December 11, 2007

OK, this guy got dealt a tough hand that wasn't his fault, but what a chicken-shit move to not even finish out the season. Arkansas fans better hope that nothing off-putting occurs, otherwise 'ole Foghorn Leghorn is liable to fly the coop. At least that is the impression I get. You teach them kids all about facing adversity, coach. When danger reared it's ugly head he bravely turned his tail and fled.

posted by THX-1138 at 06:13 PM on December 11, 2007

When danger reared it's ugly head He bravely turned his tail and fled.

Very nice, Mr. Binary Man.

posted by NoMich at 06:43 PM on December 11, 2007

Can you blame him?

Yes. College coaches really are setting new lows for loyalty to their team and commitment to their word. Nick Saban quits on the Dolphins and may quit on Bama, Billy Donovan quits on the Magic after one day in the job, and now Petrino quits on the Falcons during the season with one presidential term left on his deal!

How can any recruit at Arkansas expect him to stay after they commit to the school? I wish college coaches had to sit out a year, just like student athletes, when they changed schools.

If the only reason Petrino took the job was because of Vick, that's kind of foolish. NFL teams lose quarterbacks all the time to season-ending injuries.

That doesn't mean the situation is hopeless. Look at Tom Brady and Drew Bledsoe. Or Tony Romo and Drew Bledsoe.

posted by rcade at 07:23 PM on December 11, 2007

I think that nobody will ever know how good Petrino is or was, until he ever returns to the NFL. I the Falcons should go for young, cheap talent (such as rehiring Jim Mora's son, Steve Sarkisian, like the Raidas hiring Lane). The second thing they need to do is acquire a QB through the draft. They should go for Colt, but there are many bad teams waiting, like the Rams, among others, so JD Booty is another good option for them. Two mistakes the Falcons can make: hiring an egghead like Martz, and not drafting a QB.

posted by SFValley_Dude at 07:30 PM on December 11, 2007

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Paging Bill Cowher, Coach Cowher to the white courtesy phone....

posted by BitterOldPunk at 07:55 PM on December 11, 2007

rcade: "I wish college coaches had to sit out a year, just like student athletes, when they changed schools."

terrapin: "I wish coaches had to sit out a season like the players do when they transfer schools."

hear, hear, rcade. hear, hear :)

On preview: I agree with tieguy about the timing of the move, but by turning it around. ... The Falcons are lucky he left now because it will give them time to interview coachesnot currently employed in the NFLand evaluate those coaches who may become available after respective playoffs games.

posted by scully at 08:42 PM on December 11, 2007

To put it another way: if he stays, he doesn't help the Falcons at all, and he hurts Arkansas and himself. I don't see why that makes him chickenshit

Because he...ahem...OWES THE FALCONS TWO MORE GAMES AND FOUR MORE YEARS ON HIS CONTRACT.

He just told Blank yesterday afternoon that he would be back for 2008.

He dumped on his team and left an entire organization in the lurch because he couldn't take the tough stuff.

That can be reasonably defined by a great many people who are in posession of backbones as "chickenshit".

And I beg to differ.

If he stays, he at least does the Falcons the service of consistency throughout the remainder of the season.

How on God's green Earth can you see this as anything other than a wimpy, scared, can't take the heat, boo-hoo poor me, move?

Again, good luck Hogs.

A real pillar you got there.

posted by THX-1138 at 08:58 PM on December 11, 2007

I guess that Coach Fox from Carolina is now the leading candidate for the U of Mucilage (oops, make that Michigan) job.

Of course, Fox has taken the Panthers to the playoffs, NFC Championship and even the Sooper Bowl, so he's probably not as qualified as Petrino to be a college coach.

Oh, I know!

Let Michigan hire Ted Roof (formerly of Dook University).

Not having won ten games in his entire tenure there makes him a natural.

posted by efarthing1 at 09:53 PM on December 11, 2007

The big scuttlebutt here in Atlanta before Vick was caught was that Petrino was going to make Vick actually compete for the job since he didn't really fit into Petrino's preferred offensive scheme (even less neatly than he had with Mora). So I think it's disingenuous to think that Vick was the main factor brining Petrino to the Falcons. Instead, it was the running game of Norwood and Dunne and the ticket to the NFL (and the money entailed) and a team that seemed to have a lot of upside (outside of Vick even). Not many Falcons fans that I know, and I know quite a few, were especially excited about his hiring actually. (There was no consensus on a better candidate however.)

Then they traded Schaub, and Vick got indicted, and Petrino got caught out of his depth. Sure, he had lousy quarterbacks, who actually looked decent from time to time. Norwood got hurt. And the defense has been lousy. He's not had many friends in the Atlanta media for quite some time (maybe week three), and believe me, that's a group thats easily jumps on a bandwagon (see Vick again).

I can't imagine who would take this job now, but I hope against hope, for the sake of the sports scene in this city, that someone respectable can be persuaded.

posted by trox at 10:39 PM on December 11, 2007

I can see where you're coming from, tieguy. I still think it's a chickenshit move.

posted by THX-1138 at 10:53 PM on December 11, 2007

I guess no one watched the game last night - the announcers were going on and on about what Petrino would have to do and how he was up to the task. Then Blank came on and talked about how they were going to work together to put things back together next season and wasn't it great that at least they had the coach to make it work. Then the announcers drafted a QB for him, going on and on about the long-term relationship between the kid and Petrino over several generations.

Pretty funny in light of this news!

posted by mikelbyl at 11:41 PM on December 11, 2007

ESPN's Pat Forde put Petrino on blast this morning, dubbing him "the disingenuous drifter." One particularly interesting passage regards a secret 2003 meeting between Petrino and Auburn officials - after working as offensive coordinator for Tommy Tuberville and using that job as a springboard to the head coaching gig at Louisville, Petrino turned around and started back-door negotiations for Tuberville's job.

When confronted by Forde at the time, Petrino lied about the meeting - until documentation of the Auburn brass' private plane flight was produced. Then he claimed it was just the mistake of a "young coach."

Petrino then went on to flirt with Notre Dame, Florida, Ole Miss, LSU, the Raiders, signed a big contract extension with Louisville, and immediately bailed for the Falcons.

Forde's conclusion does a pretty good job of summarizing Petrino's strengths and weaknesses as a head coach:

"Even in what appears to be a major rebuilding year for the Hogs in 2008, I predict Petrino will do better than expected. He's that good as a coach -- for my money, the best offensive game-planner and tactician since Steve Spurrier's heyday at Florida. That will be a welcome dynamic at a school that struggled to diversify its offense beyond Darren McFadden and Felix Jones the past two years. But a little success can be a dangerous thing. It might tempt some deluded and desperate school to offer Bobby Petrino a job -- and that's a temptation the disingenuous drifter is powerless to resist."

posted by Venicemenace at 06:51 AM on December 12, 2007

Correction: This has happened before. Lou Holtz left the New York Jets in 1976 when they were 3-10 to become the coach at Arkansas. Weird coincidence.

posted by rcade at 07:04 AM on December 12, 2007

Admittedly, this is fairly quick for a coach to bail on a coaching position, but there is a lot of evidence of football coaches only being able to coach at the college or pro level and not crossover, so it is not a huge surprise that it may not have worked out for Petrino.

Second, as someone mentioned before, with recruiting at college, it is important for schools to name coaches now rather than wait so they don't lose out on recruits. Lastly, in coaching searches, it is generally better to start the search as early as possible, so if Petrino was thinking about leaving, he may have done the Falcons a favor by leaving now rather than waiting 2 more weeks.

posted by bender at 10:25 AM on December 12, 2007

Candy-ass move on Petrino's part.So he lost a key player in Vick.You stick around and try to get your team back to where they once were.Of course the team went through some turmoil losing Vick,but you've got to look ahead,hope that your draft picks can help with the veterans and the team you now have,and hope that next year things turn around.Bailing out on the team at this point doesn't help matters.Don't know anything about him as a coach,but maybe he is doing the Falcons a favor.Big difference coaching at the Pro level as opposed to the college ranks.13 games into a season has got to be a record as far as quitting.

posted by Ghastly1 at 12:41 PM on December 12, 2007

Shame on Bobby Petrino!!

Hey, I understand all the trials & tribulations that went on in the Falcons organization this year but com'on man, the least he could've done was finish out the season. During this year, he would tell the Falcons players to continue playing all four periods so what about coaching all 16 games? He didn't even have the balls to tell the players that he was leaving, he just left a note in their lockers.

Now, Petrino will go into the Arkansas job talking to these kids about loyalty & respect when he just showed neither to the fans, players and the higher ups within the Falcons organization. If I had children or college-aged children that played football, this would not be the man I would want my kids playing for since it seems as if the moment adversity comes within his range, he'll pull a Snaggletooth and exit, stage left.

I totally agree with the way rcade & terrapin put it, "I wish college coaches had to sit out a year, just like student athletes, when they changed schools."

Understatement of the year.

posted by BornIcon at 02:23 PM on December 12, 2007

I don't really see it working out that well for any recent college-coaching big shots. Spurrier, Saban, Petrino.

I don't care what kind of spin Petrino tried to put on this situation, he looked like a beaten, humiliated, embarrassed failure that didn't have any idea what chant those Arkansas players were doing around him at the press conference.

My point is they may start weighing out their desire to succeed at the NFL level versus the desire to not look like a pathetic failure at the NFL level (in a very short time, I might add).

posted by dyams at 06:40 PM on December 12, 2007

My mistake The_Black_Hand I remember in 2002, Petrino replaced Noel Mazzone as offensive coordinator under Tommy Tuberville at Auburn. True he's never been a Head Coach in the SEC . . .

posted by B-2 Spirit at 08:36 PM on December 12, 2007

One of the biggest things you look for as a recruiter is the past history of a potential employee. Petrino jumping ship is a huge red flag. You wouldn't hire him - character is important.

posted by Samsonov14 at 01:42 AM on December 14, 2007