Paul Petrino withdraws name from coaching job

By Brandon Marcello

Photo by Jason Ivester

Paul Petrino, Arkansas offensive coordinator, is seen at a scrimmage at Willard & Pat Walker Pavilion.

ADVERSTISMENT

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino has withdrawn his name from consideration for the head coaching position at Western Kentucky.

"I am very appreciative of the interest Western Kentucky University has shown in me. However, I have withdrawn my name from consideration and my focus is on our remaining games starting this Saturday at LSU," Petrino said in a statement Monday.

Stanford assistant Willie Taggart will reportedly be introduced as the head coach at Western Kentucky this afternoon. The running backs coach is in his third season with the Cardinal and was a former player and coach at Western Kentucky for more than 10 years.

Petrino, the younger brother of Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino, said Saturday he aspires to become a head coach in the future.

"I said the day I got here, my goal in life is to be a head coach some day," Paul Petrino said.

The wide receivers coach had the full support of his brother Monday.

"Paul is going to be a head coach, there's no question about that," Bobby Petrino said of his brother's future in the coaching profession. "One thing you have to do is you have to be patient and make sure you take the right job, and make sure that first job is a situation where you can go in and really be successful and win."

Bobby Petrino also said he appreciated Western Kentucky's process of interviewing his younger brother for the job. Paul Petrino flew to Bowling Green, Ky., after Arkansas' 44-21 win and interviewed for the job Saturday. He traveled by plane back to Fayetteville early Sunday morning and was back at work later in the day.

"I don't think you could have had it work out better than that," Bobby Petrino said.

Bobby Petrino said he works with his assistant coaches when job opportunities become available. The head coach has shown support in two instances already at Arkansas. His most notable example was allowing defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson to take a similar position at South Carolina after a month on the job in early 2008.

"We have coaches that will be head coaches, I really believe that," Bobby Petrino said. "When we have success, opportunities go up. ... That's part of being a head coach, is assisting your assistants to develop and eventually become head coaches."

Thank you for coming to the Web site of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. We're working to keep you informed with the latest breaking news.

Make a comment on this story.