Paul Finebaum hints at Bobby Petrino being Arkansas' next head coach, permanent Sam Pittman replacement

The Arkansas Razorbacks are heading into a new era. As they do so, there is a chance they may be looking to their past as a program, and specifically at Bobby Petrino.

After being promoted to interim head coach as he replaces the outgoing Sam Pittman, Bobby Petrino has already made his mark on the program. That includes firing defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams, and co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson. It was a move that signaled to Paul Finebaum that he could be around longer than just as an interim this season, which he broke down on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.

“It does,” Paul Finebaum said. “Let me start by saying that Sam Pittman should never have been brought back this season. It was a major blunder by Hunter Yurachek. I really think it’s more on him than it is on Sam Pittman. We all love Sam Pittman, but I don’t know why anybody thought this was going to have a different outcome.”

Bobby Petrino is one of the most successful coaches that Arkansas has had in its recent history. He previously was the head coach there from 2008-2011, going 34-17 there with two double-digit win seasons, an AP Top 5 finish, and a Cotton Bowl win. However, that tenure would end in scandal. He’d later return to the program as Sam Pittman’s offensive coordinator in 2004.

“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.”

The scandal that ended Petrino’s first tenure at Arkansas is going to loom over the coaching search. In April of 2012, he got into a motorcycle crash with former Arkansas All-SEC volleyball player Jessica Dorrell. He had hired her less than a month earlier. Initially, he’d lie and say he had been alone but later admitted to an affair with her, which had it been disclosed would have prevented her from being hired. It was also later revealed he had been lavishing her with gifts. That relationship is what led to his initial firing.

He is certainly a candidate, but for some, the scandal will be too much to overcome. For others, like Finebaum, the scandal is in the past and shouldn’t be taken into consideration in this coaching search.

“All this conversation about Bobby Petrino’s past I read from the national media is utterly absurd. We live in a country where forgiveness is part of our language and our beliefs. What he did or what he has done is long past and it shouldn’t even be part of the conversation,” Finebaum concluded.

Since leaving Arkansas, Bobby Petrino has been a head coach at Western Kentucky, Louisville, and Missouri State. In that run, he’s gone 62-45. That tenure with Louisville was his second at that school as well, and lasted nearly five seasons. During that time, he produced Heisman Trophy-winner Lamar Jackson, but also got fired amid a two-win season. He also failed to reach the double-digit win heights he had in his first tenure there.

For now, Bobby Petrino has a chance to showcase his abilities for the remainder of the season. Arkansas is on a bye week. After that, they’ll have a road trip to Tennessee to begin the next stretch of the season.