Something I’ve done a really bad job of doing is bringing my faith into my work. I’ve had a burning desire to do it for a while, but I’ve just not been confident enough to put it into action. I’m a Christian, I’m a broken person and I just want to have more of a purpose in my work. I’m not an expert on the Christian faith, but I’ve been working daily to grow in it since re-committing my life to Christ in 2019. No matter what your beliefs are, I hope you at least enjoy reading something different.
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(Photo credit: Nick Wenger)
Bobby Petrino stood alone on the sidelines at War Memorial Stadium for a brief period of time prior to the 70-0 whopping of Arkansas-Pine Bluff by the Razorbacks on Thursday evening in Little Rock.
Petrino, who is in his first season as offensive coordinator for Arkansas, was not approached by any staff member, nor did he seem to have any interest in sparking up a conversation with anyone nearby. It was clear that the 63-year-old former head coach of the Hogs had a good bit on his mind.
I’m sure most Razorback fans could take a guess at what Petrino was thinking about. The last time he coached a game inside War Memorial Stadium was a 44-17 win over Mississippi State in 2011. Months later, Petrino was fired by Arkansas for his infamous motorcycle accident in April 2012.
He landed on his feet in Dec. 2012, when he took the head coach job at Western Kentucky. Since then, Petrino also returned to coach Louisville for a second time, he led Missouri State at the FCS level for three seasons and then he spent last year at Texas A&M under former Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher.
I could relate with Petrino as I watched him take in the pregame atmosphere on a warm Thursday evening in central Arkansas. Whether or not he was thinking about the journey from being the Razorbacks’ head coach in 2011 until now, anyone who laid eyes on him in that moment couldn’t help but think of it.
We all reach a point in life — likely many points — where we feel hopeless. It feels like there is no moving forward. How will I ever recover from this?
I bet you Bobby Petrino felt that way 12 years ago.
Arkansas fans were angry, hurt, betrayed, upset and whatever other word you want to use to describe it — and they deserved to feel that way. Petrino said in November when he was hired that he was never angry at Arkansas, though.
“There never was any anger at all,” Petrino said Nov. 30. “I was always a Hogs fan, man. People would ask me, ‘Are you going to watch the game? Are you going to watch them play?’ I watched as many games as I could. I cheered for them, I rooted for them. I loved the players.”
This is not in any way an article intended to portray Petrino as someone who did nothing wrong. We’ve all done bad things, for goodness sakes, myself included. But, nobody is perfect.
A verse that has stuck with me recently is Hebrews 13:6: “So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do unto me.’”
As I battled through my own trials Thursday leading up to the game, I couldn’t help but think about how Petrino felt to be back on the sideline at War Memorial Stadium on Thursday, as he had to overcome obstacles since the incident in 2012. According to him, it was a dream to get back there.
“I thought about it and dreamed about it,” Petrino said of taking the Arkansas job. “I didn’t know if it would ever happen. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back here. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I truly do love Arkansas — the university and the state, and the people. I think it’s the most special place I’ve ever been.”
Just 13 years ago, he was on the same field in the midst of his second-straight double-digit win season as Arkansas’ head coach, but was he in a good spot mentally? There’s no way for me to truly answer that question — only Bobby Petrino can.
I know I’ve had times in my life when it seemed like everything was going right, but I was really doing the wrong thing underneath the table. It’s easy to portray who you want to be while actually living a life that’s the exact opposite.
What is abundantly clear is that Petrino had to work to get back to that sideline Thursday. Sure, it helped to have a Lamar Jackson along the way, or an opportunity from Jimbo Fisher to get back in the SEC as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator for the 2023 season.
I’m not going to act like it doesn’t benefit Petrino that he’s viewed by many as one of the best play callers in all of college football. Good or bad from a soul perspective, most universities just want a coach that will win football games.
Can Bobby Petrino truly be changed, while also remaining an elite offensive mind? Well, sure he can. But that’s not up to us to determine.
In my opinion, there’s only one being who can truly determine where a person’s heart is. That is the same being that I believe created the earth we walk on, the same being that breathed The Word to life and the same being that sent His son, Jesus Christ, to give his life so that we can have a chance at eternal life despite being completely broken people.
I know I have fallen short, and I will continue to do so whether I like it or not — that’s just human nature. But the good news is that there is a Father out there who loves you so much that he is offering you a chance at salvation.
The other good news is that Bobby Petrino is back as offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks, who have scored on all 10 of their offensive possessions to begin the season.
“We had a lot of fun,” Petrino said Friday on 103.7 The Buzz. “I was very proud of our football team. I thought our players did a great job of preparing for the game, and I think that’s the thing that will carry over more than anything else, is how we went about the week of practice and our preparation. We always talk about we need to believe every time we take the field we're going to go score, and I think we did that.”
—
(Photo credit: Nick Wenger)
Bobby Petrino stood alone on the sidelines at War Memorial Stadium for a brief period of time prior to the 70-0 whopping of Arkansas-Pine Bluff by the Razorbacks on Thursday evening in Little Rock.
Petrino, who is in his first season as offensive coordinator for Arkansas, was not approached by any staff member, nor did he seem to have any interest in sparking up a conversation with anyone nearby. It was clear that the 63-year-old former head coach of the Hogs had a good bit on his mind.
I’m sure most Razorback fans could take a guess at what Petrino was thinking about. The last time he coached a game inside War Memorial Stadium was a 44-17 win over Mississippi State in 2011. Months later, Petrino was fired by Arkansas for his infamous motorcycle accident in April 2012.
He landed on his feet in Dec. 2012, when he took the head coach job at Western Kentucky. Since then, Petrino also returned to coach Louisville for a second time, he led Missouri State at the FCS level for three seasons and then he spent last year at Texas A&M under former Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher.
I could relate with Petrino as I watched him take in the pregame atmosphere on a warm Thursday evening in central Arkansas. Whether or not he was thinking about the journey from being the Razorbacks’ head coach in 2011 until now, anyone who laid eyes on him in that moment couldn’t help but think of it.
We all reach a point in life — likely many points — where we feel hopeless. It feels like there is no moving forward. How will I ever recover from this?
I bet you Bobby Petrino felt that way 12 years ago.
Arkansas fans were angry, hurt, betrayed, upset and whatever other word you want to use to describe it — and they deserved to feel that way. Petrino said in November when he was hired that he was never angry at Arkansas, though.
“There never was any anger at all,” Petrino said Nov. 30. “I was always a Hogs fan, man. People would ask me, ‘Are you going to watch the game? Are you going to watch them play?’ I watched as many games as I could. I cheered for them, I rooted for them. I loved the players.”
This is not in any way an article intended to portray Petrino as someone who did nothing wrong. We’ve all done bad things, for goodness sakes, myself included. But, nobody is perfect.
A verse that has stuck with me recently is Hebrews 13:6: “So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do unto me.’”
As I battled through my own trials Thursday leading up to the game, I couldn’t help but think about how Petrino felt to be back on the sideline at War Memorial Stadium on Thursday, as he had to overcome obstacles since the incident in 2012. According to him, it was a dream to get back there.
“I thought about it and dreamed about it,” Petrino said of taking the Arkansas job. “I didn’t know if it would ever happen. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back here. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I truly do love Arkansas — the university and the state, and the people. I think it’s the most special place I’ve ever been.”
Just 13 years ago, he was on the same field in the midst of his second-straight double-digit win season as Arkansas’ head coach, but was he in a good spot mentally? There’s no way for me to truly answer that question — only Bobby Petrino can.
I know I’ve had times in my life when it seemed like everything was going right, but I was really doing the wrong thing underneath the table. It’s easy to portray who you want to be while actually living a life that’s the exact opposite.
What is abundantly clear is that Petrino had to work to get back to that sideline Thursday. Sure, it helped to have a Lamar Jackson along the way, or an opportunity from Jimbo Fisher to get back in the SEC as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator for the 2023 season.
I’m not going to act like it doesn’t benefit Petrino that he’s viewed by many as one of the best play callers in all of college football. Good or bad from a soul perspective, most universities just want a coach that will win football games.
Can Bobby Petrino truly be changed, while also remaining an elite offensive mind? Well, sure he can. But that’s not up to us to determine.
In my opinion, there’s only one being who can truly determine where a person’s heart is. That is the same being that I believe created the earth we walk on, the same being that breathed The Word to life and the same being that sent His son, Jesus Christ, to give his life so that we can have a chance at eternal life despite being completely broken people.
I know I have fallen short, and I will continue to do so whether I like it or not — that’s just human nature. But the good news is that there is a Father out there who loves you so much that he is offering you a chance at salvation.
The other good news is that Bobby Petrino is back as offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks, who have scored on all 10 of their offensive possessions to begin the season.
“We had a lot of fun,” Petrino said Friday on 103.7 The Buzz. “I was very proud of our football team. I thought our players did a great job of preparing for the game, and I think that’s the thing that will carry over more than anything else, is how we went about the week of practice and our preparation. We always talk about we need to believe every time we take the field we're going to go score, and I think we did that.”
