.”

Arkansas has had issues on the defensive side of the ball this season, which Notre Dame exploited. Now, the Razorbacks are 118th nationally in total defense, giving up 425 yards per game. Arkansas is also 113th in scoring defense, giving up 30 points per game.

For Bobby Petrino, these moves were likely the first step in his audition for a second stint as the Arkansas head coach. After all, Hunter Yurachek admitted that Petrino was both a candidate and someone who had expressed interest in the job. For his part, Paul Finebaum saw the firings as something that implied Petrino could be around for a while.

“I think from the moment Bobby Petrino walked into that building,” Finebaum said. “It was obvious he was going to be the next head coach. It just seems likely. He’s popular. He understands not only the job, but he understands the school. I don’t think you go and do what he did today if you don’t have a green light. You guys understand it, and everyone listening understands. You don’t start making major overhauls in the middle of the season, unless the athletic director has given you reason to do so.”

Bobby Petrino had a brief but very successful run at Arkansas from 2008-2011, going 34-17 there with a Cotton Bowl win. However, that tenure was shortened due to an off-field scandal. Now, he’s hoping that he has proven and will continue to prove he deserves another crack at the job.