What happened to Bobby Petrino? Accident explained as injuries image goes viral

Bobby Petrino, the former head coach of Arkansas football, is back in the news after an old photo of him in a neck brace following a motorcycle accident in 2012 surfaced on social media and went viral.

The revival of interest comes during his return to the Razorbacks program, taking the interim head coaching role, essentially completing the whole cycle of one of college football's most controversial coaching lives.

Petrino, who led Arkansas from 2008 to 2011, was viewed as one of college football's brightest minds. While there, he had a record of 34-17, and the Razorbacks finished 11-2 in 2011, including winning the Cotton Bowl, he had one of the best two-year stretches in program history.

That success all came crashing down in April 2012 when a motorcycle accident made public a scandal that led to his firing. On April 1, 2012, Petrino was in a motorcycle accident approximately 20 miles southeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Early reports indicated that he lost control of the motorcycle because of the sun and wind.

University officials indicated that he was the only individual involved in the accident. Petrino sustained multiple injuries, including four broken ribs and a broken vertebra, in addition to facial abrasions.

A few days later, at a press conference, he appeared before the media again in a neck brace and bandages, an image that has become famous and has resurfaced on social media channels.

More controversy linked to Bobby Petrino's crash

A controversy started when a report from the state police contradicted prior information that Petrino was traveling alone. Evidence pointed to the presence of Jessica Dorrell, a former member of the Arkansas volleyball team who had just been hired in the football program as player development coordinator.

Subsequent investigation would paint a different picture when it was discovered that they had a relationship that crossed professional lines, and that Petrino had once given her a $20,000 gift.

Athletic director Jeff Long placed Petrino on administrative leave until an internal review was held. After the review was completed, Long concluded that Petrino had been "misleading and manipulative" in regards to covering up the nature of his relationship with Dorrell and misleading university officials.

On April 10, 2012, nine days after the accident, Petrino was terminated thus nullifying his $18M buyout. Petrino subsequently issued a public apology in which he took full accountability for his conduct and regretted the harm done to both his family and school.

Bobby Petrino sat out the rest of 2012 without coaching, before joining Western Kentucky later that year. He ended up at Louisville, where he once coached, continuing a complex but robust career in college football.