For the first time in 19 years Paul Petrino will call Moscow home, and the opportunity to do it as a head coach is one he said he’s worked a lifetime for. Petrino had worked as an assistant in the college ranks for two decades, so when Idaho came calling with a head coaching offer Petrino said he’d finally found the right fit.
Idaho’s new coach met with the media, boosters and fans Monday afternoon inside the Litehouse Center at the Kibbie Dome in what was an opportunity for him to lay out his blueprint for Idaho football and to give a glimpse of his personality.
Petrino’s contract will go before the State Board of Education on Tuesday. It would pay him $390,000 annually for 3-years, with incentives to have it surpass as much as half-a-million. There is a 2-year extension that will be triggered if Idaho meets certain attendance goals in 2013 and 2014.
The full video of the press conference can be seen below. Here’s some of the pertinent comments.
– Petrino said he hasn’t made a decision on whether or not any from Akey’s staff will be retained and said he has had discussions with some outside coaches about positions here. He declined to comment on any discussions he’s had with interim coach Jason Gesser or former coach Robb Akey.
– He met with the football team for the first time Monday after the press conference. He said he’d spend the evening looking at game tape from the 2012 in the evening.
– He iterated Idaho’s commitment to the FBS, rattling off the conference movement of the past couple of weeks with the basic point that opportunities could present themselves for Idaho to join a conference.
– He mentioned how important it is for Idaho to recruit the Pacific Northwest, bringing up past Idaho teams which thrived off of talent from the Seattle/Tacoma area. Petrino hasn’t coached in the northwest since last being at Idaho in 1992, though it’s likely he will have northwest-centric coaches on his staff.
– In a touching moment he offered thanks to Robb Akey for what Akey and his assistants did for the program. “Any way I could ever help you, I would love to do that,” he said.
– He was adamant about wanting to start back up the high school coaching camp. He said when recruiting ends that would be one of his first priorities.
– When asked about a Twitter or social media policy after the press conference Petrino said that is something he will look in to. He said John L. Smith didn’t necessarily have one other than asking player to use common sense at Arkansas.