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Bobby Petrino begins his first season as Head Coach of the Atlanta Falcons armed with a sparkling resume and a yellow pages thick playbook that strongly suggests that he has been preparing for this opportunity for the majority of his professional life.
Earning a national reputation for being the architect of one of the most prolific offensive attacks found anywhere in college football, Petrino, 46, was introduced as the 13th Head Coach in Atlanta Falcons franchise history on January 8, 2007.
"I understand the challenges and the expectations that Mr. Blank and Rich McKay have," Petrino said at his opening news conference at the Falcons state-of-the-art training facility located in Flowery Branch, Ga. "Everyone in our organization's primary goal is to be successful and to eventually go to the Super Bowl and win it. We plan to come in, work hard, and have the Falcons ready to play every time we take the field."
In just four short seasons as Head Coach at the University of Louisville, Petrino put the Cardinals on the national map with his high-octane, quick-striking offensive onslaught that left enemy defenses dazed, rattled, and confused.
His four-year 41-9 record included a 12-1 mark last season and a No. 7 national ranking in the USA Today final Coaches' Poll. The Cardinals ranked fourth in the nation in scoring (37.8 points per game) and second in total yards (484.6 yards per game).
"My goal when I arrived at Louisville was to turn the program into a national power," Petrino said. "We just rolled up our sleeves and went to work. We were blessed with some amazing athletes and some great coaches, and we were able to win a lot of games and have a lot of success. I am looking forward to having the same kind of success here with the Falcons. I believe we have the players, coaches, and organization in place to do some amazing things as a team, and I am looking forward to the challenge."
Upon his arrival in Atlanta, Petrino heard all of the questions and shrugged off all of the incessant inquiries. The buzz in the Atlanta sports community wasn't the success Petrino had enjoyed in Louisville as a result of the dazzling three and four-receiver sets his offenses often operated out of.
The question was simple.
Why would one of the most celebrated football coaches in the country leave the comforts of his collegiate program for the meat-grinding, pressure-cooker that is the National Football League?
"You always want to see if you can compete and get the job done on football's biggest stage," Petrino said. "I always felt like I would become a head coach in the NFL. That's not to sound arrogant, but I felt that that was a logical next step for me. I enjoyed my time in the NFL when I was with Jacksonville, and I am looking forward to the challenge that this opportunity here in Atlanta will present."
Petrino's biggest challenge is to fix Atlanta's passing game, and to help Falcons quarterback Michael Vick become the prolific passer he has shown flashes of becoming.
"We've looked at all of the video and I can tell you that Michael can make all of the throws you need to make in this league to be a successful NFL quarterback," Petrino said. "In the four seasons I was at Louisville, my quarterbacks completed 65.1 percent of their throws, and that's where we expect Michael to be, as well."
Vick made history last season as the first quarterback in NFL history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single season. He also tossed a career-best 20 touchdown passes. With Petrino's past pedigree of getting the most out of his quarterbacks, Vick will be tested and pushed to his limits. And it is a challenge number seven has seemed to enthusiastically embrace during the 2007 offseason.
"All I know is the guy showed up three weeks earlier than he ever has for off-season workouts and has been outstanding during our quarterback meetings and organized team activity sessions," Petrino said. "We're putting it all on him, and I think he is doing a nice job."
Falcons Owner & CEO Arthur Blank and President & General Manager Rich McKay were attracted to Petrino for his offensive wizardry, his dedication to the details and high standards of ex-cellence carved through a successful 24-year coaching career.
"One thing we wanted in our next head coach was someone who had experience as a head coach and experience in the National Football League," Blank said. "We wanted a record of success, a creative mind, and a coach with a tough and disciplined approach."
There is no doubt that Petrino knows what it takes to win in the NFL.
"I know he will win a lot of games for us," Blank said. "Bobby knows how to motivate, he knows how to teach and he knows how to get the best out of his athletes and coaching staff."
In 2006, Petrino helped the Cardinals win their first ever Big East Conference Championship on the way to a 24-13 victory over Wake Forest in the BCS FedEx Orange Bowl. The team was also recognized by having seven Cardinals earn first-team All Big East honors, which was the most in the league. Petrino's squad also finished with the highest ranking ever in school history in the final Associated Press Poll at No. 6 in the country.
Appointed as the Head Coach at Louisville in 2003, it marked Petrino's second stint at the school. Petrino rejoined Louisville after serving as the Offensive Coordinator at Auburn in 2002. Under Petrino, the Tigers offense significantly improved its position in the Division I-A rankings during the season. It didn't take long for Petrino to put his stamp on the Auburn offense as the team finished the season with a 9-4 record and led the Southeastern Conference in pass efficiency and third down conversions while also ranking third in the league in scoring offense, rushing offense and total offense. The Tigers went on to defeat Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Capital One Bowl by a 13-9 margin.
Prior to coaching the Tigers, Petrino was a coach in the NFL, spending two seasons (1999-2000) as the Quarterbacks coach and third (2001) as Offensive Coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars. During his time with the Jaguars, Petrino tutored Mark Brunell to his three best passing seasons in his illustrious career. Brunell threw for 3,640 yards in 2000, which was the second-highest total in team history, and 3,309 yards in Petrino's only term as Offensive Coordinator in 2001. The Jaguars reached the AFC Championship game in 1999 for the second occasion in team history.
Petrino arrived at the University of Louisville for the first time in 1998 as Offensive Coordinator. In his initial stint, the Cardinals were the top-ranked team in Division I-A in scoring and total offense while posting the biggest positive turnaround among I-A football teams, winning six games more than the 1997 season.
Former Cardinals quarterback Chris Redman, currently in Atlanta's camp battling for one of the club's backup quarterback spots behind Vick, was the trigger man operating Louisville prolific offense that season.
Petrino and Redman established school records in points scored (444), scoring average (40.4 points per game), touchdowns (62), passing yards (4,498), passing touchdowns (33), and total yards (6,156). Additionally, the Cardinals reached 60-or-more points on three different occasions, Cincinnati 62-19, Western Kentucky 63-44, and East Carolina 63-45, setting up the biggest one-year turnaround in Division I-A football history (In 1997, the Cardinals were 1-10. In 1998, they were 7-5).
Prior to his first stint at Louisville, Petrino spent three years as the Offensive Coordinator at Utah State, transforming a program which averaged a little more than 300 yards per contest into an offensive juggernaut, which established a school record with 468.5 yards of total offense per game during the 1996 season.
Petrino spent 1994 at the University of Nevada as both the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks coach. During his only season at Nevada, the Wolfpack ranked second in the nation in both passing offense and total offense, averaging more than 330 yards passing and 500 yards of total offense per game. Nevada also averaged 37.6 points per game to finish third nationally in scoring offense.
In 1992 and 1993, Petrino was Quarterbacks coach at Arizona State. During his two seasons at ASU, he oversaw the development of future All-American and former Denver Broncos QB Jake Plummer.
In 1989, Petrino served as the Quarterbacks coach at the University of Idaho before being promoted to Offensive Coordinator for two seasons. Prior to coaching at Idaho, Petrino served as a full-time assistant in the Division I ranks as wide receivers and tight ends coach at Weber State in 1987 and 1988.
Petrino coached at his alma mater, Carroll College, from 1985 to 1986, serving as the Offensive Coordinator for a team that had the top-rated offense in NAIA football in each season. In 1984, Petrino began his coaching career at Weber College, coaching quarterbacks as a graduate assistant.
A native of Helena, Montana, Petrino graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and earned a minor in Mathematics from Carroll College, where he played quarterback as a collegiate athlete and later began his coaching career as a graduate assistant during the 1983 season. A two-time NAIA All-American quarterback at Carroll, Petrino guided the Fighting Saints to three consecutive Frontier Conference Championships and was named the league's most valuable player in 1981 and 1982.
Born March 10, 1961, Petrino is married to the former Becky Schaff and the couple has four children: Kelsey, Nick, Bobby and Katie. |
