Saluki Football welcomes new coordinators Jason Petrino and Blake Rolan

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University football head coach Nick Hill announced two key additions to his coaching staff on Monday — defensive coordinator Jason Petrino and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Blake Rolan.

Petrino is a cousin to former Louisville coach Bobby Petrino and Idaho coach Paul Petrino and has 18 years of experience as a collegiate coach. He has spent the last three years as head coach of NAIA Rocky Mountain College in Montana, where he led the program to a conference championship and playoff berth in 2018. Known throughout his coaching career as a defensive tactician, Petrino took on the added responsibility of offensive coordinator last season, and the Battlin' Bears led the Frontier Conference in several categories, including points per game (35.0), total offense and passing yards.

Prior to Rocky Mountain, Petrino coached four seasons in the Missouri Valley Football Conference at South Dakota (2011-14) as the team's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. In his final season at USD, the Coyotes had the fourth-ranked defense in the conference. One of South Dakota's wins that season came against then five-time national champion North Dakota State in Fargo, 24-21.

Petrino played collegiately at Carroll College (Mont.) from 1996-99 and was a team captain and second-team All-Frontier Conference defensive back for the Fighting Saints. His coaching career began in 2000 at his alma mater, where he mentored the defensive backs on the 2002 NAIA National Championship team.

After three seasons at Carroll College, Petrino made the first of two coaching stints at Wyoming, spending two seasons (2003-04) as a graduate assistant for the Cowboys, before later returning as director of operations (2008-09). Petrino was part of the defensive staff that helped the Cowboys secure bowl victories in the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl versus UCLA and the 2009 New Mexico Bowl versus Fresno State.

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In between stops at Wyoming, Petrino served as defensive coordinator for three seasons at Division II University of Mary (2005-07) in North Dakota. In 2007, his defense ranked No. 1 in the conference in total defense, pass defense and red-zone defense.

Rolan was the offensive coordinator at Division II Dixie State in 2018 and also has 10 years of experience on Division I FBS staffs. Last year, in his only season at Dixie State, Rolan's offense averaged 458.5 total yards and 31 points per game.

Prior to Dixie State, Rolan worked the 2017 season as an offensive analyst on Mark Stoops' staff at Kentucky, where he helped lead the Wildcats to a 7-6 record and a bid to the Music City Bowl. Before his stint at UK, Rolan served as wide receivers coach under Tommy Tuberville at Cincinnati from 2013-16 and helped guide the Bearcats to three bowl appearances in four seasons.

A Georgia native, Rolan was a walk-on tight at Middle Tennessee State from 2000 to 2003 and graduated from Louisville in 2005. His first coaching job was as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Kentucky Country Day High School. His first college coaching position was a graduate assistant spot on the staff at Auburn.

After a one-year stint as running backs coach at West Georgia in 2009, Rolan worked in quality control at the University of Tennessee for then-offensive coordinator and current Georgia OC Jim Chaney from 2010-12.

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