After he was fired by the Arkansas Razorbacks last April following the controversy surrounding him dating an employee in the athletic department, Bobby Petrino is back in the college football world–just don’t expect him to be competing for a National Championship anytime soon.

Petrino agreed to a four-year deal to coach the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Monday after going 7-5 in 2012 to finish in fifth place in the Sun Belt Conference. While this is a great move for Western Kentucky’s program, this is the perfect example of how Petrino’s head coaching career is on the downfall since the incident last April.

Before Petrino was fired in April, there were high expectations for the Razorbacks heading into the 2012 season as they were a top-10 team that seemed capable of competing to play in the National Championship. Instead, Arkansas was one of the biggest disappointments of the 2012 season as they finished 2-6 in the conference and 4-8 overall–which is absolutely embarrassing for a team that many saw as a strong contender at the beginning of the year.

With a 75-26 career record, there’s no question Petrino is one of the best head coaches in college football and any program would be lucky to have him on the sidelines for the 2012 season. Unfortunately, Petrino’s options are limited due to his past and while he may find his name in a bigger program down the road–he really doesn’t have much of a choice but to work his way back to the top by coaching Western Kentucky.

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