Bobby Petrino to step down (1 Viewer)

[Clayton Gray]

Petrino on the other hand has a meeting with Blank on Monday, where he is asked straight up by Blank "I'm going to be in the booth on MNF, there are questions surrounding your desire to stay here, what should I say?" Petrino extends his hand and says "Tell them you have a coach." Then in less than 24 hours he is in Arkansas. That has no honor. That in my book is the definition of a worm.

"The story goes" that Petrino changed his mind after the game Monday. Of course you won't believe that.

The story goes that not keeping your word shows an extreme lack of integrity, which is what he's being ripped for. And if you truly believe he hadn't made up his mind, well, I don't see how anyone could possibly believe that.

Monday morning, the insiders I know thought there was a chance that Petrino would be the next coach at Arkansas. During the day, those insiders said he was out. Tuesday morning, the insiders said the next coach would be either Will Muschamp, Brent Venables, or Reggie Herring. Arkansas had moved on until Petrino changed his mind. That's a fact.

 

[Clayton Gray]

BusMan's take:....then I believe he was using the Falcons all along as a bargaining chip to cash back in to a better college coaching situation. With very few dissenters, I'm sure most would agree that Arkansas >>> Louisville. If this was Petrino's plan all along...wow.

Completely insane.

 

[Clayton Gray]

Now, he's been exposed loudly and nationally as a liar with less than questionable integrity. This WILL hurt recruiting at Arkansas.

Please. Eighteen year old kids don't care what Sean Salisbury has to say.One of the Arkansas commitments from Georgia was quoted as being more excited with Petrino as HC than he was when he committed to the Hogs months ago.

He may have to answer a few more questions than Saban...but in the end this bad pub will hardly matter.

You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football.

"I made a mistake going to the NFL. In my only stint as a college HC, I was at Louisville for four years."

 

[Clayton Gray]

Are you fine with Petrino's actions over the past week?

I'm fine with everything except how he told his coaching staff and the team. That should have been handled better.Now, here's a scenario for everyone:Consider yourself to be near the top of your current field of work.You are hired by one of the top 32 firms in your field to lead a huge project. Before you really get started on that project, one of that firm's most talented employees is forced to quit work. Then, a few weeks into that project, one of your most visible workers shows public (in front of all of your other employees) disrespect to you. You discipline him, but he is still insubordinate around the other staff. As the weeks roll on, the project isn't going so well. Other respected employees speak out against you and your methods. You are basically miserable at work.A few weeks before the project (which is basically a huge cluster now) is due, you find out that another firm would love to have you head up one of their divisions. This firm is smaller than where you work now, but you've done that exact work before and seem to prefer it. You'll have to take about a 40% pay cut, but the real catch is that you have to start now. If you wait, you will likely have to continue with your present job and undertake another project.How many of the Petrino bashers will stick with their present job? Show of hands please.

I really don't know why this is so hard to understand. I've explained it no less than five times in this thread. I don't care that he left. I'm glad he left. He had every right to leave. If he was happier at college, go to college. Great, have a nice life.He told outright bold-faced lies to his owner, his GM, his players and the fans. He brought in people who came to Atlanta and gave up jobs elsewhere, and left them high and dry without even the courtesy of an explanation.He lied. People depended on him and he let them down. Do you get it now?I swear to God, I could start a thread condemning Charles Manson, and some jackass would come in here and try to post a scenario where he wasn't such a bad guy.

Pretty sure things changed from between the time he brought in people who came to Atlanta and gave up jobs elsewhere and Tuesday.

Clayton, your M.O. in this thread of denying one of many charges in a given response isn't flattering to you.

All of the charges are pretty much the same over and over again: "Petrino is a liar/coward/scumbag."

How much changed between Monday and Tuesday (aside from what Petrino's mouth was saying)?

I'm not sure. Maybe it was the MNF game. Maybe it was being in the locker room one more time. Also, from what I've heard, his family wanted to leave. After he got home from the MNF game, I'm sure they weren't too pleased with the news that they were staying.

 

[BeaverCleaver]

Now, he's been exposed loudly and nationally as a liar with less than questionable integrity. This WILL hurt recruiting at Arkansas.

Please. Eighteen year old kids don't care what Sean Salisbury has to say.One of the Arkansas commitments from Georgia was quoted as being more excited with Petrino as HC than he was when he committed to the Hogs months ago.

He may have to answer a few more questions than Saban...but in the end this bad pub will hardly matter.

You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football.

"I made a mistake going to the NFL. In my only stint as a college HC, I was at Louisville for four years."

"You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football."

 

[redman]

Are you fine with Petrino's actions over the past week?

I'm fine with everything except how he told his coaching staff and the team. That should have been handled better.Now, here's a scenario for everyone:Consider yourself to be near the top of your current field of work.You are hired by one of the top 32 firms in your field to lead a huge project. Before you really get started on that project, one of that firm's most talented employees is forced to quit work. Then, a few weeks into that project, one of your most visible workers shows public (in front of all of your other employees) disrespect to you. You discipline him, but he is still insubordinate around the other staff. As the weeks roll on, the project isn't going so well. Other respected employees speak out against you and your methods. You are basically miserable at work.A few weeks before the project (which is basically a huge cluster now) is due, you find out that another firm would love to have you head up one of their divisions. This firm is smaller than where you work now, but you've done that exact work before and seem to prefer it. You'll have to take about a 40% pay cut, but the real catch is that you have to start now. If you wait, you will likely have to continue with your present job and undertake another project.How many of the Petrino bashers will stick with their present job? Show of hands please.

I really don't know why this is so hard to understand. I've explained it no less than five times in this thread. I don't care that he left. I'm glad he left. He had every right to leave. If he was happier at college, go to college. Great, have a nice life.He told outright bold-faced lies to his owner, his GM, his players and the fans. He brought in people who came to Atlanta and gave up jobs elsewhere, and left them high and dry without even the courtesy of an explanation.He lied. People depended on him and he let them down. Do you get it now?I swear to God, I could start a thread condemning Charles Manson, and some jackass would come in here and try to post a scenario where he wasn't such a bad guy.

Pretty sure things changed from between the time he brought in people who came to Atlanta and gave up jobs elsewhere and Tuesday.

Clayton, your M.O. in this thread of denying one of many charges in a given response isn't flattering to you.

All of the charges are pretty much the same over and over again: "Petrino is a liar/coward/scumbag."

How much changed between Monday and Tuesday (aside from what Petrino's mouth was saying)?

I'm not sure. Maybe it was the MNF game. Maybe it was being in the locker room one more time. Also, from what I've heard, his family wanted to leave. After he got home from the MNF game, I'm sure they weren't too pleased with the news that they were staying.

"I made the best choice for my family." [/cliche]

 

[Clayton Gray]

Now, he's been exposed loudly and nationally as a liar with less than questionable integrity. This WILL hurt recruiting at Arkansas.

Please. Eighteen year old kids don't care what Sean Salisbury has to say.One of the Arkansas commitments from Georgia was quoted as being more excited with Petrino as HC than he was when he committed to the Hogs months ago.

He may have to answer a few more questions than Saban...but in the end this bad pub will hardly matter.

You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football.

"I made a mistake going to the NFL. In my only stint as a college HC, I was at Louisville for four years."

"You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football."

He bailed on the Falcons. He was at Louisville for four years (which is usually longer than the amount of time blue-chip players plan to spend in college).

 

[BeaverCleaver]

Now, he's been exposed loudly and nationally as a liar with less than questionable integrity. This WILL hurt recruiting at Arkansas.

Please. Eighteen year old kids don't care what Sean Salisbury has to say.One of the Arkansas commitments from Georgia was quoted as being more excited with Petrino as HC than he was when he committed to the Hogs months ago.

He may have to answer a few more questions than Saban...but in the end this bad pub will hardly matter.

You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football.

"I made a mistake going to the NFL. In my only stint as a college HC, I was at Louisville for four years."

"You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football."

He bailed on the Falcons. He was at Louisville for four years (which is usually longer than the amount of time blue-chip players plan to spend in college).

And opposing coaches are going to state he bailed on Lousiville when they go up against Arkansas in recruiting battles.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

Clayton,

If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

 

[siffoin]

An article from January announcing that the Falcons had hired Petrino away from Louisville just a few months after he had signed a huge extension at Louisville. Again, is this KARMA for Atlanta?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nf...o-falcons_x.htm

Karma?

Maybe karma for Arthur Blank firing Dan Reeves with three games remaining in the 2003 season.Maybe karma for Arthur Blank hiring GM Rich McKay from Tampa Bay before the end of that same season.

Maybe karma for DeAngelo Hall creating the "I hate Petrino fund" when the coach fined him earlier in the season.

Maybe karma for the players that publicly support a felon like Michael Vick and act as if he's some sort of martyr.

BTW, if Petrino was going to go to Arkansas, Blank gave him no option of finishing the season since he wouldn't allow the two sides to meet.

Perhaps I'm wrong here but as I recall:1) Blank wanted to put HIS organization into place, and a new coach would be part of that. Vick had a broken leg and it was widely known that Reeves was going to be fired. Backed into a corner it was stated publicly. Reeves hurt - decided not to finish out the season. I don't think you can call it bad karma when a new team owner desires his team to be in sync with his ideals of an organization going forward.

2) I believe it was well known that Blank wanted McKay, but he was under contract to Tampa. Tampa wanted something like 3 1st rounders to let McKay go. Blank just decided to wait out the contract. It was known by all parties 18 months in advance.

3) Hall was on the inside. As this is shaking out, Patrino obviously had no clue how to coach in the NFL. Seems like Hall might have had a legit gripe.

4) Yep Vick is an idiot. And deserves prison time. It is a unique situation. Vick will have paid a heavy price for his crime. His career is over. His endorsements over. A loss of $100 million+. Killing dogs is terrible. But he got a much stiffer penalty than the crime...when you consider he'll never even have the chance to get back what he has lost. Prison is not only about punishment, but also reform, if you look at it in those terms justice wasn't served. The players were his friends and teamates. In a difficult situation on a very difficult day. They supported their friend. In my darkest hour I hope my friends would support me too. To suggest that this team deserved what it got because of universal karma is ludicrious.

The organization is at fault for hiring a snake and being surprised the snake bit them. They'll recover. Perhaps be better for it.

Pretty good summary. I don't think people think karma means what they think it means. Or whatever Andre the Giant said. However there's one thing I disagree with. Vick's sentence is absolutely warranted. Yo have to remember that the brutality to animals is the public face Vick's crimes, but it is not the government's main beef with Vick. He was sentenced for running a dog fighting ring which involves interstate transport in commission of felonies, gambling and the untaxed income involved and other issues with less public outcry. If Vick was sentenced to two years simply for animal cruelty then I would agree that all in all it would be a harsh punishment. But if there's one thing the gov't hates, it's people making money without the IRS getting their share. That's what they got Capone with and it's a big part of the dog fighting ring charges. The brutality overshadows the dtrength of the charge and Vick got less than half of the possible penalty of 5 years, so all in all he got off fairly easy.

Perhaps instead of karma, "if you play with fire you'll get burned" is a better phrase. They took on a man with very questionable integrity with regards to whatever current job he had and they got bit by it. What would be worse was if he was actually good at his job and bailed. Now Blank can get the coach he wanted last year, a name that will hopefully help fill some seats, and a man who will be able to wrangle the wills of these athletes and turn the team around.

I have one question about the Rooney Rule. Can a team hire a minority coach without interviewing other candidates? If it was down to Petrino and Singletary last year, why not just snag Mike before he makes his rounds?

I think you're confusing the words PENALTY & SENTENCE here sweeney.PENALTY is all encompassing as siffoin used it...endorsements down the tubes, various law suits leaving a multi millionaire essentially broke, damage to his reputation & his family, career in jepodary & fianlly 23 months in Federal Prison of which he'll serve at least 80%.

SENTENCE is just that...23 months in Federal Prison of which he'll serve at least 80%.

I think you're confused a little. The statement that Vick "got" a stiffer penalty than the crime implies that the punishment came from outside sources. He brought the punishment, by your definitions, on himself by committing the crimes. The only thing he "got" was a sentence. The punishment was a by product of his actions. Hopefully you can understand without me using any big bolded italicized words.

In regards to the Vick punishment..it is a conflicting delima. My point was that if I was engaged in dog fighting, I might get the same judgment. But upon my release I would be able to pick up the pieces of my life and re-build. I'd even be able to have my same job, be able to make the same salary, I'd be able to improve my lot in life after the conviction. To me justice is just that. You do something wrong, you pay the price, but afterwards you can move forward. Afterwards you can even have a better life than the one before. Vick will have no such opportunity. On a certain level it is unjust. Certainly to his friends and teammates it is unjust. And in Vicks darkest hour, they wanted him to know he was not deserted and alone. We all should have friends to put it on the line for us when our failures as a person become public.

But (I'm guessing) that you are not at the apex of your profession. If you were at that stage, you most likely would not be able to resume that same way of life after exiting prison.

Are personal attacks really necessary? Seems to me that Martha Stewart was at the apex of her profession and after her time served had very little problem resuming it. Vick will have no such opportunity. THAT IS MY POINT.

 

[Clayton Gray]

Now, he's been exposed loudly and nationally as a liar with less than questionable integrity. This WILL hurt recruiting at Arkansas.

Please. Eighteen year old kids don't care what Sean Salisbury has to say.One of the Arkansas commitments from Georgia was quoted as being more excited with Petrino as HC than he was when he committed to the Hogs months ago.

He may have to answer a few more questions than Saban...but in the end this bad pub will hardly matter.

You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football.

"I made a mistake going to the NFL. In my only stint as a college HC, I was at Louisville for four years."

"You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football."

He bailed on the Falcons. He was at Louisville for four years (which is usually longer than the amount of time blue-chip players plan to spend in college).

And opposing coaches are going to state he bailed on Lousiville when they go up against Arkansas in recruiting battles.

When a coach goes from college to the NFL, it's not called "bailing".

 

[Clayton Gray]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

 

[BeaverCleaver]

Now, he's been exposed loudly and nationally as a liar with less than questionable integrity. This WILL hurt recruiting at Arkansas.

Please. Eighteen year old kids don't care what Sean Salisbury has to say.One of the Arkansas commitments from Georgia was quoted as being more excited with Petrino as HC than he was when he committed to the Hogs months ago.

He may have to answer a few more questions than Saban...but in the end this bad pub will hardly matter.

You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football.

"I made a mistake going to the NFL. In my only stint as a college HC, I was at Louisville for four years."

"You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football."

He bailed on the Falcons. He was at Louisville for four years (which is usually longer than the amount of time blue-chip players plan to spend in college).

And opposing coaches are going to state he bailed on Lousiville when they go up against Arkansas in recruiting battles.

When a coach goes from college to the NFL, it's not called "bailing".

If you seem to think this is ok then why is almost every football person in the media ripping him? He's a quitter and deserves all the crap he is getting.

 

[gump]

Now, he's been exposed loudly and nationally as a liar with less than questionable integrity. This WILL hurt recruiting at Arkansas.

Please. Eighteen year old kids don't care what Sean Salisbury has to say.One of the Arkansas commitments from Georgia was quoted as being more excited with Petrino as HC than he was when he committed to the Hogs months ago.

He may have to answer a few more questions than Saban...but in the end this bad pub will hardly matter.

You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter into the decision of a family about where their son will play college football.

Saban's situation didn't hurt at all...but maybe BP's hurts more because of the differences between the two.Regardless, NO ONE cares what the media says. And I have a hard time believing a kid considering Arkansas will not at least let Petrino come to his home and talk. At that point, it's all on Petrino's skills...which could be good enough to overcome this.

 

[Clayton Gray]

Now, he's been exposed loudly and nationally as a liar with less than questionable integrity. This WILL hurt recruiting at Arkansas.

Please. Eighteen year old kids don't care what Sean Salisbury has to say.One of the Arkansas commitments from Georgia was quoted as being more excited with Petrino as HC than he was when he committed to the Hogs months ago.

He may have to answer a few more questions than Saban...but in the end this bad pub will hardly matter.

You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football.

"I made a mistake going to the NFL. In my only stint as a college HC, I was at Louisville for four years."

"You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football."

He bailed on the Falcons. He was at Louisville for four years (which is usually longer than the amount of time blue-chip players plan to spend in college).

And opposing coaches are going to state he bailed on Lousiville when they go up against Arkansas in recruiting battles.

When a coach goes from college to the NFL, it's not called "bailing".

If you seem to think this is ok then why is almost every football person in the media ripping him? He's a quitter and deserves all the crap he is getting.

Almost every NFL person in the media, but oh well.

 

[PatrickT]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

 

[Clayton Gray]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

You talk of him like he killed dogs and committed federal crimes.

 

[Big Score]

An article from January announcing that the Falcons had hired Petrino away from Louisville just a few months after he had signed a huge extension at Louisville. Again, is this KARMA for Atlanta?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nf...o-falcons_x.htm

Karma?

Maybe karma for Arthur Blank firing Dan Reeves with three games remaining in the 2003 season.Maybe karma for Arthur Blank hiring GM Rich McKay from Tampa Bay before the end of that same season.

Maybe karma for DeAngelo Hall creating the "I hate Petrino fund" when the coach fined him earlier in the season.

Maybe karma for the players that publicly support a felon like Michael Vick and act as if he's some sort of martyr.

BTW, if Petrino was going to go to Arkansas, Blank gave him no option of finishing the season since he wouldn't allow the two sides to meet.

Perhaps I'm wrong here but as I recall:1) Blank wanted to put HIS organization into place, and a new coach would be part of that. Vick had a broken leg and it was widely known that Reeves was going to be fired. Backed into a corner it was stated publicly. Reeves hurt - decided not to finish out the season. I don't think you can call it bad karma when a new team owner desires his team to be in sync with his ideals of an organization going forward.

2) I believe it was well known that Blank wanted McKay, but he was under contract to Tampa. Tampa wanted something like 3 1st rounders to let McKay go. Blank just decided to wait out the contract. It was known by all parties 18 months in advance.

3) Hall was on the inside. As this is shaking out, Patrino obviously had no clue how to coach in the NFL. Seems like Hall might have had a legit gripe.

4) Yep Vick is an idiot. And deserves prison time. It is a unique situation. Vick will have paid a heavy price for his crime. His career is over. His endorsements over. A loss of $100 million+. Killing dogs is terrible. But he got a much stiffer penalty than the crime...when you consider he'll never even have the chance to get back what he has lost. Prison is not only about punishment, but also reform, if you look at it in those terms justice wasn't served. The players were his friends and teamates. In a difficult situation on a very difficult day. They supported their friend. In my darkest hour I hope my friends would support me too. To suggest that this team deserved what it got because of universal karma is ludicrious.

The organization is at fault for hiring a snake and being surprised the snake bit them. They'll recover. Perhaps be better for it.

Pretty good summary. I don't think people think karma means what they think it means. Or whatever Andre the Giant said. However there's one thing I disagree with. Vick's sentence is absolutely warranted. Yo have to remember that the brutality to animals is the public face Vick's crimes, but it is not the government's main beef with Vick. He was sentenced for running a dog fighting ring which involves interstate transport in commission of felonies, gambling and the untaxed income involved and other issues with less public outcry. If Vick was sentenced to two years simply for animal cruelty then I would agree that all in all it would be a harsh punishment. But if there's one thing the gov't hates, it's people making money without the IRS getting their share. That's what they got Capone with and it's a big part of the dog fighting ring charges. The brutality overshadows the dtrength of the charge and Vick got less than half of the possible penalty of 5 years, so all in all he got off fairly easy.

Perhaps instead of karma, "if you play with fire you'll get burned" is a better phrase. They took on a man with very questionable integrity with regards to whatever current job he had and they got bit by it. What would be worse was if he was actually good at his job and bailed. Now Blank can get the coach he wanted last year, a name that will hopefully help fill some seats, and a man who will be able to wrangle the wills of these athletes and turn the team around.

I have one question about the Rooney Rule. Can a team hire a minority coach without interviewing other candidates? If it was down to Petrino and Singletary last year, why not just snag Mike before he makes his rounds?

I think you're confusing the words PENALTY & SENTENCE here sweeney.PENALTY is all encompassing as siffoin used it...endorsements down the tubes, various law suits leaving a multi millionaire essentially broke, damage to his reputation & his family, career in jeopardy & finally 23 months in Federal Prison of which he'll serve at least 80%.

SENTENCE is just that...23 months in Federal Prison of which he'll serve at least 80%.

I think you're confused a little. The statement that Vick "got" a stiffer penalty than the crime implies that the punishment came from outside sources. He brought the punishment, by your definitions, on himself by committing the crimes. The only thing he "got" was a sentence. The punishment was a by product of his actions. Hopefully you can understand without me using any big bolded italicized words.

sweeney, please forgive my use of bolded italicized words. They were not intended as a personal insult, just to highlight & draw attention. What you inferred from the post re: Vick, was indeed tad off base.

siffoin spells out exactly what he meant here...link

 

[massraider]

Are you fine with Petrino's actions over the past week?

I'm fine with everything except how he told his coaching staff and the team. That should have been handled better.Now, here's a scenario for everyone:

Consider yourself to be near the top of your current field of work.

You are hired by one of the top 32 firms in your field to lead a huge project. Before you really get started on that project, one of that firm's most talented employees is forced to quit work. Then, a few weeks into that project, one of your most visible workers shows public (in front of all of your other employees) disrespect to you. You discipline him, but he is still insubordinate around the other staff. As the weeks roll on, the project isn't going so well. Other respected employees speak out against you and your methods. You are basically miserable at work.

A few weeks before the project (which is basically a huge cluster now) is due, you find out that another firm would love to have you head up one of their divisions. This firm is smaller than where you work now, but you've done that exact work before and seem to prefer it. You'll have to take about a 40% pay cut, but the real catch is that you have to start now. If you wait, you will likely have to continue with your present job and undertake another project.

How many of the Petrino bashers will stick with their present job? Show of hands please.

There's a lot of things wrong with this analogy, IMO, but the glaring one to me is that you didn't mention in that business scenario that you have staffed all the upper management, told them you were locked in for 5 years, then left them all to probably be fired. Many of them left oher jobs to join you, if not all of them.There's no reason to use an analogy, faulty or not. We can just use the real scenario, happening now.

First of all, Vick's mess might have been the best thing that could have happened to the Falcons, long-term football-wise. There were serious questions if he'd ever be the passer, hard worker, and example for his teammates that the Falcons needed at that position. This was not Tom Brady fighting pit bulls, it was a freaky athlete that couldn't get accurately throw the ball. There were all kinds of rumblings from the moment he was hired that Petrino would look to move forward with a different QB (Brohm reunion etc.).

Second, this mess gives Petrino job security for at least 3 years, as 2007 is a coaching mulligan by anyone's estimation. He drafts Ryan, Brohm, whoever, the guy buys himself some time.

DeAngelo Hall said mean things about him? This is really included in a list of reasons why the coach gets to leave, mid-season? Player insubordination? Part of dealing with your team, is dealing with your players.

Things weren't going well for him as a rookie head coach. Well, that's why there was a job available. Stuff needed to get fixed. There's only so many Bill Cowher's, leaving strong teams behind.

I'd also like to explore the fascinating coincidence of Jerry Jones calling Blank out of the blue, wanting to talk to the Falcons' coach about the Arkansas job, and Petrino mentioning the next morning that he wanted to get back to college coaching.

I couldn't care less about Petrino, the Falcons, or the Razorbacks, but I find his actions devoid of any kind of honor, responsibility, or class, and shudder to think that the Raiders were talking to this guy.

He wasted a year out of the career of all those players, and left a bunch of assistants hanging.

He decided he didn't like the NFL, and wanted to go back to college. That is his right, but that doesn't mean it is OK. obviously, he had no idea what he was getting into, and knew very little about what his jolb was going to entail. For him to change his mind that quickly, it means he either was in over his head, and didn't prepare, or has no sense of responsibility, and makes these kind of moves on a whim. Neither is a good sign.

 

[redman]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

You talk of him like he killed dogs and committed federal crimes.

Was PatrickT defending Vick the way you're defending Petrino's character?

 

[Koya]

Are you fine with Petrino's actions over the past week?

I'm fine with everything except how he told his coaching staff and the team. That should have been handled better.Now, here's a scenario for everyone:Consider yourself to be near the top of your current field of work.You are hired by one of the top 32 firms in your field to lead a huge project. Before you really get started on that project, one of that firm's most talented employees is forced to quit work. Then, a few weeks into that project, one of your most visible workers shows public (in front of all of your other employees) disrespect to you. You discipline him, but he is still insubordinate around the other staff. As the weeks roll on, the project isn't going so well. Other respected employees speak out against you and your methods. You are basically miserable at work.A few weeks before the project (which is basically a huge cluster now) is due, you find out that another firm would love to have you head up one of their divisions. This firm is smaller than where you work now, but you've done that exact work before and seem to prefer it. You'll have to take about a 40% pay cut, but the real catch is that you have to start now. If you wait, you will likely have to continue with your present job and undertake another project.How many of the Petrino bashers will stick with their present job? Show of hands please.

Clayton, I don't think the analogy of a typical workplace works in regard to team sports. The team dynamic is far different from a typcial work environment.That said, if I made promises and had obligations, and by shirking both I undercut all my subordinates and bosses alike then I would expect to be blackballed in that industry. Such actions would warrant a result whereby my company would never hire someone with such low standards and disregard for their committments. Personally, I would do a few things. One, is stick through it until the project was done, and then move on. If I did not think that could work for anyone or I really had a great opportunity, I would not just take action on my own, in a dishonest and utterly disrespectful manner.I would talk with my bosses at the least and discuss the situation. Chances are they would say "Look Koya (not my real name), if you hate being here so much and you feel that the fit is so wrong, we honestly think it is better we split ways in any case... lets work on this together to get past this as best as possible for all concerned. Would you be willing to do that? We will do what we can to assure you that you won't miss your opportunity, but let us have a unified front and as smooth a transition as possible during this difficult time"I would not just send a resignation letter and say basically, I know I made a ton of committments to you, and I know that a lot of people depend upon me for their livelihood and all... but honestly, that doesnt matter to me because I have an opportunity somewhere else that I would rather take and I couldnt care nor respect you all enough to even discuss it with you beforehand to find a solution that works for us all"That is what Petrino did. And it was utterly disgraceful, how he did it.

Your "chances are they would say" line is exactly what Blank didn't do.

Then I guess I would have to live up to my committment and lose out on this opportunity. If I do a good job, another opportunity will come along. You need to have that confidence in your ability. And if one does not, well I would rather lose out on an opportunity and be honorable, than take the best opportunity in a manner which deserves no respect. Taking the selfish, self serving and to be honest, shortsighted approach would not be my choice. Now, I don't really know the specifics of the conversation with Blank. If Blank would force a guy to stay that really does not want to, does not seem to make much business sense. But I don't know all those dynamics.Now, Petrino gets his good opportunity and will forever lose respect in the eyes of, well, anyone with common sense and decency. Is it THAT good an opportunity? Apparantly, the opportunity meant more to Petrino than his self respect, or the respect of others. I would not make that choice, personally. Dignity would be worth something to me, unlike to Petrino.

 

[menobrown]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

I'm not worried about that in the least. I don't think he's going to be Patreno and roam the sidelines for the next half century but we sure know he won't be going back to the pros and no reason to leave Arkansas. One thing you and others seem to forget is that Petrino has been very consistent in his desire to be in the SEC , which is why he listened to LSU and Auburn in the past and why he jumped at this job. He's got what he wants and I see no reason why he would ever bolt to one of those schools especially when it's debatable if they are even better jobs. LSU and Nebraska wanted Houston Nutt as well but he stayed because the Arkansas job is a good one and he knew that. Auburn had to re-up Tuberville because he was interested in Arkansas as well as Clemson with Bowden. Bottom line is he knows he does not like the pro's and he's finally got a job in the conference he's alwasy wanted to be in and I firmly believe he'll be spending a long time at.

 

[menobrown]

Now, he's been exposed loudly and nationally as a liar with less than questionable integrity. This WILL hurt recruiting at Arkansas.

Please. Eighteen year old kids don't care what Sean Salisbury has to say.One of the Arkansas commitments from Georgia was quoted as being more excited with Petrino as HC than he was when he committed to the Hogs months ago.

He may have to answer a few more questions than Saban...but in the end this bad pub will hardly matter.

You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football.

"I made a mistake going to the NFL. In my only stint as a college HC, I was at Louisville for four years."

"You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football."

He bailed on the Falcons. He was at Louisville for four years (which is usually longer than the amount of time blue-chip players plan to spend in college).

And opposing coaches are going to state he bailed on Lousiville when they go up against Arkansas in recruiting battles.

Well, there are not to many coaches, especially in the SEC, that have much room to talk. The only difference is Petrino left with 3 games to go but in time no one is going to remember that. Coaches leave all the time.

 

[siffoin]

Gordon. Good post. Pretty level across the board.

A lot of people are saying it will be hard for Atlanta to find a good quality HC. I don't understand this line of thinking.

First of all, there are only 31 of these jobs available. And while the franchise is in disarray, from what i understand, the organization treats all of it's employees in a 1st class manner, the facilities are among the best too . Blank will likely open his checkbook far and wide, and give a lot of latitude to the next coach to build the team as the new hire sees fit. There is a lot of young talent on the team and much of that talent has been playing. In addition they'll have a lot of picks in this years draft, and they'll be slotted nicely within the draft. All new HC hires go to bad teams, I think the Falcons have a lot of positives that any HC would desire in order to build HIS team.

I will agree that it would be in the best interest of the team and the city of Atlanta to hire an African American HC...and unless Blank pulls Cower out of retirement, I think that is a done deal.

Was also wondering if anyone can comment on just how many HC jobs will likely open up in the NFL this year? What teams will be looking for a new HC?

 

[Phase of the Game]

Now, he's been exposed loudly and nationally as a liar with less than questionable integrity. This WILL hurt recruiting at Arkansas.

Please. Eighteen year old kids don't care what Sean Salisbury has to say.One of the Arkansas commitments from Georgia was quoted as being more excited with Petrino as HC than he was when he committed to the Hogs months ago.

He may have to answer a few more questions than Saban...but in the end this bad pub will hardly matter.

You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football.

"I made a mistake going to the NFL. In my only stint as a college HC, I was at Louisville for four years."

"You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football."

He bailed on the Falcons. He was at Louisville for four years (which is usually longer than the amount of time blue-chip players plan to spend in college).

And opposing coaches are going to state he bailed on Lousiville when they go up against Arkansas in recruiting battles.

Coaches leave all the time.

Not like Petrino did.

 

[PatrickT]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

You talk of him like he killed dogs and committed federal crimes.

Way to dodge the question by assuming I support Vick just because I'm a Falcon fan.

 

[PatrickT]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

I'm not worried about that in the least. I don't think he's going to be Patreno and roam the sidelines for the next half century but we sure know he won't be going back to the pros and no reason to leave Arkansas. One thing you and others seem to forget is that Petrino has been very consistent in his desire to be in the SEC , which is why he listened to LSU and Auburn in the past and why he jumped at this job. He's got what he wants and I see no reason why he would ever bolt to one of those schools especially when it's debatable if they are even better jobs. LSU and Nebraska wanted Houston Nutt as well but he stayed because the Arkansas job is a good one and he knew that. Auburn had to re-up Tuberville because he was interested in Arkansas as well as Clemson with Bowden. Bottom line is he knows he does not like the pro's and he's finally got a job in the conference he's alwasy wanted to be in and I firmly believe he'll be spending a long time at.

You're not worried in the least? Are you serious? He had no real reason to leave Louisville either. Sure they weren't the most prestigious school, but there was plenty of money and he'd put them on the national map. He had a shot to do unheard of things there, but he bolted for the NFL. Now, a lot of people are trying to say "Well, he discovered he didn't like the NFL". Bull. He'd been in the NFL with JAX. He knew precisely what he was getting into.I thought I had some blind homerism, but dayum. Not worried in the least. Amazing.

 

[Clayton Gray]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

You talk of him like he killed dogs and committed federal crimes.

Way to dodge the question by assuming I support Vick just because I'm a Falcon fan.

I didn't say that. My stance is just that his actions weren't as bad as you and the talking heads are making it to be.

 

[Koya]

I figure the truth lies somewhere in the middle.Petrino probably had a pretty lousy situation in Atlanta and Blank probably had someone who just wasn't a good fit for a head coach. It's better for everyone if Petrino goes sooner rather than later. Who knows the real story behind all this? I don't. At some level, Blank didn't want him there and Petrino didn't want to be there. The end result was probably right, how they got there will probably mark both of their legacies. Petrino will probably never coach in the NFL again, not as a head coach. Blank will probably have a hard time finding a very good quality coach candidate to take the Atlanta job now. I don't know what Petrino had to go through in Atlanta. I don't want to judge him because I didn't have to coach that team and deal with his deck of cards. I think the "respect" issue is much more complex than people make it seem. Given the nature of high draft picks and bonuses against the cap, some players are uncuttable and hard to dump. Look at Vick's contract. Sure Petrino needs to find a way to relate to players. But Blank also has to create an environment where players have to respect their coach. I'm not saying DeAngelo Hall was wrong for being angry about his coach or his team, but there is no way that should have ever reached the public eyes and ears. That's not a Petrino only problem, it's an organizational problem. It's going to be interesting to see what Thomas can do for the next few games. I'm sure if he fails, it's because of Petrino's lingering issues. If he succeeds, it's because he would have never gotten a shot with a white coach standing in his way. If he retains the job, the Falcons are progressive. If he doesn't retain the position into next season, it's just another example of a black coach not getting a fair shot. Blank's PR nightmares are not over, the Rooney Rule will come back and bite him in the butt too before this is all over.

Knowing what you know, would you hire Petrino for one of the most essential positions within your company - one that will make or break your company's performance both short and especially long term?

 

[menobrown]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

I'm not worried about that in the least. I don't think he's going to be Patreno and roam the sidelines for the next half century but we sure know he won't be going back to the pros and no reason to leave Arkansas. One thing you and others seem to forget is that Petrino has been very consistent in his desire to be in the SEC , which is why he listened to LSU and Auburn in the past and why he jumped at this job. He's got what he wants and I see no reason why he would ever bolt to one of those schools especially when it's debatable if they are even better jobs. LSU and Nebraska wanted Houston Nutt as well but he stayed because the Arkansas job is a good one and he knew that. Auburn had to re-up Tuberville because he was interested in Arkansas as well as Clemson with Bowden. Bottom line is he knows he does not like the pro's and he's finally got a job in the conference he's alwasy wanted to be in and I firmly believe he'll be spending a long time at.

You're not worried in the least? Are you serious? He had no real reason to leave Louisville either. Sure they weren't the most prestigious school, but there was plenty of money and he'd put them on the national map. He had a shot to do unheard of things there, but he bolted for the NFL. Now, a lot of people are trying to say "Well, he discovered he didn't like the NFL". Bull. He'd been in the NFL with JAX. He knew precisely what he was getting into.I thought I had some blind homerism, but dayum. Not worried in the least. Amazing.

Are you kidding me? Louisville can't hold a candle to the Arkansas job. Go check your facts and you will Petrino's interest was always in joining the SEC. It's not about the money, he took less to run to Arkansas than the Falcons pay him but a good job in the SEC trumps the hell out of a the Louisville jog. And BTW- his contract states he can't go to another SEC West school for 4 years and the buyout to go to a SEC East team is $3 mill. Since he's in the conference he always wanted to be in and since his options to go to another school in the conference are limited I'll repeat I'm not concerned with him leaving anytime soon. The guy's been a HC on the collegiate level once and he stayed multiple years at an inferior football program so I think reports of him constantly being on the go are a bit overdone.

 

[menobrown]

Now, he's been exposed loudly and nationally as a liar with less than questionable integrity. This WILL hurt recruiting at Arkansas.

Please. Eighteen year old kids don't care what Sean Salisbury has to say.One of the Arkansas commitments from Georgia was quoted as being more excited with Petrino as HC than he was when he committed to the Hogs months ago.

He may have to answer a few more questions than Saban...but in the end this bad pub will hardly matter.

You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football.

"I made a mistake going to the NFL. In my only stint as a college HC, I was at Louisville for four years."

"You are very naive to think that Petrino's bailing out on teams will not enter in decision of a family about where their son will play college football."

He bailed on the Falcons. He was at Louisville for four years (which is usually longer than the amount of time blue-chip players plan to spend in college).

And opposing coaches are going to state he bailed on Lousiville when they go up against Arkansas in recruiting battles.

Coaches leave all the time.

Not like Petrino did.

Yea and I addressed that but you chose to cut it off when you quoted me. Bottom line is recruits are not going to give damn that he quit the 3-10 Falcons with 3 games to go anymore than they are going to care that Saban looked in the camera and said he was not interested in the Dolphins job.

 

[Balco]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

I'm not worried about that in the least. I don't think he's going to be Patreno and roam the sidelines for the next half century but we sure know he won't be going back to the pros and no reason to leave Arkansas. One thing you and others seem to forget is that Petrino has been very consistent in his desire to be in the SEC , which is why he listened to LSU and Auburn in the past and why he jumped at this job. He's got what he wants and I see no reason why he would ever bolt to one of those schools especially when it's debatable if they are even better jobs. LSU and Nebraska wanted Houston Nutt as well but he stayed because the Arkansas job is a good one and he knew that. Auburn had to re-up Tuberville because he was interested in Arkansas as well as Clemson with Bowden. Bottom line is he knows he does not like the pro's and he's finally got a job in the conference he's alwasy wanted to be in and I firmly believe he'll be spending a long time at.

You're not worried in the least? Are you serious? He had no real reason to leave Louisville either. Sure they weren't the most prestigious school, but there was plenty of money and he'd put them on the national map. He had a shot to do unheard of things there, but he bolted for the NFL. Now, a lot of people are trying to say "Well, he discovered he didn't like the NFL". Bull. He'd been in the NFL with JAX. He knew precisely what he was getting into.I thought I had some blind homerism, but dayum. Not worried in the least. Amazing.

Are you kidding me? Louisville can't hold a candle to the Arkansas job. Go check your facts and you will Petrino's interest was always in joining the SEC. It's not about the money, he took less to run to Arkansas than the Falcons pay him but a good job in the SEC trumps the hell out of a the Louisville jog. And BTW- his contract states he can't go to another SEC West school for 4 years and the buyout to go to a SEC East team is $3 mill. Since he's in the conference he always wanted to be in and since his options to go to another school in the conference are limited I'll repeat I'm not concerned with him leaving anytime soon. The guy's been a HC on the collegiate level once and he stayed multiple years at an inferior football program so I think reports of him constantly being on the go are a bit overdone.

Not looking to hijack here, but as to your inferior program commnent - How many BCS bowls has Arkansas won? Louisville? I will patiently wait for your answer.

 

[menobrown]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

I'm not worried about that in the least. I don't think he's going to be Patreno and roam the sidelines for the next half century but we sure know he won't be going back to the pros and no reason to leave Arkansas. One thing you and others seem to forget is that Petrino has been very consistent in his desire to be in the SEC , which is why he listened to LSU and Auburn in the past and why he jumped at this job. He's got what he wants and I see no reason why he would ever bolt to one of those schools especially when it's debatable if they are even better jobs. LSU and Nebraska wanted Houston Nutt as well but he stayed because the Arkansas job is a good one and he knew that. Auburn had to re-up Tuberville because he was interested in Arkansas as well as Clemson with Bowden. Bottom line is he knows he does not like the pro's and he's finally got a job in the conference he's alwasy wanted to be in and I firmly believe he'll be spending a long time at.

You're not worried in the least? Are you serious? He had no real reason to leave Louisville either. Sure they weren't the most prestigious school, but there was plenty of money and he'd put them on the national map. He had a shot to do unheard of things there, but he bolted for the NFL. Now, a lot of people are trying to say "Well, he discovered he didn't like the NFL". Bull. He'd been in the NFL with JAX. He knew precisely what he was getting into.I thought I had some blind homerism, but dayum. Not worried in the least. Amazing.

Are you kidding me? Louisville can't hold a candle to the Arkansas job. Go check your facts and you will Petrino's interest was always in joining the SEC. It's not about the money, he took less to run to Arkansas than the Falcons pay him but a good job in the SEC trumps the hell out of a the Louisville jog. And BTW- his contract states he can't go to another SEC West school for 4 years and the buyout to go to a SEC East team is $3 mill. Since he's in the conference he always wanted to be in and since his options to go to another school in the conference are limited I'll repeat I'm not concerned with him leaving anytime soon. The guy's been a HC on the collegiate level once and he stayed multiple years at an inferior football program so I think reports of him constantly being on the go are a bit overdone.

Not looking to hijack here, but as to your inferior program commnent - How many BCS bowls has Arkansas won? Louisville? I will patiently wait for your answer.

Please don't be so silly as to think programs are measured by a voting system to determine bowl games that's not even be in existence 10 years. Other than that as far as I know Lousiville only one won BCS bowl and that was with Petrino as coach. Things seemed to take a turn for the worse for them when he was gone, don't you think?

 

[PatrickT]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

You talk of him like he killed dogs and committed federal crimes.

Way to dodge the question by assuming I support Vick just because I'm a Falcon fan.

I didn't say that. My stance is just that his actions weren't as bad as you and the talking heads are making it to be.

You certainly implied it. But, that aside, the comparison is ludricous, and I won't bother responding to it. Your new coach is liar, and lacks character and integrity. Enjoy.

 

[elwayfan446]

Arkansas is a pretty good coaching job. Given all the variables here, can't say I blame him.

STRONGLY disagreed. Arkansas would be a good coaching job if its fans weren't INSANE. They're a solid program with good resources, but they think they're an Alabama, Michigan, or Oklahoma, and they're just not. Houston Nutt made the SEC Championship Game in a year that was predicted to be a mediocre one, and Hogs fans were IMMEDIATELY doing everything they could to push him out. It's like they think they should be contending for National Championships at least twice a decade or something, which is reasonable if you're FSU, but not if you're Arkansas.

You strongly agree that Arkansas is a "pretty good coaching job?" You can't be serious. They have great facilities, they produce more stadium revenue because of licensing than almost anyone (they were first two years ago), they are in a prime recruiting location, and they have some of the best fans in college football. Also keep in mind with the BCS Missouri was four quarters away from playing for a National Championship and Missouri is to Arkansas what Arkansas is to Oklahoma. You don't have to be Michigan, OU ( ), or Florida State. Arkansas plays in the best conference in college football and they have a lot going their way. It is a pretty good coaching job and there isn't one college football fan that would disagree with me. Not one.

Arkansas isn't a bad coaching job because of the facilities, recruiting area (which isn't nearly as good as you imply), or tradition. Arkansas is a bad coaching job because the fans' expectations are completely out of line with reality. Arkansas might be an easier place to field a good team than Missouri, but it's WAY easier to win the Big 12 (where you only have to go against Oklahoma, Texas, and Nebraska if they ever turn it around, and where there's currently pretty much NO ONE in the Big 12 North) than it is in the SEC (where you have to compete against Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and the odd years by South Carolina, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Miss State... pretty much everyone but Vandy, and even they're hardly a pushover anymore). Within the past two years, both Missouri and Arkansas have missed out on a BCS bowl after a great (and totally unexpected) season because they lost their league championship game (a game that no one even gave them a chance of making in the first place). One team did everything in its power to run its coach out on a rail afterwards, and the other did not. That's the difference between Missouri and Arkansas.I'd much rather coach at a place like Wake Forest or Rutgers, where you have the tools to achieve some level of success, but you don't have to fight expectations that are so far out of line with reality that they border on absurd... or at a place like Michigan, Florida, or tOSU, where you have the absurd expectations, but you at least have truly ELITE tools to help you achieve those expectations. Arkansas is in that grey area of jobs that look attractive, but really suck, because they have neither the top-notch tools nor the reasonable expectations. It's a total lose-lose.

For what it's worth, I think Alabama and Notre Dame are also horrible jobs right now for the same reason. That's why everyone and their mother turned down the Alabama job until they panicked and made Nick Saban the highest-paid coach in college football. That's why no one was interested in the Notre Dame job until Charlie Weis became convinced that he was smarter than everyone involved with college football and let his ego get in the way.

Spoken like someone who truly has no clue about the University of Arkansas, its fan base, and our state. Do a little research before you spew this garbage next time.

 

[elwayfan446]

Arkansas = Yuck.What has that school contributed to the NFL? Dan Hampton :thumbsup: & Matt Jones = More Yuck.

Off the top of my head:Lance AlworthSteve AtwaterJoe FergusonBarry FosterJimmy JohnsonPat Summerall

More recently....Ken HamlinShawn AndrewsJamal AndersonChris HoustonDavid BarrettTony Ugoh

 

[elwayfan446]

Within the past two years, both Missouri and Arkansas have missed out on a BCS bowl after a great (and totally unexpected) season because they lost their league championship game (a game that no one even gave them a chance of making in the first place). One team did everything in its power to run its coach out on a rail afterwards, and the other did not. That's the difference between Missouri and Arkansas.

You need to research the reason many fans turned on Houston Nutt despite an excellent season.

Dig deeper into the numbers of his tenure here.... they aren't what they appear on the surface. After 10 years, I think the fans deserve the right to want to see if someone else can take us to the next level. With the resources we have, the right guy can do it. I think Petrino is the right guy.Could he have handled his departure better from ATL? Sure. However, he was probably tired of the spoiled rich kids lack of respect and said to hell with them. I am out.

 

[elwayfan446]

Within the past two years, both Missouri and Arkansas have missed out on a BCS bowl after a great (and totally unexpected) season because they lost their league championship game (a game that no one even gave them a chance of making in the first place). One team did everything in its power to run its coach out on a rail afterwards, and the other did not. That's the difference between Missouri and Arkansas.

You need to research the reason many fans turned on Houston Nutt despite an excellent season.

I know the reason why fans turned on Nutt. He wasn't playing the hot-shot freshman QB enough (even though the vet was outperforming the freshman and giving them a better chance to win). His offense wasn't passing enough (even though his offense was tearing teams apart on its way to the SECCG). His offensive coordinator defected (even though his offensive coordinator was a guy coaching HIGH SCHOOL the year before, with zero college experience). A bunch of the players parents overreacted in a dramatic fashion (which is to be expected given how much hype their children had been getting, but is still LUDICROUS given what their children had accomplished on the field). For an idea of how bad of a coach Nutt was, take a look at how long he lasted on the open market.

This is about 25 % of the reason why the fans turned on him. Don't speak if you don't know what you are talking about.

 

[PatrickT]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

I'm not worried about that in the least. I don't think he's going to be Patreno and roam the sidelines for the next half century but we sure know he won't be going back to the pros and no reason to leave Arkansas. One thing you and others seem to forget is that Petrino has been very consistent in his desire to be in the SEC , which is why he listened to LSU and Auburn in the past and why he jumped at this job. He's got what he wants and I see no reason why he would ever bolt to one of those schools especially when it's debatable if they are even better jobs. LSU and Nebraska wanted Houston Nutt as well but he stayed because the Arkansas job is a good one and he knew that. Auburn had to re-up Tuberville because he was interested in Arkansas as well as Clemson with Bowden. Bottom line is he knows he does not like the pro's and he's finally got a job in the conference he's alwasy wanted to be in and I firmly believe he'll be spending a long time at.

You're not worried in the least? Are you serious? He had no real reason to leave Louisville either. Sure they weren't the most prestigious school, but there was plenty of money and he'd put them on the national map. He had a shot to do unheard of things there, but he bolted for the NFL. Now, a lot of people are trying to say "Well, he discovered he didn't like the NFL". Bull. He'd been in the NFL with JAX. He knew precisely what he was getting into.I thought I had some blind homerism, but dayum. Not worried in the least. Amazing.

Are you kidding me? Louisville can't hold a candle to the Arkansas job. Go check your facts and you will Petrino's interest was always in joining the SEC. It's not about the money, he took less to run to Arkansas than the Falcons pay him but a good job in the SEC trumps the hell out of a the Louisville jog. And BTW- his contract states he can't go to another SEC West school for 4 years and the buyout to go to a SEC East team is $3 mill. Since he's in the conference he always wanted to be in and since his options to go to another school in the conference are limited I'll repeat I'm not concerned with him leaving anytime soon. The guy's been a HC on the collegiate level once and he stayed multiple years at an inferior football program so I think reports of him constantly being on the go are a bit overdone.

Why do people read only what they want? I never compared Louisville to Arkansas. I only said he had a nice job, and a chance to continue what he started, which had impressed a lot of people. He decided to not honor the contract he'd just signed to go to his "dream job". It's understandable, it's the NFL. That's a lot of coaches' goal. Get to the NFL. He preached teamwork, honor, integrity, and finishing what you started. Then he ran to his U-Haul, hightailed it to Arkansas and did a big pig sooey in front of National cameras less than 24 hours after "coaching" the Falcons on Monday night. Less than 24 hours after looking Blank in the eye and telling him he was staying.Now, this 4 year restriction is a new twist. I hope for Arkansas sake it's true. But, boy, they sure did get a lot of stuff done in about, what, an hour and a half? I mean that's all it could've been since Razorbacks homers are trying to convince us that poor ole Bobby didn't lie to Blank, he just changed his mind. He had this heart wrenching night with his crying family and they stayed up all night praying over it. I mean, Clayton is quoting sources (that have absolutely no reason to lie in order to protect Arkansas from a lawsuit) that Arkansas was ready to sign a different coach until they received that last minute call from a teary-eyed Petrino. Then he called his agent and had a contract drawn up, negotiated and signed in an hour and a half, so that he could get on a plane and do a press conference that afternoon in Fayetteville. Golly, I wish he were my Dad.Enjoy your new coach.

 

[elwayfan446]

Petrino to staff:

Petrino called a staff meeting late Tuesday afternoon, a meeting which last about 10 seconds, sources said.

"He just said to us, 'Guys I've resigned, I'm going to Arkansas. I'm sorry. I'll be talking with you guys in the future.' And with that he turned and walked out the door. We haven't been told anything else," said one assistant coach.

This guy is sounding more and more like a POS. This "meeting" just proves all he cares about is himself. Cheer up ATL fans, hopefully next year you will have a real coach.

Wow, if that is true he is a complete POS. As a Falcons fan I hope this guy never sniffs a pro job again and if he has a dream job I hope he gets rejected if he is ever up for it. Bye bye loser.

I am not debating that he could have handled it better... he could have. However, how is this any worse than your Falcons firing Dan Reeves with with 3 games left in the season? It's not. It's ok for an owner not to honor his word, but if a coach does it, he is a coward and a loser. Bottom line is the Falcons are a mess, they didn't respect their coach one bit, and Petrino said "I don't have to put up with this ####, I am out". In my opinion, the only thing he did wrong was not meet his players and tell them fact to face. Otherwise, I don't blame him.

 

[elwayfan446]

I'm Arkansas thru and thruNutt didn't have an offense play in his body - he's a great HC, he's a good recruiter (not great) and he runs the ball - that results in 7-8 wins a year. We want more.Who doesn't ? But the kicekr is, we have top facilities, a top fan base, with Wal-mart, tyson, Hunt etc we got the money ..... now we've got a big name coach as well.I watched the press conference I like what I see. I liked Nutt, but we should have been an 11-1 maybe a 12-0 team this year. Hell we had 8 games at HOME, we had 4 cream puffs on our scheudle, we had dual 1,000 yard rushers and in the 4 games we lost we had 4th quarter leads and poor play calling down the stretch.Nutt's time had run out - thanks Houston for the years you gave us. Welcome Bobby !

I can understand wanting to win a ton of games and contend for the nat'l championship every year but as others have said that's not realistic when you're talking about having to play in the SEC. And no offense to you or any other razorback fans but how many elite recruits do you think will pass up the chance to play for LSU, Tenn, Georgia, or Florida for you guys? Not to mention the other great schools not in the SEC they could play for. Running a HC out of town for only being able to win 7 or 8 games reminds me of how Nebraska ran off frank solich after he went 9 - 3 and look how that turned out.

This is the exact mentality and reasoning on why we can't. If we accept mediocrity, we will be mediocre. The fans want more, so why not try?

 

[elwayfan446]

I liked Nutt, but we should have been an 11-1 maybe a 12-0 team this year.

snip

Welcome Bobby !

I wonder if he knows what he's gotten himself into. This isn't Louisville anymore...Should be interesting to watch.

J

Joe, no disrespect... but unless you were born and raised here you can't possibly understand. We had the talent to be 11-1 or 12-0. We didn't have the coach that could get us there. We don't expect that kind of record every year, these past two years were years we hadn't seen come along in quite some time. Most fans feel they were a blown opportunity.All we ask is to have a balanced offense that is fun to watch. We want to compete with the big dogs in the SEC and hope to become one. We have the resources, we just need the coach to pull it together.

 

[Master of Past and Present]

Petrino to staff:

Petrino called a staff meeting late Tuesday afternoon, a meeting which last about 10 seconds, sources said.

"He just said to us, 'Guys I've resigned, I'm going to Arkansas. I'm sorry. I'll be talking with you guys in the future.' And with that he turned and walked out the door. We haven't been told anything else," said one assistant coach.

This guy is sounding more and more like a POS. This "meeting" just proves all he cares about is himself. Cheer up ATL fans, hopefully next year you will have a real coach.

Wow, if that is true he is a complete POS. As a Falcons fan I hope this guy never sniffs a pro job again and if he has a dream job I hope he gets rejected if he is ever up for it. Bye bye loser.

I am not debating that he could have handled it better... he could have. However, how is this any worse than your Falcons firing Dan Reeves with with 3 games left in the season? It's not. It's ok for an owner not to honor his word, but if a coach does it, he is a coward and a loser. Bottom line is the Falcons are a mess, they didn't respect their coach one bit, and Petrino said "I don't have to put up with this ####, I am out". In my opinion, the only thing he did wrong was not meet his players and tell them fact to face. Otherwise, I don't blame him.

Reeves got paid, what did the Falcons get? Since Reeves got paid, he did keep his word partially where in no way did Petrino keep his. If owners did not have to keep paying coaches they fire, it would THEN be the same. Until the coaches have some consequence to their actions, it just ISN'T the same.

 

[PatrickT]

Petrino to staff:

Petrino called a staff meeting late Tuesday afternoon, a meeting which last about 10 seconds, sources said.

"He just said to us, 'Guys I've resigned, I'm going to Arkansas. I'm sorry. I'll be talking with you guys in the future.' And with that he turned and walked out the door. We haven't been told anything else," said one assistant coach.

This guy is sounding more and more like a POS. This "meeting" just proves all he cares about is himself. Cheer up ATL fans, hopefully next year you will have a real coach.

Wow, if that is true he is a complete POS. As a Falcons fan I hope this guy never sniffs a pro job again and if he has a dream job I hope he gets rejected if he is ever up for it. Bye bye loser.

I am not debating that he could have handled it better... he could have. However, how is this any worse than your Falcons firing Dan Reeves with with 3 games left in the season? It's not. It's ok for an owner not to honor his word, but if a coach does it, he is a coward and a loser. Bottom line is the Falcons are a mess, they didn't respect their coach one bit, and Petrino said "I don't have to put up with this ####, I am out". In my opinion, the only thing he did wrong was not meet his players and tell them fact to face. Otherwise, I don't blame him.

I was here, that's not how it happened. Blank intended to fire him after the season. As a rookie he owner, he botched it, and it got leaked. Reeves decided not to be a lame duck and resigned. The difference was that it was a mistake on Blank's part, not intentional.Could you provide one fact that would indicate that the Falcons management did not respect their coach? Blank went in the booth on MNF and expressed his absolute faith in the coach on national TV, supported him 100% throughout this entire dismal year, only to get pissed on. Respect is earned, and Petrino's coming up empty here.

 

[elwayfan446]

An article from January announcing that the Falcons had hired Petrino away from Louisville just a few months after he had signed a huge extension at Louisville. Again, is this KARMA for Atlanta?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nf...o-falcons_x.htm

Karma?

Maybe karma for Arthur Blank firing Dan Reeves with three games remaining in the 2003 season.Maybe karma for Arthur Blank hiring GM Rich McKay from Tampa Bay before the end of that same season.

Maybe karma for DeAngelo Hall creating the "I hate Petrino fund" when the coach fined him earlier in the season.

Maybe karma for the players that publicly support a felon like Michael Vick and act as if he's some sort of martyr.

BTW, if Petrino was going to go to Arkansas, Blank gave him no option of finishing the season since he wouldn't allow the two sides to meet.

Perhaps I'm wrong here but as I recall:1) Blank wanted to put HIS organization into place, and a new coach would be part of that. Vick had a broken leg and it was widely known that Reeves was going to be fired. Backed into a corner it was stated publicly. Reeves hurt - decided not to finish out the season. I don't think you can call it bad karma when a new team owner desires his team to be in sync with his ideals of an organization going forward.

So it is ok for Blank to want to do something to better his team, but it is wrong for Petrino to get out of a situation he wasn't comfortable with? Double Standard.

2) I believe it was well known that Blank wanted McKay, but he was under contract to Tampa. Tampa wanted something like 3 1st rounders to let McKay go. Blank just decided to wait out the contract. It was known by all parties 18 months in advance.

So it makes it ok that he talked to him while under contract with Tampa, but not ok for Petrino to talk to Arkansas?

3) Hall was on the inside. As this is shaking out, Patrino obviously had no clue how to coach in the NFL. Seems like Hall might have had a legit gripe.

According to him. However, if this high paid spoiled brat continuously gave you crap all season while never respecting you or your coaching philosophy, wouldn't you just say "to heck with this?"

4) Yep Vick is an idiot. And deserves prison time. It is a unique situation. Vick will have paid a heavy price for his crime. His career is over. His endorsements over. A loss of $100 million+. Killing dogs is terrible. But he got a much stiffer penalty than the crime...when you consider he'll never even have the chance to get back what he has lost. Prison is not only about punishment, but also reform, if you look at it in those terms justice wasn't served. The players were his friends and teamates. In a difficult situation on a very difficult day. They supported their friend. In my darkest hour I hope my friends would support me too. To suggest that this team deserved what it got because of universal karma is ludicrious.

I don't think him leaving has anything to do with Vick. I think it has to do with the lack of respect from his team. Can you blame him?

The organization is at fault for hiring a snake and being surprised the snake bit them. They'll recover. Perhaps be better for it.

 

[massraider]

Knowing what you know, would you hire Petrino for one of the most essential positions within your company - one that will make or break your company's performance both short and especially long term?

It's a good question and it's a fair question. My viewpoint is thisA) Anyone comparing Petrino or any head coach/potential head coach in college and pro sports to the average American work grunt is really making an apples and oranges argument. I think people make the assumption that coaching has less of an attrition/filtering process than pro athletes do. Consider for a head coaching candidate, his bread and butter is practical experience. Unlike many prestigious jobs out there, there is no "school" you can go to for learning the stock and trade. The natural order of competition also filters out candidates. Successful coordinators get esteem and are recategorized as blue chip coaching prospects, but only at the cost of making many many many more coordinators look bad in the process. There just aren't many candidates out there period for these elite jobs. If I needed a manager in a corporate level job, well there are tons of candidates out there. If I needed a head coach of a relatively elite college team? Would I hire Petrino to manage a factory? Maybe not. Would I hire Petrino to manage my elite football team, even with his current situation? Maybe. He's working against a much smaller pool of candidates and his skill set is probably very very unique given his industry. (It has to be unique for him to have survived and moved up to be a head coach in the first place) B) At some level, with even the most prestigious jobs, it is still evolves to a management job. Plenty of cops become captains and chiefs. Plenty of doctors become administrators. Plenty of engineers become bureaucrats. Plenty of any job makes you a manager more than the job you trained for in the first place. Why is a head coaching position any different. Many cops don't actually do police work anymore, they manage other cops. Plenty of head coaches don't actually coach anymore, they manage other coaches. Often they manage coordinators who manage other lower level coaches. And those coaches do much coaching? Or do they simply try to refine what college coaches have taught, which was a refinement of what high school coaches have taught. I can rise through the ranks based on my coaching prowess, but at some point, I'm just another manager. Am I any good at managing? I could be the best engineer in the world, but rising up through my skill and accomplishments, I might be a lousy leader. Oppenheimer did some teaching once, one of the greatest minds ever in human history, and he was openly considered a pretty lousy college professor. Petrino probably did not fail in terms of his technical football coaching, he most likely failed to handle a more elevated form of management. More pressure, more money, bigger stakes, more press, more stress, more complications.People wonder why Herm Edwards still has a job. He might be a lousy technical coach ( Of that I'm almost certain. Yes, I am an Oakland Raiders fan. Yes I took a shot at the KC Chiefs. Someone please restrain Kevin Ashcraft before he lobbies to get me banned here) but maybe he's a pretty decent manager of coaches and players. C) Petrino's one true Ace card was something that could have made him a great short to long term hire. Petrino is at a clear disadvantage compared to heavily experienced NFL coordinators. His learning curve must be faster and more precise. More must go right than go wrong. But Petrino's bread and butter should have been the draft. Bill Walsh and Jimmy "Helmet Head" Johnson are considered the most successful college to pro coaching transitions. Both were great with personnel and drafting within their systems. Jimmy Johnson didn't just watch film, he probably recruited and knew and saw alot of those Cowboy draftees that built his dynasty. There is no excuse, none whatsoever, for a recent college coach who jumped the pros to ever have a bad draft. Not one excuse ever. That coach had the most recent and up close intel of anyone, even over many pro coaches. Obviously Petrino did not last long enough to see the fruition of multiple drafts regarding players in his college coaching frame of reference. Would I hire Petrino as a long term prospect? Well part of his job is to stock me with good personnel. Personnel that he has face time and game time with and against. That raw intel is very powerful. Powerful enough to sink me or raise me up. How many people can give you that kind of intel? I mean true intel within context and perspective? I'm not talking Mel Kiper Jr here, I'm talking real trigger time. Again, apples and oranges, Petrino comes from a very limited pool that's been heavily filtered. The Petrino issue, at some level, is really a personnel issue given the context of the industry in question with it's limitations and needs. Would I hire him? Maybe I would. Do you assume we got the whole truth? (This is sports journalism we are talking about here, is there any profession that's taken a nosedive in perception of integrity more than journalists and the general news media in the last few decades? I would rather piss on an ax murderer set on fire than a sports journalist set on fire. If it's Peter King, I'll just dump his coffee on his charcoaled carcass. ) I don't believe we got the whole truth. How many times have we, as regular guys, been in work situations where the perception of reality screwed us when the truth, the truth we knew would never see the light of day, was an entirely different ballgame? At the end of the day, Petrino didn't work out in Atlanta. Hell, Angry Bill didn't work out for the Browns did he? All the issue tells us is Petrino wasn't a good fit for Atlanta, nothing more, nothing less. Michael Vick probably danced in his living room naked covered in jam when he found out about CameraGate. Robert Kraft probably did the Electric Slide when he found out Sean Taylor got clipped. And soon Bobby Petrino will probably do the Ickey Shuffle when the next sad sordid NFL topic the day pushes him to the back page of the sports section. Or how many of you remember that Latrell Sprewell choked his coach? Jason Williams blew someone away with a shotgun? Wade Boggs used to tote his mistress around on the Red Sox's away trips? The only truth is Bobby Petrino is a coward this week. Next week it will be someone else's turn. And the Falcons will still need a new head coach regardless of what Petrino does or says or how he is ultimately perceived. The Petrino issue will move on.And so should we.

Spectacular post. Shoulda known you were a Raider fan.

 

[elwayfan446]

An article from January announcing that the Falcons had hired Petrino away from Louisville just a few months after he had signed a huge extension at Louisville. Again, is this KARMA for Atlanta?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nf...o-falcons_x.htm

Karma?

Maybe karma for Arthur Blank firing Dan Reeves with three games remaining in the 2003 season.Maybe karma for Arthur Blank hiring GM Rich McKay from Tampa Bay before the end of that same season.

Maybe karma for DeAngelo Hall creating the "I hate Petrino fund" when the coach fined him earlier in the season.

Maybe karma for the players that publicly support a felon like Michael Vick and act as if he's some sort of martyr.

BTW, if Petrino was going to go to Arkansas, Blank gave him no option of finishing the season since he wouldn't allow the two sides to meet.

Perhaps I'm wrong here but as I recall:1) Blank wanted to put HIS organization into place, and a new coach would be part of that. Vick had a broken leg and it was widely known that Reeves was going to be fired. Backed into a corner it was stated publicly. Reeves hurt - decided not to finish out the season. I don't think you can call it bad karma when a new team owner desires his team to be in sync with his ideals of an organization going forward.

2) I believe it was well known that Blank wanted McKay, but he was under contract to Tampa. Tampa wanted something like 3 1st rounders to let McKay go. Blank just decided to wait out the contract. It was known by all parties 18 months in advance.

3) Hall was on the inside. As this is shaking out, Patrino obviously had no clue how to coach in the NFL. Seems like Hall might have had a legit gripe.

4) Yep Vick is an idiot. And deserves prison time. It is a unique situation. Vick will have paid a heavy price for his crime. His career is over. His endorsements over. A loss of $100 million+. Killing dogs is terrible. But he got a much stiffer penalty than the crime...when you consider he'll never even have the chance to get back what he has lost. Prison is not only about punishment, but also reform, if you look at it in those terms justice wasn't served. The players were his friends and teamates. In a difficult situation on a very difficult day. They supported their friend. In my darkest hour I hope my friends would support me too. To suggest that this team deserved what it got because of universal karma is ludicrious.

The organization is at fault for hiring a snake and being surprised the snake bit them. They'll recover. Perhaps be better for it.

Summation: If the owner and player has a reason to do something, it's OK. If the coach has a reason to do something, he's a snake.

 

[elwayfan446]

Are you fine with Petrino's actions over the past week?

I'm fine with everything except how he told his coaching staff and the team. That should have been handled better.Now, here's a scenario for everyone:Consider yourself to be near the top of your current field of work.You are hired by one of the top 32 firms in your field to lead a huge project. Before you really get started on that project, one of that firm's most talented employees is forced to quit work. Then, a few weeks into that project, one of your most visible workers shows public (in front of all of your other employees) disrespect to you. You discipline him, but he is still insubordinate around the other staff. As the weeks roll on, the project isn't going so well. Other respected employees speak out against you and your methods. You are basically miserable at work.A few weeks before the project (which is basically a huge cluster now) is due, you find out that another firm would love to have you head up one of their divisions. This firm is smaller than where you work now, but you've done that exact work before and seem to prefer it. You'll have to take about a 40% pay cut, but the real catch is that you have to start now. If you wait, you will likely have to continue with your present job and undertake another project.How many of the Petrino bashers will stick with their present job? Show of hands please.

Clayton... how dare you bring logic to this thread.

 

[elwayfan446]

Clayton, If you are happy with your new coach, why do you care what others think?

I don't know why I care.I would have the same view regardless of the school involved, but I'm in this thread because [cliche] Petrino is now part of the Razorback family. [/cliche]

Now I understand why you're defending him. Trying to convince yourself your school didn't hire a pretty despicable human being.Tell you what. Let me know how comfy you are with Petrino when whispers of an opening at Auburn or LSU are being heard.

You talk of him like he killed dogs and committed federal crimes.

Way to dodge the question by assuming I support Vick just because I'm a Falcon fan.

If he does, he does. Nutt did it, all coaches do it.Your double standard between coaches bailing on their contract and owners bailing on their coaches hurts your argument across the board (except for the fact that Petrino should have addressed his team personally).

 

[elwayfan446]

I figure the truth lies somewhere in the middle.Petrino probably had a pretty lousy situation in Atlanta and Blank probably had someone who just wasn't a good fit for a head coach. It's better for everyone if Petrino goes sooner rather than later. Who knows the real story behind all this? I don't. At some level, Blank didn't want him there and Petrino didn't want to be there. The end result was probably right, how they got there will probably mark both of their legacies. Petrino will probably never coach in the NFL again, not as a head coach. Blank will probably have a hard time finding a very good quality coach candidate to take the Atlanta job now. I don't know what Petrino had to go through in Atlanta. I don't want to judge him because I didn't have to coach that team and deal with his deck of cards. I think the "respect" issue is much more complex than people make it seem. Given the nature of high draft picks and bonuses against the cap, some players are uncuttable and hard to dump. Look at Vick's contract. Sure Petrino needs to find a way to relate to players. But Blank also has to create an environment where players have to respect their coach. I'm not saying DeAngelo Hall was wrong for being angry about his coach or his team, but there is no way that should have ever reached the public eyes and ears. That's not a Petrino only problem, it's an organizational problem. It's going to be interesting to see what Thomas can do for the next few games. I'm sure if he fails, it's because of Petrino's lingering issues. If he succeeds, it's because he would have never gotten a shot with a white coach standing in his way. If he retains the job, the Falcons are progressive. If he doesn't retain the position into next season, it's just another example of a black coach not getting a fair shot. Blank's PR nightmares are not over, the Rooney Rule will come back and bite him in the butt too before this is all over.

Knowing what you know, would you hire Petrino for one of the most essential positions within your company - one that will make or break your company's performance both short and especially long term?

Petrino is all upside for Arkansas. He will spend the next few years building up the recruits, building a foundation, and getting the program back to where it needs to be. If he leaves, he leaves it better than when he got here. If he stays, that is even better. Yes, I would hire him... there is no down side for a school like Arkansas who wants to get to the same level year in and year out with the LSU's, Auburn's, Gorgia's, Florida's and Tennessee's of the SEC. There is only upside.