Just a day after North Carolina hired Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator, another member of the Petrino family has entered the ACC coaching ranks. Surprisingly, Paul Petrino, who was the offensive coordinator of South Alabama, isn’t joining his brother at Bill Belichick’s program. Instead, he is moving to a conference rival of the Tar Heels.

The news was broken by ACC Network’s Jody Demling, who revealed that Louisville is hiring South Alabama’s offensive coordinator, Paul Petrino, the brother of Bobby Petrino, for a senior role on its offensive staff, to work with the tight ends. Paul would be joining his son, Mason, who has been part of the program’s staff as a graduate assistant and quality control coach since 2024.

Paul Petrino most recently worked at the South Alabama Jaguars, where he served as wide receivers coach in 2024 before taking on the roles of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach last season. His latest move marks a return to familiar territory, as this will be Petrino’s third stint with the Louisville Cardinals.

He first coached at Louisville from 1998 to 1999 as the program’s wide receivers coach under John L. Smith. He later returned to the Cardinals four years later, serving as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach from 2003 to 2006 under his brother, Bobby Petrino. After leaving Louisville, Paul joined the Atlanta Falcons as a wide receivers coach.

Throughout his career, Paul has primarily worked as an offensive coordinator, specializing in developing quarterbacks and wide receivers. His only head coaching role was at the University of Idaho, where he served from 2013 to 2021. During his tenure, he coached Mason Petrino, who played wide receiver before becoming Idaho’s starting quarterback for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Meanwhile, Bobby Petrino is no stranger to life inside the Louisville program, having served two separate stints as the Cardinals’ head coach. During his first tenure, Louisville compiled an impressive 41-9 record, fielded one of the most explosive offenses in college football, and capped the era with an undefeated regular season and an Orange Bowl victory in 2006.

Bobby’s second stint reached its peak during Lamar Jackson’s historic Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2016, a year that returned Louisville to the national spotlight and produced some of the most memorable wins in program history. However, the momentum faded after Jackson’s departure, and the program declined sharply, finishing 2-8 in 2018, which led to Bobby’s dismissal before the season concluded.

Bill Belichick brings Bobby Petrino in hopes of a revamped offense next season

The North Carolina Tar Heels fielded one of the worst offenses in college football last season, making a change inevitable. The Tar Heels ranked 111th nationally in passing yards at 183.5 yards per game, 122nd in rushing at 105.3 yards per game, and 121st in scoring, averaging just 19.3 points per contest. Those struggles made offensive improvement a top priority for head coach Bill Belichick.

Belichick identified Bobby Petrino as the solution, bringing him in to lead as the offensive coordinator. He joins the Tar Heels after spending the past two seasons at the Arkansas Razorbacks, where he served as offensive coordinator and later as interim head coach for the final seven games of the season following the dismissal of Sam Pittman.

“We are fortunate to add an elite coaching talent in Bobby to our staff,” Belichick said. “He brings an extensive background and a proven record of success on offense at every level of football. Bobby has consistently built great offenses everywhere he has been, and we look forward to having him work with our program.”

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Petrino replaces Freddie Kitchens, who was dismissed after North Carolina’s offense struggled throughout Belichick’s debut season. The Tar Heels finished 4-8, and the offensive inefficiency ultimately prompted a major reset ahead of the next campaign.