Petrino revives career at W. Kentucky

NOW THAT Bobby Petrino is back in the coaching ranks, he wants to make the most of his second chance.

Pertino was introduced Monday as Western Kentucky's new head coach. The 51-year-old was fired by Arkansas in April for a "pattern of misleading" behavior following an accident in which the coach was injured while riding a motorcycle with his mistress as a passenger.

"At this point in my career, it's about getting back and coaching players," Petrino said. "It just happened to open up at a place we love. I hope it can be as long as possible"

Petrino had a 34-17 record at Arkansas before he was dismissed in the wake of the scandal. Petrino had an affair with former Razorback volleyball player Jessica Dorrell, who he later hired as a football assistant and gave $20,000 in gifts. Petrino said initially he was the only person on the motorcycle but later admitted to Dorrell's presence.

Now he is getting another shot at coaching in the college ranks, replacing Willie Taggart, who left WKU last week to become South Florida's coach.

Petrino, 75-26 overall as a college head coach, said he is looking forward to "building on the standards" that Taggart established.

Petrino had been looking to get back into coaching since he was let go by Arkansas. His name had been recently mentioned in connection with several openings, including Kentucky and Auburn.

Petrino returns to the state where he successfully began his head coaching career. He coached at Louisville from 2003-06, going 41-9 and leading the Cardinals to a 12-1 mark and their first-ever BCS berth in the Orange Bowl in 2006.

While at Louisville, Petrino was offered an NFL job and he left the Cardinals to become coach of the Atlanta Falcons. He had a brief 13-game stint in 2007 with Atlanta. The Falcons stumbled to a 3-10 start before Petrino left for Arkansas, announcing his departure to players in a four-sentence laminated letter attached to their lockers.

In other coaching news:

* Mike MacIntyre, who turned around the San Jose State football program, signed a 5-year contract to take over the foundering program at Colorado.

MacIntyre inherits a program that's had seven straight losing seasons, including a 1-11 record this year under Jon Embree that was the worst in the 123-year history of the program.

San Jose State (10-2) is ranked No. 25 in the BCS and is heading to the Dec. 27 Military Bowl in Washington, D.C., to face Bowling Green (8-4), 2 years after a 1-12 showing in MacIntyre's first season.

MacIntyre, 47, the son of former Vanderbilt coach George MacIntyre, is 16-21 in his 3 years as a head coach at San Jose State after serving as Duke's defensive coordinator and working as a secondary coach for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.

* UTEP hired Sean Kugler as its new coach, bringing in a former Miners' player and coach to replace the retired Mike Price.

Kugler, 46, spent almost 3 years as the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive line coach, following stints with the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions. He also worked at Boise State. He played for current UTEP athletic director Bob Stull, graduating in 1988, and later coached at the school for eight seasons.

All-Big Ten defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins announced he will give up his senior season at Ohio State to make himself available for the 2013 NFL draft.

* Injured South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore will enter the NFL draft, said people familiar with the decision. One person said Lattimore is expected to announce his decision later this week.

Lattimore suffered a horrific injury to his right knee against Tennessee on Oct. 27. Doctors say Lattimore had successful surgery to repair ligaments on Nov. 2. It is unclear when he'll be able to return to the field.