OPINION |
Missouri State made an out-of-the-box hire three years ago, bringing Bobby Petrino to Springfield in what some saw as a desperate attempt to revive a snoozing football program.
Director of Athletics Kyle Moats and President Clif Smart drew some criticism at the time. Petrino had a brilliant track record of success — but a checkered past that included a highly publicized firing at Arkansas. He had other job departures that ended badly.
But Petrino’s hire at Missouri State turned out brilliant.
With news breaking Thursday from multiple reports that Petrino is off to UNLV as offensive coordinator, bringing an end to his three-season stay, the Missouri State administration deserves credit for a bold hire that worked.
Petrino is leaving the program in much better shape than he found it. The Bears were coming off a one-win season when Petrino was hired on Jan. 16, 2020, and there was little enthusiasm to be found, even among the most loyal of football boosters.
From the beginning, Petrino believed the Bears could win. Just as all his teams did at each of his coaching stops.
“My dad always believed you can win anywhere you go,” Petrino said at the news conference announcing his hiring at Missouri State. “You can always find a way to win.”
This might have been one of his best coaching jobs. Along with overcoming a history of losing, Petrino had other immediate obstacles. Just a few weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life as we knew it. That included on the football field, with Petrino’s all-important first spring practice canceled and his first season in the fall cut to three games.
The Missouri Valley Football Conference played a six-game spring schedule in 2021 and, shockingly, the Bears became overnight contenders. They went 5-1 and, even in the odd period on the calendar, earned a Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth and conference championship for the first time in 30 years.
The Bears lost in the first round of the playoffs at North Dakota, but that was a footnote. What many believed impossible became possible with Petrino leading the way.
It wasn’t a fluke. Missouri State was even better a few months later. Transfer quarterback Jason Shelley and a host of other transfers infused the offense and the Bears won eight regular-season games, spent most of the season in the national rankings and returned to the playoffs.
A first-round loss to Tennessee Martin was disappointing, but the enthusiasm for football heading into the 2022 season was off the charts. The Bears were ranked as high as No. 4 in the preseason.
Unfortunately, the season fell apart due to some key injuries on defense and a leaky offensive line. The Bears finished 5-6 and Petrino, 18-15 at Missouri State, is now off to a new challenge and Missouri State will have a new head coach.
We shouldn’t be surprised that he’s moving on. Few coaches who have tasted success at the highest levels can resist the opportunity to return there. Six-hour bus rides to Terre Haute aren’t exactly enticing when you’ve been used to charter flights to all road games. Neither are the limited budgets and sub-par facilities at the FCS level.
Missouri State badly needs an upgrade to its football facilities, with a project for new offices, locker rooms and a modern scoreboard in the south end zone at the top of its wish list.
The next Missouri State football coach should benefit from Petrino’s work. He’s proven that Missouri State can not only compete, but win in the rugged Missouri Valley Football Conference.
For that, fans should remember Petrino fondly even if the stay was short.
