Jason Petrino - Football Coach - Southern Illinois University Athletics

Jason Petrino

Title:
Defensive Coordinator
Email:
jason.petrino@siu.edu
Phone:
618-453-7975

Fall 2022 is Jason Petrino's 4th season as SIU's defensive coordinator. He was hired on Dec. 10, 2018.
The Salukis made tremendous strides on defense during Jason Petrino’s first year in charge of the unit in 2019. In scoring defense, Southern improved from 10th (40.7) to 6th (23.0) — nearly cutting in half the amount of points allowed from the previous season. Similar gains were made in rushing defense (221.3 to 154.0) and passing defense (262.1 to 200.6). In 2021, the Salukis ranked 2nd in the MVFC and 20th nationally in passing defense, allowing just 186.2 passing yards per game.

Petrino also coached the safeties and mentored All-American Jeremy Chinn, who went on to become a second-round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.

He is a cousin to Missouri State Head Coach Bobby Petrino and Central Michigan Offensive Coordinator Paul Petrino and has 22 years of experience as a collegiate coach. Prior to SIU, Petrino spent 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 in 2018, 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.

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.