Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Arkansas has begun the search for Jessica Dorrell’s replacement within the football program.

A job posting for an “on campus recruiting coordinator” is the same position held briefly by Dorrell, who resigned her post after an affair with former coach Bobby Petrino was revealed. Following Dorrell’s resignation as student athlete development coordinator the UA said current football staff members would handle her duties in-house for an unspecified period of time.

While the position is the same one held by Dorrell, the job title and qualifications outlined in an advertisement for the position have been tweaked.

Changes in the job posting include more specific language about the need for prior NFL or Division I football experience, plus a desire the employee have a “working knowledge of recruiting software.”

Duties have also been adjusted for the position. There are three fewer listed. No longer listed as parts of the job: working as a football liaison with academics and oversight of the football camp website.

A new contact person in human resources is also listed. Previously Carrie DeBriyn handled the applications.

Questions about the changes have been submitted to the UA athletic department.

Arkansas is advertising the job as open through June 25 or "until position filled."

Prior to Dorrell's hiring, Athletic Director Jeff Long asked that in-house requirements be waived in order to fill the job before the 30 day window closed. Petrino asked for the job to be filled quickly because of recruiting needs.

Dorrell, who held the post less than a month, resigned April 17. She received a $13,933.75 settlement — payable within two weeks — from the UA and agreed not to attempt to sell or profit from "her affiliation with Razorback athletics."

Petrino hired Dorrell at $55,000 annually over 158 other applicants. Only three were interviewed for the position before Dorrell, a former UA volleyball player was hired from the Razorback Foundation.

According to an Arkansas Business report on April 23, documents provided by the university revealed 23 candidates applied for the job with experience greater than the four years credited to Dorrell. Nine of those candidates had experience that ranged from 10 to 21 years.

A committee handled the three interviews for the job. Candidates included Dorrell; Tiffany Fields, who worked as an assistant to the man Dorrell replaced and former LSU player Ben Wilkerson.

Dorrell and Petrino began a relationship last fall, which neither disclosed during the interview process for her job. Dorrell and Petrino exchanged more than 4,300 text and multimedia messages and 300 phone calls between mid-September and April.

Petrino, who also gave Dorrell $20,000 in gifts, was fired with cause, forfeiting his $18 million buyout. He had a contract that ran through 2017 and was to pay an average of $3.65 million annually.