Is the University of Louisville about to give coach Bobby Petrino a do-over?
ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy reported Tuesday that Petrino interviewed with Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich on Tuesday and is one of three finalists to replace Charlie Strong, who left to become coach at Texas.
Jurich has been Louisville's athletic director since 1997, so he's well-versed with the former Petrino, the former Cardinals head coach from 2003-06. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, Petrino signed a 10-year contract with the Cardinals after the 2006 season but six month later left to coach the Atlanta Falcons.
Petrino's father, Bob Petrino Sr., told the Courier-Journal that Petrino and Jurich have patched up their relationship since that incident, saying that Jurich even had a hand in helping Petrino land his current head coaching job at Western Kentucky.
Petrino had a 41-9 record at Louisville, but he was vilified at his next two coaching stops. Petrino took over the Falcons just before Michael Vick was suspended by the NFL for his involvement in a dog-fighting ring.
Petrino left the Falcons after just 13 games, jumping back into the college ranks at Arkansas while the Falcons 2007 season was still going.
Petrino compiled a 34-17 record at Arkansas and had the team on the verge of becoming a national championship contender. He led the team to an 11-2 record in 2011 and a win in the Cotton Bowl. But in April of 2012, Petrino was involved in a motorcycle crash, in which it was discovered that he was riding with a mistress, a former Louisville volleyball player whom he hired to work in the football office and at one point paid $20,000.
Petrino, who was married with four kids, had multiple chances to "come clean" about the relationship to Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long, who then fired him.
Petrino resurfaced at Western Kentucky last season, going 8-4. His dad told the Courier-Journal, "He told me this weekend he would like the opportunity to coach at Louisville again. He said that he's been everywhere, the NFL and everywhere else, and he said probably the biggest mistake he'd ever made as a coach was leaving Louisville.
"I know Tom Jurich pretty well, and he's a good man," Bob Sr. said. "He works very hard. I just hope he can forgive my son."
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