FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Northwest Arkansas has seen plenty of change in the 11 years since Bobby Petrino left inside a neck brace filled with shame.

Petrino has to learn new streets, get comfortable inside an Arkansas football facility he helped build but never worked in and search for lost golf balls he left behind at local courses.

But the transformations haven't dulled his love for the area. Fired with cause at the peak of his coaching career in 2012, he never held ill-will for the University of Arkansas. Petrino's heart remained in Fayetteville.

"There never was any anger at all. I was always a Hogs fan, man. People would ask me, ‘Are you going to watch the game? Are you going to watch them play?’ I watched as many games as I could. I cheered for them, I rooted for them," Petrino said while choking up, on the verge of tears.

"I loved the players."

In stunning circumstances, Petrino is back. He met with the media for the first time Thursday since being hired as the Razorbacks' new offensive coordinator.

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Petrino, 62, spoke about his gratitude for Pittman providing this opportunity, what he likes from the quarterbacks on the roster and some of his core principles as an offensive play-caller.

But tears at a college football press conference will always take center stage. There's plenty of time for Petrino to learn about Arkansas Edge — the Razorbacks' new NIL collective — or his plans to turn around a struggling offense. This first week has been all about the emotion of a homecoming.

"I thought about it and dreamed about it. I didn’t know if it would ever happen," Petrino said. "So certainly, I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back here. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I truly do love Arkansas — the university and the state, and the people. I think it’s the most special place I’ve ever been."

The love is mutual. Fans chanted Petrino's name on multiple occasions during Wednesday night's home basketball game against Duke, and social media is ablaze with praise for both Pittman and athletic director Hunter Yurachek.

Petrino specifically credited Pittman's humility in making this decision. Other college coaches might not bring back a beloved figure as an assistant, especially with Pittman entering 2024 needing a bounce-back season.

Pittman said that Petrino's agent put this reunion in motion. Pittman received a text that there would be interest, and that prompted the Arkansas head coach to call Petrino. It was a pretty easy decision from there.

"I interviewed several guys. Five guys for the job," Pittman said. "(Petrino) was very excited about coming back to Arkansas. And then once I knew his interest back in us, it was really a no-brainer at that point and time."

Petrino went 34-17 as the Arkansas head coach from 2008-11. He was fired fired with cause on April 10, 2012, as then-Athletics Director Jeff Long told reporters Petrino had "engaged in a pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior" before and after the motorcycle crash.

Since then, Petrino has experienced success and failures. He helped Lamar Jackson win a Heisman Trophy before being pushed out the door with a 2-8 record in his final season. Petrino nearly guided Missouri State to an upset over Arkansas, and this year, he guided a Texas A&M offense that ranked 54th in total offense and 26th in scoring (34.2 ppg).

Petrino never reached the same heights he experienced in Fayetteville. Nostalgia is running rampant because, in many ways, Petrino needs Arkansas as much as the Razorbacks need his offensive mind. Time will tell how this decision plays out.

But for now, the Arkansas football program and Petrino are watching dreams come to life, ready to finally put to rest the nightmare of a man in a red hoodie and a neck brace.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Bobby Petrino is back with Arkansas football, but his heart never left Fayetteville