Paul Petrino
Paul Vincent Petrino (born May 25, 1967) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, a position he has held since the 2013 season.
 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Idaho |
| Conference | Big Sky |
| Record | 28–55 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | May 25, 1967 Butte, Montana |
| Playing career | |
| 1985–1988 | Carroll (MT) |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1990–1991 | Carroll (MT) (OC/QB) |
| 1992–1994 | Idaho (WR/RB/ST) |
| 1995–1997 | Utah State (WR/ST) |
| 1998–1999 | Louisville (WR) |
| 2000–2002 | Southern Miss (QB) |
| 2003–2006 | Louisville (OC/WR) |
| 2007 | Atlanta Falcons (WR) |
| 2008–2009 | Arkansas (OC/WR) |
| 2010–2011 | Illinois (OC/WR) |
| 2012 | Arkansas (OC/QB) |
| 2013–present | Idaho |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 28–55 |
| Bowls | 1–0 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2016) | |
Early life
Born in Butte, Montana, Petrino grew up in Helena and graduated from its Capital High School.[1][2] Recruited by the University of Montana in Missoula,[3] Petrino stayed in Helena and attended Carroll College. He played quarterback on the school's football team, where his father, Bob Petrino Sr., was the longtime head coach (1971–98).[4] Both are members of Carroll's athletic hall of fame.[5]
Coaching career
Petrino began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Carroll shortly after graduation. He worked as an assistant coach, wide receiver coach, and offensive coordinator at several other schools in the next 20 years, including a short stint with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons in 2007. In 2006, while serving as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Louisville, Petrino was a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top college football assistant coach.
In December 2012, Petrino became the head coach at Idaho, where he had worked in the early 1990s under John L. Smith.[6] After the announcement, Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long praised Petrino, saying he would have named Petrino the interim Arkansas head coach if not for his brother Bobby's resignation after a scandal.[7] Following the 2016 season, Petrino was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year after improving the Vandals from 4–8 the previous season to 8–4.[8] The season was capped with a ninth win, in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise. After more than two decades back in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), Idaho returned to the Big Sky Conference in FCS in 2018.
Through 2019, Petrino's overall record at Idaho is 28–55 (.337), the 55 losses are the most by a head coach in program history. He recently passed Skip Stahley, 22–51–1 (.304) in eight seasons (1954–61).
Personal life
Petrino is the younger brother, by six years, of former Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino; both were quarterbacks at Carroll.[1][4] When Paul was a player, Bobby was the offensive coordinator.[5] The brothers have worked together on coaching teams such as Louisville, the Atlanta Falcons, and Arkansas.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho Vandals (NCAA Division I FBS independent) (2013) | |||||||||
| 2013 | Idaho | 1–11 | |||||||
| Idaho Vandals (Sun Belt Conference) (2014–2017) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Idaho | 1–10 | 1–7 | T–9th | |||||
| 2015 | Idaho | 4–8 | 3–5 | T–5th | |||||
| 2016 | Idaho | 9–4 | 6–2 | T–3rd | W Famous Idaho Potato | ||||
| 2017 | Idaho | 4–8 | 3–5 | T–8th | |||||
| Idaho Vandals (Big Sky Conference) (2018–present) | |||||||||
| 2018 | Idaho | 4–7 | 3–5 | T–9th | |||||
| 2019 | Idaho | 5–7 | 3–5 | T–7th | |||||
| Idaho: | 28–55 | 19–29 | |||||||
| Total: | 28–55 | ||||||||
References
- Synness, Curt (December 10, 2003). "Petrinos define coaching". Independent Record. (Helena, Montana). Retrieved December 6, 2016.
- Synness, Curt (August 29, 2016). "Where are they now?..." Independent Record. (Helena, Montana). Retrieved December 6, 2016.
- Dawson, Ted (August 31, 2016). "Montana State to take on Helena legend Paul Petrino". Montana Sports. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
- "Bob Petrino, Sr". Independent Record. (Helena, Montana). August 18, 2005. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
- Asmussen, Bob (August 8, 2010). "Paul Petrino: 'Tough as an old work boot'". News-Gazette. (Champaign, Illinois). Retrieved December 6, 2016.
- "Paul Petrino hired as Idaho coach". ESPN. 3 December 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- Wright, Josh (4 December 2012). "Vandals name Paul Petrino new football coach". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- John McElwain (December 7, 2016). "Sun Belt announces 2016 Football All-Conference teams and individual awards". www.sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved December 16, 2016.