Petrino wants to make his mark again
A&M’s new offensive coordinator looks to light a fire after underwhelming year
COLLEGE STATION — As Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork tended to the Aggies’ winter sports, he noticed a new assistant coach helping heat things up around football’s Bright Football Complex.
“Just being around him before he hit the recruiting trail, he’s a highenergy guy and a positive guy,” Bjork said of Bobby Petrino, A&M’s new offensive coordinator. “He wants to make an impact at this level again, that was the main reason why he came to A&M.”
A&M sixth-year coach Jimbo Fisher brought Petrino onboard to light a fire under one of the nation’s worst offenses in 2022 — the Aggies were 101st out of 131 FBS programs in scoring offense with 22.8 points per game — and to take over playcalling so Fisher can focus on the many duties that come with head coaching in 2023.
“There are a lot of things going on now in college football — my job has changed so much in the last two years, it’s ridiculous,” Fisher said over the holidays.
Bjork said Petrino, who has not been available for an interview, is delighted to coach again in the Southeastern Conference. He was Arkansas’ head coach from 2008-2011 prior to his dismissal following a scandal that included a mistress and a motorcycle (the short version).
“He wants to be around the best football,” Bjork said of Petrino, who has been a head coach at Western Kentucky, Louisville and Missouri State following his Arkansas exit. “He’s been great from my perspective.”
Fisher, too, has appeared to round out his staff heading into spring drills, which start March 20 and culminate with the spring game on April 15 at
3 p.m. at Kyle Field.
A&M has announced the promotion of Bryant GrossArmiento from defensive analyst to secondary coach, and the hire of running backs coach Marquel Blackwell from the same position at Mississippi. Fisher and Petrino did not retain running backs coach Tommie Robinson, whose contract was up.
Second-year defensive coordinator DJ Durkin has shuffled his staff on that side of the ball, too, after then-linebackers coach Tyler Santucci left in January to become Duke’s defensive coordinator. Durkin apparently will coach linebackers, as he’s done at previous stops, and GrossArmiento will team up with veteran TJ Rushing to coach defensive backs.
Petrino, a former Atlanta Falcons head coach, is helping Fisher rearrange roles on offense. Dameyune Craig will shift from quarterbacks to receivers (what he’d done prior to 2022 at A&M) while James Coley will move from receivers to tight ends, according to 247Sports.
Fisher, who has not been available to the local media in more than two months, has yet to publicly address the addition of Petrino and any other staff additions or shifts since January. Fisher, 57, knows the heat is on to produce in his sixth season at A&M, especially following a 5-7 finish in 2022 that included a home loss to Appalachian State and A&M’s first six-game skid in 50 years.
Gross-Armiento is a former Rutgers and Wake Forest defensive back. Blackwell spent from 2019-2021 at the University of Houston before heading to Ole Miss under Lane Kiffin for the past two seasons, with the Rebels holding a 2-0 advantage over the Aggies in that span.
Mississippi finished third nationally in rushing offense with 257 yards per game last season, and then-freshman Quinshon Judkins was the Southeastern Conference’s top running back in 2022 with 1,567 rushing yards.
Gross-Armiento and Blackwell are both Floridians, with Blackwell a four-year starting quarterback at South Florida around the turn of the century.
Fisher fired then-offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey in late November and following the Aggies’ first losing regular season since 2008, which was Mike Sherman’s first year as coach. Dickey was more of a consultant and extra eyes for Fisher in calling plays, however, than actual offensive coordinator, while Petrino will be the primary play-caller as Fisher concentrates more on getting control of his overall program.
Petrino inherits a couple of former five-star prospects in quarterback Conner Weigman and receiver Evan Stewart, but the offensive line under coach Steve Addazio needs a lot of work entering 2023.
Surprisingly, Addazio is still on staff following an overall terrible season from the offensive line, including eight false starts alone in the Aggies’ 30-24 loss at South Carolina in October and with Fisher still calling plays at that time.
A&M followers should find out pretty quick this season whether the Aggies are indeed improved on offense.
Following their opener on Sept. 2 against New Mexico at Kyle Field, they play at Miami of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Sept. 9 in Week 2, in a solid early test for what fans are hoping is an updated attack under Petrino.