The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - Bob Petrino has wanted to be a head coach since he was a boy. Now, he has his dream job at the place where he always wanted to get it - Louisville.

The Auburn offensive coordinator was named the head coach of the Cardinals on Monday, replacing his old boss, John L. Smith, who moved on to Michigan State.

"It's a great fit for me," Petrino said at a news conference. "There were a number of openings this year and a number of phone calls that came in. This is the only one I wanted."

Petrino, 41, worked as Smith's offensive coordinator at Louisville in 1998, before leaving for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

He never lost his fondness for the city of Louisville or the program.

"Deep down in my heart, I did not want to go," he said of leaving for Jacksonville in 1999. "I'm very glad I did that. It made me a better coach. It worked out great that I'm able to come back here now."

Petrino signed a five-year contract with a base salary of $450,000, plus up to $250,000 a year in incentives.

When Petrino worked as Smith's offensive coordinator, the Cardinals went 7-5 and led the nation in total offense (560 yards a game) and scoring offense (40 points).

This season, Auburn ranked third in the SEC in total offense (397 yards) and scoring offense (31 points).

Auburn (8-4) plays Penn State (9-3) in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1. Petrino will rejoin the Tigers this week, then begin his move to Louisville in early January.

"It was a great opportunity to go to Auburn, and this is a better opportunity now," he said.

At his news conference, Petrino recalled when he was 10 years old and would follow his father, then the coach at Carroll College (Mont.), on the sidelines.

"We didn't have headphones back then, so I would just watch him call the play and I would write down the play and write down the result," he said. "I knew at that time that was the profession for me.

"You've got to work hard at it, but when you know it's the right thing, it's the right time."

Louisville was 7-6 this season, including a 38-15 loss to Marshall in the GMAC Bowl on Dec. 18.

Petrino also directed Smith's offenses at Idaho from 1989-91, and at Utah State from 1995-97. Idaho led Division I-AA in total offense in 1989.

"I think we have the finest offensive mind in the country, bar none," Louisville athletics director Tom Jurich said. "I could not be more ecstatic."

Before Smith took over following the 1997 season, Louisville had been to just five bowl games in its history. But he guided the Cardinals to five straight winning seasons and five straight postseason appearances, both unprecedented for the school.

Last year the Cardinals won their second straight Conference USA title and finished 11-2, including a victory over BYU in the Liberty Bowl.

Louisville went 41-21 under Smith, one of only three coaches since 1946 to leave the school with a winning record.

"These past five days have been very hectic. When you have a situation like this, it leads to a great opportunity," Jurich said.

Petrino was in Louisville, recruiting Kentucky's Mr. Football, Michael Bush, for Auburn, when he heard that Smith might be leaving.

The next day, when the rumor was confirmed, Petrino met with Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville.

"When I went in and talked to Tommy, he said, 'If you get an opportunity to take that job, you've got to take it. I can't talk you out of that one,"' Petrino said.

The Louisville program bears little resemblance to the one Petrino and Smith encountered in 1997. The Cardinals had just finished a 1-10 season and were playing their final season in deteriorating Cardinal Stadium.

Louisville christened the $63 million Papa John's Cardinal Stadium the following year.

"The job they've done here makes it much easier to recruit," Petrino said. "Any time we can get a guy on campus, we've got a chance to get him. There's a strong tradition here for quarterbacks and we're going to build on that and try to get the best quarterback in the country.

"We couldn't have done that five years ago, but I feel strongly that we can do that now."

Louisville tight ends coach Greg Nord, who worked with Petrino in 1998, was glad Jurich moved so quickly to replace Smith.

"It helps immensely. You move any slower, it compounds itself this time of year," he said. "Realistically, you've got four more recruiting weekends. We have to have time to get ourselves organized, I'm sure Bobby's got to get his staff together, and then we have to make sure we're on the same strategy."