Report: Texas A&M targeting Bobby Petrino as next offensive coordinator

Texas A&M’s offense was woefully in inefficient this fall and head coach Jimbo Fisher may have found a solution to fix it.

Chris Hummer of 247 Sports reported on Friday that the Aggies are targeting Missouri State offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino as a candidate for their offensive coordinator vacancy. Former OC Darrell Dickey was fired immediately following A&M’s disappointing 5-7 season, opening the door for the SEC West power to look for a new offensive playcaller.

Petrino just wrapped up his third season at Missouri State, where he has posted an 18-15 record with two FCS playoff appearances in Springfield, MO. The veteran head coach has developed a reputation for being an offensive mastermind, with various head coaching stints at Louisville, Arkansas, and even a cup of coffee with the Atlanta Falcons. As a head coach in FBS, he posted a career 119-56 record and notably developed Lamar Jackson into a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback in 2016.

However, Petrino is also known for every single one of his stops ending in a rage of controversy. From leaving a note on the door to let his Falcons players know that he was leaving to the motorcycle controversy that ended his tenure at Arkansas, he has developed a reputation as one of the most toxic coaches in the sport. His second stint at Louisville quickly unraveled in 2018, forcing him down to the FCS ranks to continue his head coaching career.

Despite this, his offenses are still viewed in high regard from a schematic standpoint and that’s a risk that Fisher is willing to take to improve his offense. Despite having highly touted recruits all over the offense, A&M still sputtered on that side of the ball and finished with the 76th ranked offense in SP+.