Bobby Petrino will be returning to Louisville to coach, Yahoo Sports reported Wednesday.
Petrino, 52, previously coached Louisville from 2003 to 2006. He led Western Kentucky to an 8-4 mark this season, his first as the Hilltoppers' coach.
Contract details for Petrino were to be finalized Wednesday night, according to the report, and he is expected to be introduced -- or, rather, re-introduced -- as Cardinals coach Thursday morning.
The man hiring him, Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich, is the same AD who hired Petrino the last time. Petrino went 41-9 in his first go-round at Louisville, but his departure was acrimonious: A few months after signing a new deal at Louisville in 2006, he left for the Atlanta Falcons.
Petrino never seemed satisfied in his first stint at Louisville, reportedly interviewing for or expressing interest in at least four other jobs. The most famous of those incidents involved Auburn. He interviewed with Tigers brass in 2003, at first denying an interview took place, then admitting he met with Auburn officials while Tommy Tuberville was Tigers coach.
Petrino also interviewed with LSU and Notre Dame and at least talked with Ole Miss officials.
This time around, Jurich reportedly interviewed seven candidates to replace Texas-bound Charlie Strong before deciding to turn back the clock. Among the other candidates interviewed were Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris, Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi and Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason.
Petrino lasted just one season as Falcons coach, leaving them 13 games into the '07 season to take over at Arkansas. He coached the Razorbacks for four seasons before being fired in April 2012 for lying to Arkansas AD Jeff Long following a motorcycle crash that also involved his mistress, Jessica Dorrell. When he fired Petrino, Long said the coach "knowingly misled the athletic department and university" about the accident and his relationship with Dorrell, who had been hired by Petrino to be the student-athlete coordinator for the football team.
From a coaching standpoint, Petrino has few, if any, peers in the college game when it comes to offensive X's and O's. He is a brilliant play-caller, especially in the passing game. He's not known as a particularly aggressive recruiter but has won with what others considered mid-level recruits.
This go-round at Louisville will be tougher. When Petrino was at Louisville before, the school was in Conference USA and the Big East; next season will be the Cardinals' first in the ACC, which is miles better than C-USA and the old Big East. Still, Petrino won a lot of SEC games at Arkansas, so the move to the ACC won't faze him.
But off the field? Let's be blunt: The guy is a serial liar. He lied to Jurich more than a few times when he coached Louisville before. He lied to Falcons owner Arthur Blank about his devotion to the franchise. And he lied to Arkansas officials and lost his job because of it.
When Petrino was hired at Western Kentucky in December 2012, he said, "At this point in my career, it's about getting back and coaching players. It just happened to open up at a place we love. I hope it can be as long as possible." That led Western AD Todd Stewart to say, "I'm confident that he'll be here for a while."
Maybe Petrino has learned his lesson. Maybe he is chastened after having to basically start over at Western Kentucky, a Sun Belt program. But can a serial liar truly change?
It may not matter, though. The guy is a good coach, and he will win. Petrino probably thinks that trumps all.
We'll see if he is right.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
