Bobby Petrino back in business. AD who hired him worked for U of L and Kentucky.

Bobby Petrino is back in the football coaching business, and a former University of Kentucky and University of Louisville administrator made it happen.

Missouri State University announced Wednesday that it had hired Petrino as its new head football coach one year after Petrino was fired by U of L amid a season that ended 2-10.

Petrino will be introduced as head coach of the Bears during a news conference on Thursday at the school.

Petrino replaces Dave Steckel, who parted ways with Missouri State after the Bears finished 1-10 overall in 2019 and tied for last place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Petrino, 58, joins a league dominated in 2019 by North Dakota State, which won the Football Championship Subdivision national title last weekend.

Kyle Moats, who has been athletics director at Missouri State since 2009, led the coaching search that landed Petrino. Moats served as associate director of athletics for national marketing at Louisville from 2005-09 and is familiar with the work of Petrino whose first stint at Louisville lasted from 2003-06.

Prior to his time at U of L, Moats worked for 14 years in the athletic department of Louisville’s chief rival, the University of Kentucky.

Petrino rose to stardom during four successful seasons at Louisville and parlayed that effort into an NFL head coaching position with the Atlanta Falcons. He resigned after going 3-10 in 13 games and returned to the college ranks as head coach at Arkansas.

Petrino quickly turned the Razorbacks into winners but his tenure there ended in scandal by 2011.

Petrino was fired after he was injured in a motorcycle accident that exposed his extramarital affair with an athletics department employee.

Petrino returned to coaching at Western Kentucky in 2013, leading the Hilltoppers to an 8-4 record in his one season there before Louisville brought him back for a second term as head coach the following season.

Petrino, known throughout his career for his high-powered offenses, led the Cardinals to four consecutive winning seasons but never reached the level of success of his initial U of L tenure despite the presence of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Things unraveled in 2018 when the Cardinals started 2-8 and suffered several embarrassing defeats, forcing Petrino’s departure before the season even came to a close.

Petrino is 119-56 overall as a college head coach and has led his teams to five bowl-game victories in 11 appearances.

Petrino returned to Arkansas for a fundraiser this past summer and apologized for his actions during his time as Razorbacks head coach. At the time, he said he wanted to return to coaching.

Herald-Leader staff writer Josh Moore contributed to this article.

This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 9:32 AM.