Football
- Title:
- Senior Offensive Assistant/Tight Ends
A veteran coach and former Louisville assistant, Paul Petrino returns to the Cardinals as Senior Offensive Assistant, overseeing the tight ends.
This marks Petrino’s third stint at Louisville. He previously coached wide receivers from 1998–99 before returning as offensive coordinator and receivers coach from 2003–06, a period that produced some of the most explosive offenses in program history. Under Petrino’s direction, the Cardinals led the nation in both total offense (539.8 yards per game) and scoring offense (49.8 points per game) in 2004, while the 2006 offense ranked second nationally at 475.5 yards per game.
Petrino brings more than 35 years of coaching experience back to Louisville after spending the past two seasons at South Alabama. He served as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator during the 2025 campaign after coaching wide receivers in 2024, continuing a career defined by offensive productivity and player development.
His extensive résumé includes nine seasons as head coach at the University of Idaho (2013–21), where he guided the program through a major transition and earned Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2016 following a nine-win season and a Famous Idaho Potato Bowl victory. Petrino has also held offensive coordinator positions at Arkansas (two stints), Illinois, Central Michigan, and Louisville.
In addition to his collegiate experience, Petrino spent the 2007 season in the NFL as the Atlanta Falcons’ wide receivers coach. He has coached quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends throughout his career, providing a broad offensive perspective that will benefit Louisville’s tight end room.
A native of Butte, Montana, Petrino began his coaching career at Carroll College, his alma mater, where he was a four-year quarterback and is a member of the school’s athletic hall of fame.
