When Arkansas football’s miserable season came to a merciful end on Thanksgiving weekend, interim coach Bobby Petrino was candid in pushing away any notion of him staying on staff.
“I’m not going to get into any of that tonight,” the 64-year-old said. “I’m just going to get this press conference over and get out of here. How’s that sound?”
Petrino was a legitimate candidate for the full-time job early in the search process, but seven consecutive losses to close the season bumped him off the list. New head coach Ryan Silverfield opted to bring offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Cramsey with him from Memphis, removing Petrino’s seat at the table.
It wouldn’t have been unheard of for Petrino to return to an assistant role under a new regime. Auburn’s last two interim coaches, Cadillac Williams (2022) and DJ Durkin (2025), both went back to their previous roles when the new head coach came to town. Penn State is doing the same with Terry Smith.
What’s truly rare is when a previously fired full-time head coach returns to his former school as an assistant. The awkwardness is pretty self-explanatory, and coaching breakups tend to be messy with burnt bridges left behind — ahem, Lane Kiffin. That’s what made Sam Pittman’s decision to bring Petrino back as offensive coordinator so shocking, especially given the unceremonious nature of his sacking a dozen years prior.
The recently departed Head Hog isn’t exactly a tactical revolutionary, but he appears to have kickstarted a growing trend in the college football coaching world.
Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery
Mississippi State football coach Jeff Lebby copycatted Pittman this week by hiring his predecessor, Zach Arnett, to be the team’s defensive coordinator.
Arnett was previously the Bulldogs’ DC in 2021-22 under Mike Leach, and took over as head coach following The Pirate’s sudden passing. He was named the full-time coach, but was fired just 10 games into the 2023 season, marking one of the shortest head coaching tenures in SEC history.
Despite that hasty decision, Arnett is back in Starkville just two years later. Defense was never the problem under his leadership, so combining him with Lebby’s offense makes a lot of sense in theory. Fans were never too upset with Arnett during his time as the head man, recognizing the unfortunate circumstance he was tossed into. After all, he won five games in his lone season while Lebby went 2-10 last year. With that bridge still intact, it was pretty easy for the 39-year-old to return to State.
Much-beloved coach Ed Orgeron is reportedly pining for a similar arrangement to return to LSU as an assistant under Lane Kiffin, but it’s unclear if things will come to fruition there.
Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin, however, took things to another level. Like Lebby, the two-time Arkansas coaching candidate made the seismic decision to hire his direct predecessor. In this case, however, Brent Pry’s arrival as defensive coordinator comes just a couple months after his dismissal as head coach midway through this season.
Franklin has a close relationship with Pry, who served as his top assistant for a decade at both Vanderbilt and Penn State before he took the Virginia Tech job. The dynamic is like if John Calipari took the Louisville job two years ago and named Kenny Payne as his right-hand assistant, though Pry’s tenure wasn’t nearly as disastrous as Payne’s. Franklin got emotional while thanking Pry at his introductory presser, and now he’s back as quickly as he left. Some awkwardness is to be expected, especially with the Hokies who stick around after this season.
