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FARGO — North Dakota State is tabbing a familiar last name to be its next defensive coordinator. Southern Illinois defensive coordinator Jason Petrino will be named to the same position with the Bison, with an announcement expected on Thursday.
He’ll take the spot vacated by David Braun, who took the defensive coordinator position at Northwestern University of the Big Ten Conference.
Petrino has been the defensive coordinator at SIU for the past four years. He is the cousin to former Missouri State and NFL head coach Bobby Petrino, who is now an assistant at Texas A&M, and Central Michigan offensive coordinator Paul Petrino.
Before SIU, Jason Petrino was the head coach at Rocky Mountain College (Mont.). He was the defensive coordinator at the University of South Dakota from 2011-14.
His coaching roots started at Carroll College (Mont.), Wyoming as a graduate assistant and director of operations and the University of Mary in Bismarck N.D., where he was the defensive coordinator from 2005-07.
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He was at Winona State for one year in 2010 as co-defensive coordinator, the year after NDSU head coach Matt Entz left Winona for an assistant position at Northern Iowa.
Petrino’s teams have fared well against the Bison. The Bison struggled to a 21-18 win at SIU this season and the Salukis ended NDSU’s FCS record 39-game winning streak in the spring of 2021 with a 38-14 win.
NDSU won 21-7 at SIU in 2019 in a game that the Bison notched two touchdowns in the second half.
