Vandals' Paul Petrino named Sun Belt football coach of the year; Staben on FBS vs. FCS
Paul Petrino, who led the Vandals to an eight-win regular season and a bowl berth, was voted the Sun Belt coach of the year on Wednesday, while junior defensive tackle Aikeem Coleman and senior kicker/punter Austin Rehkow were also honored.
Aikeem Coleman is the newcomer of the year, and Rehkow is a first-team punter and second-team kicker.
Joining them on the second-team are Coleman, junior quarterback Matt Linehan, senior center Steven Matlock (Capital High) and senior defensive lineman Tueni Lupeamanu.
Earning honorable mention recognition are senior tight end Buck Cowan, junior offensive lineman Jordan Rose, and sophomore linebackers Kaden Elliss and Tony Lashley. True freshman offensive lineman Noah Johnson made the all-newcomer team.
Petrino’s transformation started in December 2012 when he was hired to take over a team that was 3-21 in its previous two seasons. He won a combined six games in his first three seasons and started this season 1-2.
Idaho finished 8-4 (6-2 in the Sun Belt) and on Sunday accepted an invitation to play Colorado State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 22 in Boise.
REPORTS: WESTERN KENTUCKY LOOKING AT PETRINO
REPORTS: WESTERN KENTUCKY LOOKING AT PETRINO
Petrino is being considered for the head coaching vacancy at Western Kentucky, according to CBS Sports and 247Sports.com.
The Conference USA program lost Jeff Brohm to Purdue this week.
The position at Western Kentucky might be attractive to Petrino, whose Vandals will play as an FBS member in 2017 before dropping down to the FCS Big Sky.
Unlike at Idaho, Petrino wouldn’t be asked to rebuild the program in Bowling Green, Ky., which comes off a 10-3 regular season and a victory over Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA championship game.
He would be the second Petrino to coach at WKU. Older brother Bobby led the Hilltoppers to an 8-4 regular season in his lone season, in 2013, before he was hired at Louisville.
The Hilltoppers will play Memphis in the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 20 under interim coach Nick Holt, Idaho’s head coach from 2004-05.
POSTSEASON REACTION: PETRINO AND STABEN
Petrino acknowledged it is sweet vindication to reach the postseason.
“It was a great feeling,” he said. “That’s one reason I’m so proud of our players. They’ve been kicked out of a conference and told they were going to change divisions. They never worried about that. They worried about playing one game at a time.”
The southeastern-based Sun Belt voted earlier this year to continue without Idaho and New Mexico State after the 2017 season.
Idaho President Chuck Staben said there is no chance the decision will be revisited now that Idaho has qualified for a bowl game.
“In the long term, this well-deserved bowl invitation does not change factors that informed our decision to join the Big Sky after the 2017-2018 season, versus pursuing an unsustainable future as an FBS independent team,” Staben said. “Right now, we’re focused on celebrating the accomplishments of our student-athletes.’’
The Lewiston Tribune contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 12:11 AM with the headline "Vandals' Paul Petrino named Sun Belt football coach of the year; Staben on FBS vs. FCS."