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Bobby Petrino is staying put at Arkansas, for now anyway, after withdrawing his name from consideration for the Charlotte head coaching job, ESPN reported Tuesday.
Petrino, who was the Arkansas head coach from 2008-11 and took the Razorbacks’ offensive coordinator job before this season, had been in discussions with Charlotte officials regarding their head coaching job.
Bobby Petrino has withdrawn his name from consideration for the Charlotte head coaching job, sources tell ESPN. Petrino, the former Arkansas head coach and current OC, had earlier discussed the job with Charlotte officials.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) December 3, 2024
Charlotte fired Biff Poggi after under 2 seasons as head coach. Charlotte has been an FBS program since 2015 and has never finished better than 7-6, which was its record in 2019 under Will Healy. The 49ers went 5-7 in 2024, winning their last 2 games under interim coach Tim Brewster.
According to CBS Sports, Charlotte is also considering NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, who has been with the Wolfpack since 2019, and Western Carolina head coach Kerwin Bell.
Petrino spent the 2023 season as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M after 3 seasons at FCS program Missouri State. He had 2 stints as Louisville head coach (2003-06 and 2014-18) and spent a year at Western Kentucky as well in 2013.
Petrino made his return to Arkansas as offensive coordinator ahead of the 2024 season and helped guide the Razorbacks to a 6-6 regular season, which included an upset win against Tennessee.
Losing Petrino to Charlotte would have been a big loss to Arkansas and head coach Sam Pittman, who is now expected to return in 2025.
At least for now, Petrino appears to be staying in Fayetteville.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
