Bobby Petrino to step down (2 Viewers)

[PatrickT]

MiamiNYJSFCARKCBALDETWASAll of these are teams that need a lot of work still, and have for a long time, much like the Falcons. In fact, outside of CAR and maybe BAL, all of had less success in the 2000s than the Falcons. Without doing any research, I bet I could make a case that we've had more recent success than any. We lost Vick. That's it. That's all. One freakin' guy.

Forgot about Kerney.

No, I didn't mention Kerney cause that was a planned move, the normal part of FA. He was replaced by Anderson who's been OK.

 

[Joe Bryant]

If you want to say petrino was a bad hire, I am all about it, but he is not a coward for going to a place where he would rather be. That's america.

Just to play the other side, even though it gets cliched and mocked, I think lots of people would say "America" is about finishing the job, working through the tough times, doing what you say you'll do and not throwing in the towel.It feels to me that people are more upset in a general sense. I don't think many are sad that Petrino is gone. I think it just goes against what some people sort of "stand for".What is most interesting to me on the whole thing is how this has divided people.J

 

[PatrickT]

MiamiNYJSFCARKCBALDETWASAll of these are teams that need a lot of work still, and have for a long time, much like the Falcons. In fact, outside of CAR and maybe BAL, all of had less success in the 2000s than the Falcons. Without doing any research, I bet I could make a case that we've had more recent success than any. We lost Vick. That's it. That's all. One freakin' guy. Reasons the Falcons are not some forlorn, lost, red-headed step-childeAngelo Hall (CB)Rod Coleman (DT)Jerious Norwood (RB)Michael Boley (LB)DeMorrio Williams (LB)Trey Lewis (DT)John Abraham (DE)Jamaal Anderson (DE)David Irons (CB)Chris Houston (CB)(I know, but he's a good man-to-man guy and struggling with the zone. And he's still a rook).Darren Stone (S)Justin Blalock (OG)Alge Crumpler (TE)Roddy White (WR)Laurent Robinson (WR)Stephen Nicholas (LB)/Not getting in your face, Joe, just really don't get this "worst HC job in the NFL" line. Plus, I might be a tad emotional over this latest development.

To be clear, I said one of the worst. Not worst.But in my opinion, the Falcons job is clearly worse than all of those except maybe Miami. A lot of it is prestige and fan support as well. I mean the Redskins are struggling but that is a historic franchise. People actually wait for season tickets. Just not the same buzz for the Falcons. On the plus side, Atlanta's a good city. The ownership is solid. I don't mean to dog your team. I like the Falcons. But unless Mr. Blank goes beserk with the checkbook, I think it's realistically going to be a tough sell for a new HC. Hope they get a great one though.J

Ok, as far as historical prestige sure. I would agree on all but Carolina there. And, of course, it's that history that creates those ticket logjams. But from a pure opportunity standpoint, people claiming that this team is devoid of talent aren't paying attention, and that's the case I'm trying to make. There's a solid base to build from, and a high draft pick to start with. We'll also have a good bit of cap room to work FA with. Blank is also very big on building a family atmosphere and nearly every player or coach to come thru here has talked highly about that.There's a lot of positives here and I'm convinced we're 2 OTs and a QB and a HC away from competing for a division title next year, with everyone back healthy. No worries, Joe, never got the impression you were dogging anyone. It's a common impression because people thought Vick was the whole team.

 

[PatrickT]

Falcons fans caught a break with this. Petrino obviously isn't a man of character, so let him slink back to college. Who wants a guy who can't finish even one season? He wasn't good enough for the NFL, he knew it, so he's going back where he belongs. Atlanta is a professional football team, and they deserve a professional coach. Not everyone can make it in the big leagues, so at least the team's fans don't have to waste their time with him.

I have to agree with this. As angry as I am with the man for pulling this crap, I'm glad he's gone so I don't have to suffer thru another year of his incompetence. I hope Arkansas goes 0-12 next year.

 

[Warpig]

PETRINO AND SABAN. A COUPLE OF PUNKS!

Good Riddance toolbags.

You're kidding right? Coaching at Alabama is>any NFL jobs and coaching at Arkansas>>>>>coaching in Atlanta. Maybe you don't watch college football or something.

While I agree that I'd rather be a college coach (for a big time college) than an NFL coach, I also agree that the way Saban and Petrino went about it is totally cowardice.Petrino and Saban have both dropped quite a few levels on my respect meter.

But hey, they're rich and I'm not so who am I to judge?

 

[PatrickT]

I just don't get the hate for this guy.He took a job, he job changed a lot, he decided it was not what he wanted. If I don't like my job so I quit and go to a job I enjoy more am I a coward? Is trying to make your life more enjoyable somehow not manly? That makes no sense.Sounds like he was up front with the team about it, and when a job that he'd be happy in came along he jumped. Why would staying in a job you don't like for 2 years and not giving your all make you more of a man? Good luck to him, I hope his new job makes him happy, and the falcons and their fans need to move on.

I don't know what you do for a living B-Deep, but if you were to quit your job a replacement can be put in and no one will blink an eye, and I say this with no intent of offending you, as any of us quitting our day jobs are hurting mostly ourselves and one else. However when an NFL head coach quits on his team the consequences resonate well beyond just him. Fan suport will dwindle, players will be distraught and many will likely lose their jobs, and it can cause turmoil that reaches well. There is a lot of money to be LOST from him quitting. I won't even touch up on the subject of him lieing to his boss (or should I say bosses since this isn't the first time this has happened). Petrino is scum, a classless loser who while a great head coach lacks the character and honesty that would make him a trustworthy person. Good riddance... the Falcons don't jokes like him and Mora to be coaching their team.

You made a lot of assumptions in there. Many times someone has quit and it has hurt the company I work for, or myself directly.So, he should have kept a job he didn't want? You think him staying there out of some sense of responsibility when his hear is elsewhere would be the formula for coaching success?When do you think it IS acceptable for an NFL coach to quit? The consequences you listed are going to happen anytime a coach quits, mid season, season end, anytime a coach says "I want to go someplace else". Can coaches never quit?If you want to say petrino was a bad hire, I am all about it, but he is not a coward for going to a place where he would rather be. That's america.

In any job, it's considered, at the least, responsible and correct to give notice. If someone walked out on you at 3PM in the middle of a crisis, would you smile, wave goodbye and think fondly of him as he walked out the door? No difference here. He could have at least had the courtesy to give some advance notice. Finish out the year, just like I'd finish out my two week notice. It's simply the right thing to do. Walking out on a commitment is not "america". It's being an #######. He's being called a coward, and rightly so, because he made a commitment to a group of people who relied on him, looked to him for leadership, then lied to them, did not live up to his commitment to do his best job and ran away when things weren't going the way he wanted them to.

 

[menobrown]

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.

As an Arkansas Alum I assure you that you are dead wrong. We are not insane but passionate and knowledgeable. You sound like one of those national media people who point at our record and and say Nutt's job should be safe but the people who watch the games know better. One thing those of us who actually watched Arkansas play could tell you is we failed to maximize the career of Mcfadden because Nutt does not know how to put a passing attack together with the final straw coming when his ego got in the way and he chased off a hot up and coming OC and a guy who was the #1 rated QB in the nation coming out of HS. Not to mention a highly regarded WR who went with the QB to USC. Essentially Nutt had two great college players at his disposal, Matt Jones and Mcfadden. Those two players were so skilled at the college level that they masked Nutt's inability to put a quality offense together and we know this. The fact that Tuberville and Tommy Bowden considered leaving their jobs until both schools had to step up and increase their pay and Petrino is quitting the Falcons to run to Arkansas should tell you what kind of job it is. The facilities at Arkansas are truly second to none. Our stadium is not the biggest but it's over 70,000, about to expand to 90,000, and several people have commented it's the nicest stadium in the SEC. As someone pointed out before Arkansas used to compete for the National Championship at least twice a decade so you will have to pardon us while we think we can do it again. After all, the university has done it before,has dominated track and field for years and for a long stretch in the 90's fielded the best college basketball team in the nation.As a Hog fan and Norwood owner I can't imagine better news today.

Umm, what exactly is that long stretch? 3 Final 4s in the Nolan era, with a championship in 94, and a return to the title game in 95. Sorry, but the early 90s were certainly the Duke era and the late 90s were dominated by Kentucky. Its these kind of statements that get people scratching their heads at Arkansas fans. You were a top program for a few years, but it was hardly sustained.Also, the last time Arkansas football was nationally relevant was in the early 60s. Things have changed dramatically since then. Is it possible for the school to become a power? Sure, but there are quite a few other SEC programs that will have something to say about that.

You have no idea what you are talking about. I'm not sure which year the Hogs stopped being the winningest team in the 90's but it was 1996 or 1997. Either way, they were the winningest team in college basketall for at least the first 6-7 years in the 90's which I properly defined as a long stretch.

This statement seems very misleading to me. Duke had the most wins through the first four, so what if you passed them in the 5th just to be pass during the 6th year. You held the most wins for like a moment in the big picture of things.1990 - 1991 Duke 32, Arkansas 34, Kentucky 22

1991 - 1992 Duke 34, Arkansas 26, Kentucky 29

1992 - 1993 Duke 24, Arkansas 22, Kentucky 30

1993 - 1994 Duke 28, Arkansas 31, Kentucky 27

1994 - 1995 Duke 13, Arkansas 32, Kentucky 28

1995 - 1996 Duke 18, Arkansas 20, Kentucky 34

Had lead year one, lost it year two, didn't regain it until year 5, and then were passed by Kentucky the next year.

1990 - 1991 Arkansas 34, Duke 32, Kentucky 22

1990 - 1992 Duke 64, Arkansas 60, Kentucky 51

1990 - 1993 Duke 88, Arkansas 82, Kentucky 81

1990 - 1994 Duke 116, Arkansas 113, Kentucky 108

1990 - 1995 Arkansas 145, Kentucky 136, Duke 129

1990 - 1996 Kentucky 170, Arkansas 165, Duke 147

It's pretty misleading to say they led the first five years, imo, when they had to over take a team that 5th year and then couldn't hold it for a second straight season. Duke held the title for 3 straight and I'm sure Kentucky with 2 straight 35 win seasons were holding it for a few straight. Arkansas couldn't hold it for even two straight.

I'm not going to hijack this thread any longer but two things.1. You left out games from 1990 during the 89-90 season when the Hogs has a better record than Duke before losing to Duke in the final four.

2. Secondly you just admitted that in 1995 Arkansas was at the point had the most wins in NCAA in the 90's which all I ever said but I do appreciate you digging up facts to back up what I said.

 

[Man in the yellow hat]

I don't know Petrino personally, so I can't judge his character.

However, are we talking about the NFL here? Complaining about loyalty? The league where players hold out? Throw tantrums? Demand trades? Leave for bigger paydays, abondoning the teams that gave them their shot in the NFL?

And don't think for a second Atlanta wouldn't have canned his ### if they thought he wasn't doing the job, no matter what his contract looked like.

Petrino may have been a bad coach. However, Atlanta's front office needs to take some blame here. They hired the guy, and it showed he wasn't an NFL coach.

And I don't begrudge Petriono for leaving at all. He needs to do what's best for him and his family. If that means pissing people off, so bet it. I'd do the same thing.

Then again, I'm also a guy who supports Ricky Williams calling it quits, and he was roasted too.

And I know people hate these analogies, but I do think about career situations for 'ordinary' people. If I get hired to manage a group of 60 or so people, and the CEO loves me, that's great. But if I'm six months into the job, the staff hates me, doesn't by into what I'm doing, and makes my life miserable to the point I dread going to work every day, you can bet your ### I'm walking. And there may or may not be time to give proper notice. Life's too short to be friggin miserable.

 

[PatrickT]

I don't know Petrino personally, so I can't judge his character.

However, are we talking about the NFL here? Complaining about loyalty? The league where players hold out? Throw tantrums? Demand trades? Leave for bigger paydays, abondoning the teams that gave them their shot in the NFL?

And don't think for a second Atlanta wouldn't have canned his ### if they thought he wasn't doing the job, no matter what his contract looked like.

Petrino may have been a bad coach. However, Atlanta's front office needs to take some blame here. They hired the guy, and it showed he wasn't an NFL coach.

And I don't begrudge Petriono for leaving at all. He needs to do what's best for him and his family. If that means pissing people off, so bet it. I'd do the same thing.

Then again, I'm also a guy who supports Ricky Williams calling it quits, and he was roasted too.

It's not about him leaving. It's about how he's leaving. I got no problem with a guy saying "You know, this isn't what I thought it would be. I'm sorry, but I'd rather go do something else now." Then, at least finish the season. It's 3 freakin' weeks, you're getting paid a LOT of money to do so.The fact that he lied, and just got up and left with barely a word is what's got people angry with him. Guys defending him, have you never been a position where someone said he'd do something and then completely bailed on you? Didn't that kinda tick you off?

 

[Man in the yellow hat]

I don't know Petrino personally, so I can't judge his character.

However, are we talking about the NFL here? Complaining about loyalty? The league where players hold out? Throw tantrums? Demand trades? Leave for bigger paydays, abondoning the teams that gave them their shot in the NFL?

And don't think for a second Atlanta wouldn't have canned his ### if they thought he wasn't doing the job, no matter what his contract looked like.

Petrino may have been a bad coach. However, Atlanta's front office needs to take some blame here. They hired the guy, and it showed he wasn't an NFL coach.

And I don't begrudge Petriono for leaving at all. He needs to do what's best for him and his family. If that means pissing people off, so bet it. I'd do the same thing.

Then again, I'm also a guy who supports Ricky Williams calling it quits, and he was roasted too.

It's not about him leaving. It's about how he's leaving. I got no problem with a guy saying "You know, this isn't what I thought it would be. I'm sorry, but I'd rather go do something else now." Then, at least finish the season. It's 3 freakin' weeks, you're getting paid a LOT of money to do so.The fact that he lied, and just got up and left with barely a word is what's got people angry with him. Guys defending him, have you never been a position where someone said he'd do something and then completely bailed on you? Didn't that kinda tick you off?

OK, so leaving's OK. But only on your terms?And let's be clear. What the Falcon's sold him isn't what he got either. You can certainly blame Vick for that, but it works both ways. I'd be ticked if what I was told turned out to be incorrect a few months after I took the job.

 

[Man in the yellow hat]

I don't know Petrino personally, so I can't judge his character.However, are we talking about the NFL here? Complaining about loyalty? The league where players hold out? Throw tantrums? Demand trades? Leave for bigger paydays, abondoning the teams that gave them their shot in the NFL? And don't think for a second Atlanta wouldn't have canned his ### if they thought he wasn't doing the job, no matter what his contract looked like.Petrino may have been a bad coach. However, Atlanta's front office needs to take some blame here. They hired the guy, and it showed he wasn't an NFL coach.And I don't begrudge Petriono for leaving at all. He needs to do what's best for him and his family. If that means pissing people off, so bet it. I'd do the same thing. Then again, I'm also a guy who supports Ricky Williams calling it quits, and he was roasted too.

The fact that he lied, and just got up and left with barely a word is what's got people angry with him.

Why? The players hated him. What's the upside of standing up in front of them and subjecting himself to even more mockery from them? Or are you saying the fans deserved an explanation?

 

[PatrickT]

I don't know Petrino personally, so I can't judge his character.

However, are we talking about the NFL here? Complaining about loyalty? The league where players hold out? Throw tantrums? Demand trades? Leave for bigger paydays, abondoning the teams that gave them their shot in the NFL?

And don't think for a second Atlanta wouldn't have canned his ### if they thought he wasn't doing the job, no matter what his contract looked like.

Petrino may have been a bad coach. However, Atlanta's front office needs to take some blame here. They hired the guy, and it showed he wasn't an NFL coach.

And I don't begrudge Petriono for leaving at all. He needs to do what's best for him and his family. If that means pissing people off, so bet it. I'd do the same thing.

Then again, I'm also a guy who supports Ricky Williams calling it quits, and he was roasted too.

It's not about him leaving. It's about how he's leaving. I got no problem with a guy saying "You know, this isn't what I thought it would be. I'm sorry, but I'd rather go do something else now." Then, at least finish the season. It's 3 freakin' weeks, you're getting paid a LOT of money to do so.The fact that he lied, and just got up and left with barely a word is what's got people angry with him. Guys defending him, have you never been a position where someone said he'd do something and then completely bailed on you? Didn't that kinda tick you off?

OK, so leaving's OK. But only on your terms?And let's be clear. What the Falcon's sold him isn't what he got either. You can certainly blame Vick for that, but it works both ways. I'd be ticked if what I was told turned out to be incorrect a few months after I took the job.

What does that mean, my terms? You're ok with someone lying to you? Would you do it? You'd be perfectly OK with looking your boss in the eye and saying, no, I'm not looking for another job and then calling him on the phone the next morning telling him you quit? And spare me the "he didn't get what he was sold" nonsense. It's not like Blank was hiding Vick's rap sheet behind his back. No one, including Blank or Petrino, foresaw what happened to Vick. So this "sold a bill of goods" line doesn't wash.And as for the mumbling in the locker room, I was just as loud in my disappointment in their behavior as well. But, on further review, looks like they had good cause, doesn't it?

The bottom line? Petrino had every right to do what he did, just as Blank would have had every right to fire him. I have every right to call him out for the duplicitous little scumbag he is.

 

[Man in the yellow hat]

I don't know Petrino personally, so I can't judge his character.

However, are we talking about the NFL here? Complaining about loyalty? The league where players hold out? Throw tantrums? Demand trades? Leave for bigger paydays, abondoning the teams that gave them their shot in the NFL?

And don't think for a second Atlanta wouldn't have canned his ### if they thought he wasn't doing the job, no matter what his contract looked like.

Petrino may have been a bad coach. However, Atlanta's front office needs to take some blame here. They hired the guy, and it showed he wasn't an NFL coach.

And I don't begrudge Petriono for leaving at all. He needs to do what's best for him and his family. If that means pissing people off, so bet it. I'd do the same thing.

Then again, I'm also a guy who supports Ricky Williams calling it quits, and he was roasted too.

It's not about him leaving. It's about how he's leaving. I got no problem with a guy saying "You know, this isn't what I thought it would be. I'm sorry, but I'd rather go do something else now." Then, at least finish the season. It's 3 freakin' weeks, you're getting paid a LOT of money to do so.The fact that he lied, and just got up and left with barely a word is what's got people angry with him. Guys defending him, have you never been a position where someone said he'd do something and then completely bailed on you? Didn't that kinda tick you off?

OK, so leaving's OK. But only on your terms?And let's be clear. What the Falcon's sold him isn't what he got either. You can certainly blame Vick for that, but it works both ways. I'd be ticked if what I was told turned out to be incorrect a few months after I took the job.

What does that mean, my terms? You're ok with someone lying to you? Would you do it? You'd be perfectly OK with looking your boss in the eye and saying, no, I'm not looking for another job and then calling him on the phone the next morning telling him you quit? And spare me the "he didn't get what he was sold" nonsense. It's not like Blank was hiding Vick's rap sheet behind his back. No one, including Blank or Petrino, foresaw what happened to Vick. So this "sold a bill of goods" line doesn't wash.And as for the mumbling in the locker room, I was just as loud in my disappointment in their behavior as well. But, on further review, looks like they had good cause, doesn't it?

The bottom line? Petrino had every right to do what he did, just as Blank would have had every right to fire him. I have every right to call him out for the duplicitous little scumbag he is.

I'm addressing the idea that Petrino should finish out the season. That's what I mean by 'your terms'. Your OK with him going, but he should be there until the year's end? I don't get that. I see no reason.And it is pretty clear Petrino wasn't a good NFL coach, and the players sensed it. So I have no problem with them calling him out.

All I'm saying is if I'm Petrino, why would I show up and be miserable every day? It just doesn't make sense to me. I should show up at a job I hate, with people who hate me, for what reason? I'd rather have a guy know it's time to go then one who shows up and mails it in every day.

 

[Bogeys]

Falcons fans caught a break with this. Petrino obviously isn't a man of character, so let him slink back to college. Who wants a guy who can't finish even one season? He wasn't good enough for the NFL, he knew it, so he's going back where he belongs. Atlanta is a professional football team, and they deserve a professional coach. Not everyone can make it in the big leagues, so at least the team's fans don't have to waste their time with him.

I have to agree with this. As angry as I am with the man for pulling this crap, I'm glad he's gone so I don't have to suffer thru another year of his incompetence. I hope Arkansas goes 0-12 next year.

This from the guy that is complaining about Petrino's character. Stay classy

 

[PatrickT]

Great article in the AJC

Petrino was never up to the job

He lost his quarterback. But Bobby Petrino didn’t quit because he lost Michael Vick.

He lost players to knee injuries, ankle injuries — injuries because the JetSki went one way and his defensive tackle’s leg went the other. But Bobby Petrino didn’t quit because the Falcons’ roster was decimated.

Bobby Petrino quit because being an NFL coach isn’t just about Xs and Os. It’s about all of those things Petrino didn’t want to handle and clearly wasn’t equipped to handle. Salary cap issues. Players egos. The most basic form of communication.

Bobby Petrino quit because he couldn’t handle almost anything.

Michael Vick lied to Arthur Blank. Bobby Petrino lied to Arthur Blank. The second guy didn’t break any laws, but the two are closer than we could have imagined in the character department.

Petrino is a quitter. Thirteen games and he is checking out for a job back in the college ranks, where he can mold young men by stepping on them first, which is something you can’t do in the NFL.

Nick Saban couldn’t handle it either. Hey, at least Nick Saban lasted two seasons. By comparison, Nick Saban is a martyr.

Thirteen games. Are you kidding?

When Blank’s head stops spinning after all he has endured this season, he should breathe a sigh of relief. He should get past the fact he has to find another coach. Get past the fact that the franchise he would open a vein for has hit bottom and will take some time to turn around.

Arthur: Get past all of that, because things probably just got better. Save the balance on the five-year, $24 million contract you gave Petrino. Find yourself a coach who won’t melt down every time the temperature rises above 78.

If football is the ultimate game of physical and mental toughness, Petrino turned out to be the ultimate mushhead. This is the NFL. This is Big Boy football. The Falcons already have too many players who stomp their feet and hold their breath. The last thing they needed was a coach who did the same thing.

Petrino said the Falcons were his dream job. He said he wanted to work for Blank and Rich McKay. He said he wanted one season to see what he could do with Vick.

Things didn’t go as planned. Obviously. Petrino didn’t win. That wasn’t really his fault, given circumstances. But there were so many warning signs about how he handled situations, you wondered how he would function in the NFL environment, even without the extreme issues.

He rarely communicated with his players. He didn’t seek any input from the veterans he inherited — and while it’s certainly his prerogative as a head coach to do as he pleases, constructing such walls is counter-productive for a coach trying to build unity.

Petrino didn’t tell players when they were being benched, or why. Some found out when they got to the stadium on game day. Joey Harrington found out from reporters in a news conference that he might not start at quarterback that week.

Say what you want about Harrington — no professional athlete deserves to be humiliated like that. No man deserves to be treated like that.

Bobby Petrino. Not a man. He is running like a coward.

It has been apparent all season that Petrino and McKay were on different pages in personnel issues (Why make Ovie Mughelli the league’s highest-paid fullback if he’s not going to be used?)

Most of all, he had lost the team. That was never more apparent than in Monday night’s game against New Orleans. Hall walked into the Georgia Dome carrying a sign, and Roddy White wore a T-shirt, both reading, “Free Michael Vick.” Once you got past the vitriol directed toward Hall and White, you had to ask yourself: Would any player have done that if they liked, respected or even feared their coach?

Petrino took exception last week when I asked him about the possibility of leaving the Falcons for a college job (I was giving him the benefit of the doubt, and figured he would wait until after the season).

“My plans are to be here, there’s no question about that,” he said. “I get asked the same question every day, and that’s my plan.”

And now his plan is taking him to Arkansas. At least 13 games covers a full college season.

The Falcons now have one less quitter to worry about.

Good riddance.

 

[redman]

Does Marty get a call from Blank?

This is who I think would be the best hire. He's good at making bad teams good, which is what they need right now.

 

[Man in the yellow hat]

I'm really shocked that the Atlanta Journal Constitution would call Petrino a coward and question his manhood.

I think it's pretty clear he knew he sucked at this level and was in over his head. If he didn't know, he'd still be there thinking he had it under control. So to have reporters pile on like this doesn't do much for me.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Great article in the AJC

Petrino was never up to the job

He lost his quarterback. But Bobby Petrino didn’t quit because he lost Michael Vick.

He lost players to knee injuries, ankle injuries — injuries because the JetSki went one way and his defensive tackle’s leg went the other. But Bobby Petrino didn’t quit because the Falcons’ roster was decimated.

Bobby Petrino quit because being an NFL coach isn’t just about Xs and Os. It’s about all of those things Petrino didn’t want to handle and clearly wasn’t equipped to handle. Salary cap issues. Players egos. The most basic form of communication.

Bobby Petrino quit because he couldn’t handle almost anything.

Michael Vick lied to Arthur Blank. Bobby Petrino lied to Arthur Blank. The second guy didn’t break any laws, but the two are closer than we could have imagined in the character department.

Petrino is a quitter. Thirteen games and he is checking out for a job back in the college ranks, where he can mold young men by stepping on them first, which is something you can’t do in the NFL.

Nick Saban couldn’t handle it either. Hey, at least Nick Saban lasted two seasons. By comparison, Nick Saban is a martyr.

Thirteen games. Are you kidding?

When Blank’s head stops spinning after all he has endured this season, he should breathe a sigh of relief. He should get past the fact he has to find another coach. Get past the fact that the franchise he would open a vein for has hit bottom and will take some time to turn around.

Arthur: Get past all of that, because things probably just got better. Save the balance on the five-year, $24 million contract you gave Petrino. Find yourself a coach who won’t melt down every time the temperature rises above 78.

If football is the ultimate game of physical and mental toughness, Petrino turned out to be the ultimate mushhead. This is the NFL. This is Big Boy football. The Falcons already have too many players who stomp their feet and hold their breath. The last thing they needed was a coach who did the same thing.

Petrino said the Falcons were his dream job. He said he wanted to work for Blank and Rich McKay. He said he wanted one season to see what he could do with Vick.

Things didn’t go as planned. Obviously. Petrino didn’t win. That wasn’t really his fault, given circumstances. But there were so many warning signs about how he handled situations, you wondered how he would function in the NFL environment, even without the extreme issues.

He rarely communicated with his players. He didn’t seek any input from the veterans he inherited — and while it’s certainly his prerogative as a head coach to do as he pleases, constructing such walls is counter-productive for a coach trying to build unity.

Petrino didn’t tell players when they were being benched, or why. Some found out when they got to the stadium on game day. Joey Harrington found out from reporters in a news conference that he might not start at quarterback that week.

Say what you want about Harrington — no professional athlete deserves to be humiliated like that. No man deserves to be treated like that.

Bobby Petrino. Not a man. He is running like a coward.

It has been apparent all season that Petrino and McKay were on different pages in personnel issues (Why make Ovie Mughelli the league’s highest-paid fullback if he’s not going to be used?)

Most of all, he had lost the team. That was never more apparent than in Monday night’s game against New Orleans. Hall walked into the Georgia Dome carrying a sign, and Roddy White wore a T-shirt, both reading, “Free Michael Vick.” Once you got past the vitriol directed toward Hall and White, you had to ask yourself: Would any player have done that if they liked, respected or even feared their coach?

Petrino took exception last week when I asked him about the possibility of leaving the Falcons for a college job (I was giving him the benefit of the doubt, and figured he would wait until after the season).

“My plans are to be here, there’s no question about that,” he said. “I get asked the same question every day, and that’s my plan.”

And now his plan is taking him to Arkansas. At least 13 games covers a full college season.

The Falcons now have one less quitter to worry about.

Good riddance.

On the flip side. That's a lame article. Guy quit and left his team in a semi lurch for the last three games of a season that is effectively over. It's not the end of the world.He should have stuck it out I think. But while the article might play in Atlanta, that's a weak smear job.

J

 

[PatrickT]

Falcons fans caught a break with this. Petrino obviously isn't a man of character, so let him slink back to college. Who wants a guy who can't finish even one season? He wasn't good enough for the NFL, he knew it, so he's going back where he belongs. Atlanta is a professional football team, and they deserve a professional coach. Not everyone can make it in the big leagues, so at least the team's fans don't have to waste their time with him.

I have to agree with this. As angry as I am with the man for pulling this crap, I'm glad he's gone so I don't have to suffer thru another year of his incompetence. I hope Arkansas goes 0-12 next year.

This from the guy that is complaining about Petrino's character. Stay classy

This is unclassy, how? I think Petrino is scum, and I hope his career tanks as a result of the way he's treated others. I'm also a Georgia fan, and would like to see a lot of other SEC teams go 0-12, clearing the way for a Bulldog national championship. I'm going out on a limb and saying it wouldn't hurt your feelings if the Bulldogs stunk next year.Oh, and while we're at it, I hope NO, TB and CAR go 0-12 as well.

Arkansas fans are cheering about getting a carpetbagging head coach, apparently just all warm and fuzzy that he left the entire franchise in a complete lurch and lied to them to their faces, and I'm unclassy? Right.

 

[teamroc]

I'm addressing the idea that Petrino should finish out the season. That's what I mean by 'your terms'. Your OK with him going, but he should be there until the year's end? I don't get that. I see no reason.

And it is pretty clear Petrino wasn't a good NFL coach, and the players sensed it. So I have no problem with them calling him out.

All I'm saying is if I'm Petrino, why would I show up and be miserable every day? It just doesn't make sense to me. I should show up at a job I hate, with people who hate me, for what reason? I'd rather have a guy know it's time to go then one who shows up and mails it in every day.

Oh dear. Poor Bobby was "unhappy" making $100,000 a week. Coaching football. Oh lord how did he drag himself out of bed each day. Only making 5 million a year, the guy is pretty much a martyr.

You don't think soldiers in Iraq hate it? You don't think they all don't want to leave that hell hole and come home? Why don't most of them quit/leave? It's what they signed up for. And Bobby signed up to coach in the NFL, and is getting paid more then 99% of America to do it. Ricky Williams got killed for walking out on the team a few weeks before the start of the season. Poor Ricky just didn't want to play football. Give him a pass right? Uh no.

He signed a *5 year* deal. He moved his family there. He made moves that will effect the franchise for years. He cut players. Had a voice in drafting players. Then after 13 weeks he bails? And already has a new job? *lol* You have to be kidding me.

If he "hated" coaching so much. If he was having such a horrible time. Why does he already have a new coaching job? Sounds like life wasn't so bad, seeing as he signed right back up. Does signing your name to a contract not mean anything anymore? At least give it your best shot. Less then a year of a 5 year deal? That’s not your best shot. Blank is a good owner, McKay is a good GM. He’s not coaching the Raiders. I’m sure he has full support of the organization. He’s just a coward. Plain and simple.

Sure the NFL isn't big on loyalty, to a point. If he was in year 5, I wouldn't have a problem with it. He did his best, played out most of the contract. Same with players, if it's the 4th/5th year of the deal, you've put in your time. But in the first year? Less then the first year? No respect for him at all.

ESPN has some good quotes.

""He's five for five," Jurich explained.

What he meant: this is the fifth straight year Bobby Petrino has tried to get another job. Every single season he's been a head coach, he's ended it by pursuing something else. "

"In 2003, his first year as a head coach at the University of Louisville, Petrino went behind the back of his employer and his onetime boss, Tuberville, to negotiate a deal replacing him at Auburn. He held a clandestine meeting across the Ohio River from Louisville in southern Indiana with Auburn officials, two days before both the Tigers and Cardinals played their final regular-season games. "

"On Nov. 26, Petrino told the Associated Press that he was staying in Atlanta. "I haven't given it [college coaching vacancies] one bit of thought," he said.

Shockingly, that didn't hold up, either. "

"Bobby Petrino will return your embrace, Hog fans. But while he's hugging you he'll be looking over your shoulder, scanning the terrain for his next hook-up.

Even in a profession rife with dishonest posturing, Petrino is singularly mercenary. Loyalty, allegiance, commitment and honesty are foreign concepts to him. It must be a sad existence.

I apologize to Alabama's Nick Saban -- last year I named him president of the Liar's Club. He's been impeached and replaced by the disingenuous drifter. "

ESPN Article

 

[PatrickT]

Great article in the AJC

Petrino was never up to the job

<snip>

The Falcons now have one less quitter to worry about.

Good riddance.

On the flip side. That's a lame article. Guy quit and left his team in a semi lurch for the last three games of a season that is effectively over. It's not the end of the world.He should have stuck it out I think. But while the article might play in Atlanta, that's a weak smear job.

J

Wow. Odd take, IMO. I thought it summed up things quite well and didn't see it as a smear job at all, just the plain truth.

 

[redman]

Great article in the AJC

Petrino was never up to the job

He lost his quarterback. But Bobby Petrino didn’t quit because he lost Michael Vick.

He lost players to knee injuries, ankle injuries — injuries because the JetSki went one way and his defensive tackle’s leg went the other. But Bobby Petrino didn’t quit because the Falcons’ roster was decimated.

Bobby Petrino quit because being an NFL coach isn’t just about Xs and Os. It’s about all of those things Petrino didn’t want to handle and clearly wasn’t equipped to handle. Salary cap issues. Players egos. The most basic form of communication.

Bobby Petrino quit because he couldn’t handle almost anything.

Michael Vick lied to Arthur Blank. Bobby Petrino lied to Arthur Blank. The second guy didn’t break any laws, but the two are closer than we could have imagined in the character department.

Petrino is a quitter. Thirteen games and he is checking out for a job back in the college ranks, where he can mold young men by stepping on them first, which is something you can’t do in the NFL.

Nick Saban couldn’t handle it either. Hey, at least Nick Saban lasted two seasons. By comparison, Nick Saban is a martyr.

Thirteen games. Are you kidding?

When Blank’s head stops spinning after all he has endured this season, he should breathe a sigh of relief. He should get past the fact he has to find another coach. Get past the fact that the franchise he would open a vein for has hit bottom and will take some time to turn around.

Arthur: Get past all of that, because things probably just got better. Save the balance on the five-year, $24 million contract you gave Petrino. Find yourself a coach who won’t melt down every time the temperature rises above 78.

If football is the ultimate game of physical and mental toughness, Petrino turned out to be the ultimate mushhead. This is the NFL. This is Big Boy football. The Falcons already have too many players who stomp their feet and hold their breath. The last thing they needed was a coach who did the same thing.

Petrino said the Falcons were his dream job. He said he wanted to work for Blank and Rich McKay. He said he wanted one season to see what he could do with Vick.

Things didn’t go as planned. Obviously. Petrino didn’t win. That wasn’t really his fault, given circumstances. But there were so many warning signs about how he handled situations, you wondered how he would function in the NFL environment, even without the extreme issues.

He rarely communicated with his players. He didn’t seek any input from the veterans he inherited — and while it’s certainly his prerogative as a head coach to do as he pleases, constructing such walls is counter-productive for a coach trying to build unity.

Petrino didn’t tell players when they were being benched, or why. Some found out when they got to the stadium on game day. Joey Harrington found out from reporters in a news conference that he might not start at quarterback that week.

Say what you want about Harrington — no professional athlete deserves to be humiliated like that. No man deserves to be treated like that.

Bobby Petrino. Not a man. He is running like a coward.

It has been apparent all season that Petrino and McKay were on different pages in personnel issues (Why make Ovie Mughelli the league’s highest-paid fullback if he’s not going to be used?)

Most of all, he had lost the team. That was never more apparent than in Monday night’s game against New Orleans. Hall walked into the Georgia Dome carrying a sign, and Roddy White wore a T-shirt, both reading, “Free Michael Vick.” Once you got past the vitriol directed toward Hall and White, you had to ask yourself: Would any player have done that if they liked, respected or even feared their coach?

Petrino took exception last week when I asked him about the possibility of leaving the Falcons for a college job (I was giving him the benefit of the doubt, and figured he would wait until after the season).

“My plans are to be here, there’s no question about that,” he said. “I get asked the same question every day, and that’s my plan.”

And now his plan is taking him to Arkansas. At least 13 games covers a full college season.

The Falcons now have one less quitter to worry about.

Good riddance.

On the flip side. That's a lame article. Guy quit and left his team in a semi lurch for the last three games of a season that is effectively over. It's not the end of the world.He should have stuck it out I think. But while the article might play in Atlanta, that's a weak smear job.

J

What part of it is unfair or inaccurate, Joe?

 

[Bogeys]

Falcons fans caught a break with this. Petrino obviously isn't a man of character, so let him slink back to college. Who wants a guy who can't finish even one season? He wasn't good enough for the NFL, he knew it, so he's going back where he belongs. Atlanta is a professional football team, and they deserve a professional coach. Not everyone can make it in the big leagues, so at least the team's fans don't have to waste their time with him.

I have to agree with this. As angry as I am with the man for pulling this crap, I'm glad he's gone so I don't have to suffer thru another year of his incompetence. I hope Arkansas goes 0-12 next year.

This from the guy that is complaining about Petrino's character. Stay classy

This is unclassy, how? I think Petrino is scum, and I hope his career tanks as a result of the way he's treated others. I'm also a Georgia fan, and would like to see a lot of other SEC teams go 0-12, clearing the way for a Bulldog national championship. I'm going out on a limb and saying it wouldn't hurt your feelings if the Bulldogs stunk next year.Oh, and while we're at it, I hope NO, TB and CAR go 0-12 as well.

Arkansas fans are cheering about getting a carpetbagging head coach, apparently just all warm and fuzzy that he left the entire franchise in a complete lurch and lied to them to their faces, and I'm unclassy? Right.

You are basically about losing your coach and how it affects the Falcons and their fans, but then turn around and wish other fans and a team bad luck. I don't want any SEC team to lose until they play Arkansas (that makes my team look better if they win), nice back peddle to try to justify it because you are a Georgia fan though.

 

[JaxBill]

I've got a question for the Petrino bashers:

Suppose Petrino "does the right thing" and declines Arkansas saying that he signed a five-year deal and he was going to stick it out. Falcons lose their next 3 games and Arkansas hires somebody else. Arthur Blank has a change of heart, goes against his earlier public support of Petrino and fires Petrino.

Would anybody be on here questioning Blank's character and calling him a liar?

 

[PatrickT]

AJC reporting: Emmitt Thomas, the Falcons secondary coach, will serve as interim head coach of the team for the final three games of the season, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Supposed to be a press conference announcing this at 2pm today.

 

[Dodge]

After the season, it's likely Atlanta will talk against to one of the finalists for the job last year -- San Francisco assistant head coach Mike Singletary. The top pro candidates this year are expected to include offensive coordinator Jason Garrett of the Cowboys and defensive coordinators Rex Ryan of Baltimore and Jim Schwartz of the Titans.

I heard that Mike Singletary was the guy Blank wanted but Mckhay talked him out of it.

 

[PatrickT]

Falcons fans caught a break with this. Petrino obviously isn't a man of character, so let him slink back to college. Who wants a guy who can't finish even one season? He wasn't good enough for the NFL, he knew it, so he's going back where he belongs. Atlanta is a professional football team, and they deserve a professional coach. Not everyone can make it in the big leagues, so at least the team's fans don't have to waste their time with him.

I have to agree with this. As angry as I am with the man for pulling this crap, I'm glad he's gone so I don't have to suffer thru another year of his incompetence. I hope Arkansas goes 0-12 next year.

This from the guy that is complaining about Petrino's character. Stay classy

This is unclassy, how? I think Petrino is scum, and I hope his career tanks as a result of the way he's treated others. I'm also a Georgia fan, and would like to see a lot of other SEC teams go 0-12, clearing the way for a Bulldog national championship. I'm going out on a limb and saying it wouldn't hurt your feelings if the Bulldogs stunk next year.Oh, and while we're at it, I hope NO, TB and CAR go 0-12 as well.

Arkansas fans are cheering about getting a carpetbagging head coach, apparently just all warm and fuzzy that he left the entire franchise in a complete lurch and lied to them to their faces, and I'm unclassy? Right.

You are basically about losing your coach and how it affects the Falcons and their fans, but then turn around and wish other fans and a team bad luck. I don't want any SEC team to lose until they play Arkansas (that makes my team look better if they win), nice back peddle to try to justify it because you are a Georgia fan though.

And what does that make Arkansas fans who are delighted that Petrino bailed on his team to come coach for them? I might've gone over the top a bit, I'll admit it, but let's be serious here. I'm guessing if LSU went 0-12 next year, I doubt you'd be grieving for LSU fans.

 

[PatrickT]

I've got a question for the Petrino bashers:Suppose Petrino "does the right thing" and declines Arkansas saying that he signed a five-year deal and he was going to stick it out. Falcons lose their next 3 games and Arkansas hires somebody else. Arthur Blank has a change of heart, goes against his earlier public support of Petrino and fires Petrino.Would anybody be on here questioning Blank's character and calling him a liar?

That would depend. I wouldn't be as upset about it had Petrino done this in the off-season. He was obviously over his head, and no problems with him admitting it and going his seperate way, or saying this wasn't the team he signed up to coach, or whatever. No issues with Blank firing him in the off-season, if he didn't meet expected performance levels.But I didn't like it when Blank fired Reeves mid-season, and I wouldn't have liked it now. I don't like it when players hold out on contracts, either, just in case you're wondering.Why is this so hard for people to get? I'm thrilled Petrino is gone. I'm disgusted with him for having essentially lied to the organization and the fans for months.

 

[Third]

I've got a question for the Petrino bashers:Suppose Petrino "does the right thing" and declines Arkansas saying that he signed a five-year deal and he was going to stick it out. Falcons lose their next 3 games and Arkansas hires somebody else. Arthur Blank has a change of heart, goes against his earlier public support of Petrino and fires Petrino.Would anybody be on here questioning Blank's character and calling him a liar?

If Petrino is going to leave the NFL (and he was), he can't wait until the end of the season. Recruiting dead period begins this weekend, and schools like Arkansas - who have had a number of commits re-open their recruiting when Nutt left - cannot afford to wait another 3 weeks and take a chance to let their 2008 recruiting class implode.If Petrino wanted to jump to the SEC, he had to make the move now. Arkansas would not wait on him another 3 weeks to finish up his gig in Atlanta.Saban's situation was different b/c, IIRC, the Alabama search strung out so long that the recruiting dead period had already begun. Bama gained no recruiting advantage by having Saban join them immediately.The Falcons season is over anyway. You think the players haven't mentally quit on the season already? Please.

 

[mozzy84]

I've got a question for the Petrino bashers:Suppose Petrino "does the right thing" and declines Arkansas saying that he signed a five-year deal and he was going to stick it out. Falcons lose their next 3 games and Arkansas hires somebody else. Arthur Blank has a change of heart, goes against his earlier public support of Petrino and fires Petrino.Would anybody be on here questioning Blank's character and calling him a liar?

petrino would still be getting paid for the next 4 years for doing nothing if he got fired, no one would feel to bad for him. The guy signed a 10 year contract with louieville and quit less than six months later, how you think the kids he recruited liked that one? then signs a 5 year contract with the falcons and quits during the year and does it over the phone like he works at a fast food joint. I would not be sending my kid to play football for this guy.

 

[Bogeys]

Falcons fans caught a break with this. Petrino obviously isn't a man of character, so let him slink back to college. Who wants a guy who can't finish even one season? He wasn't good enough for the NFL, he knew it, so he's going back where he belongs. Atlanta is a professional football team, and they deserve a professional coach. Not everyone can make it in the big leagues, so at least the team's fans don't have to waste their time with him.

I have to agree with this. As angry as I am with the man for pulling this crap, I'm glad he's gone so I don't have to suffer thru another year of his incompetence. I hope Arkansas goes 0-12 next year.

This from the guy that is complaining about Petrino's character. Stay classy

This is unclassy, how? I think Petrino is scum, and I hope his career tanks as a result of the way he's treated others. I'm also a Georgia fan, and would like to see a lot of other SEC teams go 0-12, clearing the way for a Bulldog national championship. I'm going out on a limb and saying it wouldn't hurt your feelings if the Bulldogs stunk next year.Oh, and while we're at it, I hope NO, TB and CAR go 0-12 as well.

Arkansas fans are cheering about getting a carpetbagging head coach, apparently just all warm and fuzzy that he left the entire franchise in a complete lurch and lied to them to their faces, and I'm unclassy? Right.

You are basically about losing your coach and how it affects the Falcons and their fans, but then turn around and wish other fans and a team bad luck. I don't want any SEC team to lose until they play Arkansas (that makes my team look better if they win), nice back peddle to try to justify it because you are a Georgia fan though.

And what does that make Arkansas fans who are delighted that Petrino bailed on his team to come coach for them? I might've gone over the top a bit, I'll admit it, but let's be serious here. I'm guessing if LSU went 0-12 next year, I doubt you'd be grieving for LSU fans.

It makes them happy to have a coach that they can be excited about. While I will agree the way it was gone about wasn't the way I like to think I would have handled it, the hate and name calling seem really juvenile to me.As far as LSU goes, I wouldn't greive but I also wouldn't be happy about it. One of the good things about being in the SEC is the level of competition (ie the Hawaii situation) is great and the schools all get to split the big bucks for the bowl games and TV contracts.

 

[burd]

I've got a question for the Petrino bashers:Suppose Petrino "does the right thing" and declines Arkansas saying that he signed a five-year deal and he was going to stick it out. Falcons lose their next 3 games and Arkansas hires somebody else. Arthur Blank has a change of heart, goes against his earlier public support of Petrino and fires Petrino.Would anybody be on here questioning Blank's character and calling him a liar?

petrino would still be getting paid for the next 4 years for doing nothing if he got fired, no one would feel to bad for him. The guy signed a 10 year contract with louieville and quit less than six months later, how you think the kids he recruited liked that one? then signs a 5 year contract with the falcons and quits during the year and does it over the phone like he works at a fast food joint. I would not be sending my kid to play football for this guy.

excellent post ... integrity is nonexistent for petrino as far as im concerned and any school that would hire petrino given his history of not honoring his word doesn't consider integrity an important thing.

 

[Man in the yellow hat]

I'm addressing the idea that Petrino should finish out the season. That's what I mean by 'your terms'. Your OK with him going, but he should be there until the year's end? I don't get that. I see no reason.

And it is pretty clear Petrino wasn't a good NFL coach, and the players sensed it. So I have no problem with them calling him out.

All I'm saying is if I'm Petrino, why would I show up and be miserable every day? It just doesn't make sense to me. I should show up at a job I hate, with people who hate me, for what reason? I'd rather have a guy know it's time to go then one who shows up and mails it in every day.

Oh dear. Poor Bobby was "unhappy" making $100,000 a week. Coaching football. Oh lord how did he drag himself out of bed each day. Only making 5 million a year, the guy is pretty much a martyr.

You don't think soldiers in Iraq hate it? You don't think they all don't want to leave that hell hole and come home? Why don't most of them quit/leave? It's what they signed up for. And Bobby signed up to coach in the NFL, and is getting paid more then 99% of America to do it. Ricky Williams got killed for walking out on the team a few weeks before the start of the season. Poor Ricky just didn't want to play football. Give him a pass right? Uh no.

He signed a *5 year* deal. He moved his family there. He made moves that will effect the franchise for years. He cut players. Had a voice in drafting players. Then after 13 weeks he bails? And already has a new job? *lol* You have to be kidding me.

If he "hated" coaching so much. If he was having such a horrible time. Why does he already have a new coaching job? Sounds like life wasn't so bad, seeing as he signed right back up. Does signing your name to a contract not mean anything anymore? At least give it your best shot. Less then a year of a 5 year deal? That’s not your best shot. Blank is a good owner, McKay is a good GM. He’s not coaching the Raiders. I’m sure he has full support of the organization. He’s just a coward. Plain and simple.

Sure the NFL isn't big on loyalty, to a point. If he was in year 5, I wouldn't have a problem with it. He did his best, played out most of the contract. Same with players, if it's the 4th/5th year of the deal, you've put in your time. But in the first year? Less then the first year? No respect for him at all.

ESPN has some good quotes.

""He's five for five," Jurich explained.

What he meant: this is the fifth straight year Bobby Petrino has tried to get another job. Every single season he's been a head coach, he's ended it by pursuing something else. "

"In 2003, his first year as a head coach at the University of Louisville, Petrino went behind the back of his employer and his onetime boss, Tuberville, to negotiate a deal replacing him at Auburn. He held a clandestine meeting across the Ohio River from Louisville in southern Indiana with Auburn officials, two days before both the Tigers and Cardinals played their final regular-season games. "

"On Nov. 26, Petrino told the Associated Press that he was staying in Atlanta. "I haven't given it [college coaching vacancies] one bit of thought," he said.

Shockingly, that didn't hold up, either. "

"Bobby Petrino will return your embrace, Hog fans. But while he's hugging you he'll be looking over your shoulder, scanning the terrain for his next hook-up.

Even in a profession rife with dishonest posturing, Petrino is singularly mercenary. Loyalty, allegiance, commitment and honesty are foreign concepts to him. It must be a sad existence.

I apologize to Alabama's Nick Saban -- last year I named him president of the Liar's Club. He's been impeached and replaced by the disingenuous drifter. "

ESPN Article

Being a solider is not = to a job. Let's make that clear right now. Terrible analogy. Being a solider is a commitment, with your life on the line. Having a 'job' is just that. A job. It's not life or death. I realize I'm considered new school from my stances on careers. Perhaps it's a generation thing. But let's face it. Most places of employement are only loyal to you when it works for them, and wouldn't think twice about cutting your ### when it would benefit them. That's the real world. So when it comes to a job, the minute getting out of bed in the morning becomes a chore, I'm gone. I'm not going to spend my miserable days dealing with people I hate at a job I can't stand. I just won't do it.

It's not a money issue to me. To think that just because a guy makes a lot of money that he should just shut up and tolerate it? Sorry, I can't see that. Sometimes it ain't about the money. If my heart isn't into it, and I'm mailing it in, it's time to go.

And how said anything about feeling bad for either Petrino or Ricky Williams? I dont' feel bad for them at all. But just because they make a lot of money getting paid to do a job that none of us have the opportunity to do, doesn't mean the same work releated issues don't exist. If they aren't happy, time to move on.

There are no "martyrs" here my friend. A guy didn't like his job and decided to move on. Nothing more. Nothing less.

 

[PatrickT]

Falcons fans caught a break with this. Petrino obviously isn't a man of character, so let him slink back to college. Who wants a guy who can't finish even one season? He wasn't good enough for the NFL, he knew it, so he's going back where he belongs. Atlanta is a professional football team, and they deserve a professional coach. Not everyone can make it in the big leagues, so at least the team's fans don't have to waste their time with him.

I have to agree with this. As angry as I am with the man for pulling this crap, I'm glad he's gone so I don't have to suffer thru another year of his incompetence. I hope Arkansas goes 0-12 next year.

This from the guy that is complaining about Petrino's character. Stay classy

This is unclassy, how? I think Petrino is scum, and I hope his career tanks as a result of the way he's treated others. I'm also a Georgia fan, and would like to see a lot of other SEC teams go 0-12, clearing the way for a Bulldog national championship. I'm going out on a limb and saying it wouldn't hurt your feelings if the Bulldogs stunk next year.Oh, and while we're at it, I hope NO, TB and CAR go 0-12 as well.

Arkansas fans are cheering about getting a carpetbagging head coach, apparently just all warm and fuzzy that he left the entire franchise in a complete lurch and lied to them to their faces, and I'm unclassy? Right.

:( You are basically about losing your coach and how it affects the Falcons and their fans, but then turn around and wish other fans and a team bad luck. I don't want any SEC team to lose until they play Arkansas (that makes my team look better if they win), nice back peddle to try to justify it because you are a Georgia fan though.

And what does that make Arkansas fans who are delighted that Petrino bailed on his team to come coach for them? I might've gone over the top a bit, I'll admit it, but let's be serious here. I'm guessing if LSU went 0-12 next year, I doubt you'd be grieving for LSU fans.

It makes them happy to have a coach that they can be excited about. While I will agree the way it was gone about wasn't the way I like to think I would have handled it, the hate and name calling seem really juvenile to me.As far as LSU goes, I wouldn't greive but I also wouldn't be happy about it. One of the good things about being in the SEC is the level of competition (ie the Hawaii situation) is great and the schools all get to split the big bucks for the bowl games and TV contracts.

Well,you know what? You're right. I am too emotional about it right now. But I think the name-calling is imminently justified. When the shoe fits, wear it. It's not name-calling when it's true.After 30 years of hoping this franchise does something right, and getting sooo close, sooo many times, what he did really ticks me off. But you're right about the SEC, it is the level of competition that makes it great, I guess I should retract that. (reluctantly )

 

[PatrickT]

I'm addressing the idea that Petrino should finish out the season. That's what I mean by 'your terms'. Your OK with him going, but he should be there until the year's end? I don't get that. I see no reason.

And it is pretty clear Petrino wasn't a good NFL coach, and the players sensed it. So I have no problem with them calling him out.

All I'm saying is if I'm Petrino, why would I show up and be miserable every day? It just doesn't make sense to me. I should show up at a job I hate, with people who hate me, for what reason? I'd rather have a guy know it's time to go then one who shows up and mails it in every day.

Oh dear. Poor Bobby was "unhappy" making $100,000 a week. Coaching football. Oh lord how did he drag himself out of bed each day. Only making 5 million a year, the guy is pretty much a martyr.

You don't think soldiers in Iraq hate it? You don't think they all don't want to leave that hell hole and come home? Why don't most of them quit/leave? It's what they signed up for. And Bobby signed up to coach in the NFL, and is getting paid more then 99% of America to do it. Ricky Williams got killed for walking out on the team a few weeks before the start of the season. Poor Ricky just didn't want to play football. Give him a pass right? Uh no.

He signed a *5 year* deal. He moved his family there. He made moves that will effect the franchise for years. He cut players. Had a voice in drafting players. Then after 13 weeks he bails? And already has a new job? *lol* You have to be kidding me.

If he "hated" coaching so much. If he was having such a horrible time. Why does he already have a new coaching job? Sounds like life wasn't so bad, seeing as he signed right back up. Does signing your name to a contract not mean anything anymore? At least give it your best shot. Less then a year of a 5 year deal? That’s not your best shot. Blank is a good owner, McKay is a good GM. He’s not coaching the Raiders. I’m sure he has full support of the organization. He’s just a coward. Plain and simple.

Sure the NFL isn't big on loyalty, to a point. If he was in year 5, I wouldn't have a problem with it. He did his best, played out most of the contract. Same with players, if it's the 4th/5th year of the deal, you've put in your time. But in the first year? Less then the first year? No respect for him at all.

ESPN has some good quotes.

""He's five for five," Jurich explained.

What he meant: this is the fifth straight year Bobby Petrino has tried to get another job. Every single season he's been a head coach, he's ended it by pursuing something else. "

"In 2003, his first year as a head coach at the University of Louisville, Petrino went behind the back of his employer and his onetime boss, Tuberville, to negotiate a deal replacing him at Auburn. He held a clandestine meeting across the Ohio River from Louisville in southern Indiana with Auburn officials, two days before both the Tigers and Cardinals played their final regular-season games. "

"On Nov. 26, Petrino told the Associated Press that he was staying in Atlanta. "I haven't given it [college coaching vacancies] one bit of thought," he said.

Shockingly, that didn't hold up, either. "

"Bobby Petrino will return your embrace, Hog fans. But while he's hugging you he'll be looking over your shoulder, scanning the terrain for his next hook-up.

Even in a profession rife with dishonest posturing, Petrino is singularly mercenary. Loyalty, allegiance, commitment and honesty are foreign concepts to him. It must be a sad existence.

I apologize to Alabama's Nick Saban -- last year I named him president of the Liar's Club. He's been impeached and replaced by the disingenuous drifter. "

ESPN Article

Being a solider is not = to a job. Let's make that clear right now. Terrible analogy. Being a solider is a commitment, with your life on the line. Having a 'job' is just that. A job. It's not life or death. I realize I'm considered new school from my stances on careers. Perhaps it's a generation thing. But let's face it. Most places of employement are only loyal to you when it works for them, and wouldn't think twice about cutting your ### when it would benefit them. That's the real world. So when it comes to a job, the minute getting out of bed in the morning becomes a chore, I'm gone. I'm not going to spend my miserable days dealing with people I hate at a job I can't stand. I just won't do it.

It's not a money issue to me. To think that just because a guy makes a lot of money that he should just shut up and tolerate it? Sorry, I can't see that. Sometimes it ain't about the money. If my heart isn't into it, and I'm mailing it in, it's time to go.

And how said anything about feeling bad for either Petrino or Ricky Williams? I dont' feel bad for them at all. But just because they make a lot of money getting paid to do a job that none of us have the opportunity to do, doesn't mean the same work releated issues don't exist. If they aren't happy, time to move on.

There are no "martyrs" here my friend. A guy didn't like his job and decided to move on. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I suspect we're probably closer in thought than our posts actually indicate. My only question to you then is, would you lie to your boss in the manner that Petrino lied to his, assuming that your boss wasn't a complete tool which, I think we can agree, Blank isn't?If your answer is no, which I suspect it it is, then fine. We probably agree. I don't care that Petrino took an opportunity. I'm angry that his integrity, or lack thereof, has hurt my team.

If you answer is yes, well, we don't have anything more to talk about.

 

[Man in the yellow hat]

I'm addressing the idea that Petrino should finish out the season. That's what I mean by 'your terms'. Your OK with him going, but he should be there until the year's end? I don't get that. I see no reason.

And it is pretty clear Petrino wasn't a good NFL coach, and the players sensed it. So I have no problem with them calling him out.

All I'm saying is if I'm Petrino, why would I show up and be miserable every day? It just doesn't make sense to me. I should show up at a job I hate, with people who hate me, for what reason? I'd rather have a guy know it's time to go then one who shows up and mails it in every day.

Oh dear. Poor Bobby was "unhappy" making $100,000 a week. Coaching football. Oh lord how did he drag himself out of bed each day. Only making 5 million a year, the guy is pretty much a martyr.

You don't think soldiers in Iraq hate it? You don't think they all don't want to leave that hell hole and come home? Why don't most of them quit/leave? It's what they signed up for. And Bobby signed up to coach in the NFL, and is getting paid more then 99% of America to do it. Ricky Williams got killed for walking out on the team a few weeks before the start of the season. Poor Ricky just didn't want to play football. Give him a pass right? Uh no.

He signed a *5 year* deal. He moved his family there. He made moves that will effect the franchise for years. He cut players. Had a voice in drafting players. Then after 13 weeks he bails? And already has a new job? *lol* You have to be kidding me.

If he "hated" coaching so much. If he was having such a horrible time. Why does he already have a new coaching job? Sounds like life wasn't so bad, seeing as he signed right back up. Does signing your name to a contract not mean anything anymore? At least give it your best shot. Less then a year of a 5 year deal? That’s not your best shot. Blank is a good owner, McKay is a good GM. He’s not coaching the Raiders. I’m sure he has full support of the organization. He’s just a coward. Plain and simple.

Sure the NFL isn't big on loyalty, to a point. If he was in year 5, I wouldn't have a problem with it. He did his best, played out most of the contract. Same with players, if it's the 4th/5th year of the deal, you've put in your time. But in the first year? Less then the first year? No respect for him at all.

ESPN has some good quotes.

""He's five for five," Jurich explained.

What he meant: this is the fifth straight year Bobby Petrino has tried to get another job. Every single season he's been a head coach, he's ended it by pursuing something else. "

"In 2003, his first year as a head coach at the University of Louisville, Petrino went behind the back of his employer and his onetime boss, Tuberville, to negotiate a deal replacing him at Auburn. He held a clandestine meeting across the Ohio River from Louisville in southern Indiana with Auburn officials, two days before both the Tigers and Cardinals played their final regular-season games. "

"On Nov. 26, Petrino told the Associated Press that he was staying in Atlanta. "I haven't given it [college coaching vacancies] one bit of thought," he said.

Shockingly, that didn't hold up, either. "

"Bobby Petrino will return your embrace, Hog fans. But while he's hugging you he'll be looking over your shoulder, scanning the terrain for his next hook-up.

Even in a profession rife with dishonest posturing, Petrino is singularly mercenary. Loyalty, allegiance, commitment and honesty are foreign concepts to him. It must be a sad existence.

I apologize to Alabama's Nick Saban -- last year I named him president of the Liar's Club. He's been impeached and replaced by the disingenuous drifter. "

ESPN Article

Being a solider is not = to a job. Let's make that clear right now. Terrible analogy. Being a solider is a commitment, with your life on the line. Having a 'job' is just that. A job. It's not life or death. I realize I'm considered new school from my stances on careers. Perhaps it's a generation thing. But let's face it. Most places of employement are only loyal to you when it works for them, and wouldn't think twice about cutting your ### when it would benefit them. That's the real world. So when it comes to a job, the minute getting out of bed in the morning becomes a chore, I'm gone. I'm not going to spend my miserable days dealing with people I hate at a job I can't stand. I just won't do it.

It's not a money issue to me. To think that just because a guy makes a lot of money that he should just shut up and tolerate it? Sorry, I can't see that. Sometimes it ain't about the money. If my heart isn't into it, and I'm mailing it in, it's time to go.

And how said anything about feeling bad for either Petrino or Ricky Williams? I dont' feel bad for them at all. But just because they make a lot of money getting paid to do a job that none of us have the opportunity to do, doesn't mean the same work releated issues don't exist. If they aren't happy, time to move on.

There are no "martyrs" here my friend. A guy didn't like his job and decided to move on. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I suspect we're probably closer in thought than our posts actually indicate. My only question to you then is, would you lie to your boss in the manner that Petrino lied to his, assuming that your boss wasn't a complete tool which, I think we can agree, Blank isn't?If your answer is no, which I suspect it it is, then fine. We probably agree. I don't care that Petrino took an opportunity. I'm angry that his integrity, or lack thereof, has hurt my team.

If you answer is yes, well, we don't have anything more to talk about.

Ah, now we're getting somehwere. I would not lie to my boss in that manner. So, I can see the anger with that.

 

[massraider]

The guy wasted a year of the Falcons' time. Their owners, fans, and the players. If I was a vet on that team, with my chances of playing for a winner getting slimmer every year, I might want to drive over to his house and slap him.

Petrino should have known what he was getting into, and what the job entailed. The fact that he didn't shows immaturity, selfishness, or both.

 

[JaxBill]

I've got a question for the Petrino bashers:Suppose Petrino "does the right thing" and declines Arkansas saying that he signed a five-year deal and he was going to stick it out. Falcons lose their next 3 games and Arkansas hires somebody else. Arthur Blank has a change of heart, goes against his earlier public support of Petrino and fires Petrino.Would anybody be on here questioning Blank's character and calling him a liar?

petrino would still be getting paid for the next 4 years for doing nothing if he got fired, no one would feel to bad for him. The guy signed a 10 year contract with louieville and quit less than six months later, how you think the kids he recruited liked that one? then signs a 5 year contract with the falcons and quits during the year and does it over the phone like he works at a fast food joint. I would not be sending my kid to play football for this guy.

But you didn't answer the question. It's okay for the owner to terminate the contract early and go back on his prior word but if the coach does it, he's a liar and has no integrity?

 

[massraider]

I've got a question for the Petrino bashers:

Suppose Petrino "does the right thing" and declines Arkansas saying that he signed a five-year deal and he was going to stick it out. Falcons lose their next 3 games and Arkansas hires somebody else. Arthur Blank has a change of heart, goes against his earlier public support of Petrino and fires Petrino.

Would anybody be on here questioning Blank's character and calling him a liar?

petrino would still be getting paid for the next 4 years for doing nothing if he got fired, no one would feel to bad for him. The guy signed a 10 year contract with louieville and quit less than six months later, how you think the kids he recruited liked that one? then signs a 5 year contract with the falcons and quits during the year and does it over the phone like he works at a fast food joint. I would not be sending my kid to play football for this guy.

But you didn't answer the question. It's okay for the owner to terminate the contract early and go back on his prior word but if the coach does it, he's a liar and has no integrity?

People absolutely would question Blank. Everyone would be saying that Petrino never got a fair shake, and that any coach worth their clipboard wouldn't go there.Raiders fan here--umm, yeah, the owner is not above criticism.

 

[PatrickT]

I'm addressing the idea that Petrino should finish out the season. That's what I mean by 'your terms'. Your OK with him going, but he should be there until the year's end? I don't get that. I see no reason.

And it is pretty clear Petrino wasn't a good NFL coach, and the players sensed it. So I have no problem with them calling him out.

All I'm saying is if I'm Petrino, why would I show up and be miserable every day? It just doesn't make sense to me. I should show up at a job I hate, with people who hate me, for what reason? I'd rather have a guy know it's time to go then one who shows up and mails it in every day.

Oh dear. Poor Bobby was "unhappy" making $100,000 a week. Coaching football. Oh lord how did he drag himself out of bed each day. Only making 5 million a year, the guy is pretty much a martyr.

You don't think soldiers in Iraq hate it? You don't think they all don't want to leave that hell hole and come home? Why don't most of them quit/leave? It's what they signed up for. And Bobby signed up to coach in the NFL, and is getting paid more then 99% of America to do it. Ricky Williams got killed for walking out on the team a few weeks before the start of the season. Poor Ricky just didn't want to play football. Give him a pass right? Uh no.

He signed a *5 year* deal. He moved his family there. He made moves that will effect the franchise for years. He cut players. Had a voice in drafting players. Then after 13 weeks he bails? And already has a new job? *lol* You have to be kidding me.

If he "hated" coaching so much. If he was having such a horrible time. Why does he already have a new coaching job? Sounds like life wasn't so bad, seeing as he signed right back up. Does signing your name to a contract not mean anything anymore? At least give it your best shot. Less then a year of a 5 year deal? That’s not your best shot. Blank is a good owner, McKay is a good GM. He’s not coaching the Raiders. I’m sure he has full support of the organization. He’s just a coward. Plain and simple.

Sure the NFL isn't big on loyalty, to a point. If he was in year 5, I wouldn't have a problem with it. He did his best, played out most of the contract. Same with players, if it's the 4th/5th year of the deal, you've put in your time. But in the first year? Less then the first year? No respect for him at all.

ESPN has some good quotes.

""He's five for five," Jurich explained.

What he meant: this is the fifth straight year Bobby Petrino has tried to get another job. Every single season he's been a head coach, he's ended it by pursuing something else. "

"In 2003, his first year as a head coach at the University of Louisville, Petrino went behind the back of his employer and his onetime boss, Tuberville, to negotiate a deal replacing him at Auburn. He held a clandestine meeting across the Ohio River from Louisville in southern Indiana with Auburn officials, two days before both the Tigers and Cardinals played their final regular-season games. "

"On Nov. 26, Petrino told the Associated Press that he was staying in Atlanta. "I haven't given it [college coaching vacancies] one bit of thought," he said.

Shockingly, that didn't hold up, either. "

"Bobby Petrino will return your embrace, Hog fans. But while he's hugging you he'll be looking over your shoulder, scanning the terrain for his next hook-up.

Even in a profession rife with dishonest posturing, Petrino is singularly mercenary. Loyalty, allegiance, commitment and honesty are foreign concepts to him. It must be a sad existence.

I apologize to Alabama's Nick Saban -- last year I named him president of the Liar's Club. He's been impeached and replaced by the disingenuous drifter. "

ESPN Article

Being a solider is not = to a job. Let's make that clear right now. Terrible analogy. Being a solider is a commitment, with your life on the line. Having a 'job' is just that. A job. It's not life or death. I realize I'm considered new school from my stances on careers. Perhaps it's a generation thing. But let's face it. Most places of employement are only loyal to you when it works for them, and wouldn't think twice about cutting your ### when it would benefit them. That's the real world. So when it comes to a job, the minute getting out of bed in the morning becomes a chore, I'm gone. I'm not going to spend my miserable days dealing with people I hate at a job I can't stand. I just won't do it.

It's not a money issue to me. To think that just because a guy makes a lot of money that he should just shut up and tolerate it? Sorry, I can't see that. Sometimes it ain't about the money. If my heart isn't into it, and I'm mailing it in, it's time to go.

And how said anything about feeling bad for either Petrino or Ricky Williams? I dont' feel bad for them at all. But just because they make a lot of money getting paid to do a job that none of us have the opportunity to do, doesn't mean the same work releated issues don't exist. If they aren't happy, time to move on.

There are no "martyrs" here my friend. A guy didn't like his job and decided to move on. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I suspect we're probably closer in thought than our posts actually indicate. My only question to you then is, would you lie to your boss in the manner that Petrino lied to his, assuming that your boss wasn't a complete tool which, I think we can agree, Blank isn't?If your answer is no, which I suspect it it is, then fine. We probably agree. I don't care that Petrino took an opportunity. I'm angry that his integrity, or lack thereof, has hurt my team.

If you answer is yes, well, we don't have anything more to talk about.

Ah, now we're getting somehwere. I would not lie to my boss in that manner. So, I can see the anger with that.

There you go. And that's really all I'm saying. He had every right to do it. I think the way he did it shows a complete lack of inegrity and I couldn't possibly have less respect for the man.

 

[DawgPoundNJ]

Not addressing anyone in particular on this board, but why are people upset when they run someone out of town, and they actually get out of town?

 

[massraider]

Not addressing anyone in particular on this board, but why are people upset when they run someone out of town, and they actually get out of town?

Who ran Petrino out of town?

 

[DawgPoundNJ]

Not addressing anyone in particular on this board, but why are people upset when they run someone out of town, and they actually get out of town?

Who ran Petrino out of town?

Umm, the Falcons themselves, the fans?

 

[massraider]

Not addressing anyone in particular on this board, but why are people upset when they run someone out of town, and they actually get out of town?

Who ran Petrino out of town?

Umm, the Falcons themselves, the fans?

What is this based on? Did Blank knock him in the press? How was he run out of town?

 

[DawgPoundNJ]

Not addressing anyone in particular on this board, but why are people upset when they run someone out of town, and they actually get out of town?

Who ran Petrino out of town?

Umm, the Falcons themselves, the fans?

What is this based on? Did Blank knock him in the press? How was he run out of town?

Who said anything about Blank? Have we or have we not heard from Falcons fans (many of them on this board) that "Petrino is in over his head," "Can't adapt from the college game," etc., to the point where they were in their sigs? I am always listening to sports radio and can recall about 5-7 calls from different fans to Andrew Siciliano, Colin Cowherd, and Sirius NFL Radio wanting this guy out right now. Good enough sample size for me.

As for the Falcons themselves, DeAngelo Hall in his face during the Steve Smith debacle, the piss and moan fest from most of them from letting Grady Jackson go, and the lack of leadership from players brought in to lead like Joe Horn. Don't like Petrino's style? Tough crap, try playing for Coughlin. Those players had a big part in the whole thing. Who on the team stepped up at any time for Petrino?

 

[FTRWRTR]

Not addressing anyone in particular on this board, but why are people upset when they run someone out of town, and they actually get out of town?

Who ran Petrino out of town?

Umm, the Falcons themselves, the fans?

I live about an hour away from atlanta so I may have missed some grumbling but I never heard anyone saing petrino should be fired. Petrino had the support of the owner and from the gm and even the players like crumpler and hall who were disgruntled never suggested firing petrino. Now I will admit there were ppl like myself who didn't think he was a good NFL coach but for anyone to try to fire someone in his first year of a five year deal would be crazy

 

[mad sweeney]

Not addressing anyone in particular on this board, but why are people upset when they run someone out of town, and they actually get out of town?

Who ran Petrino out of town?

Umm, the Falcons themselves, the fans?

I live about an hour away from atlanta so I may have missed some grumbling but I never heard anyone saing petrino should be fired. Petrino had the support of the owner and from the gm and even the players like crumpler and hall who were disgruntled never suggested firing petrino. Now I will admit there were ppl like myself who didn't think he was a good NFL coach but for anyone to try to fire someone in his first year of a five year deal would be crazy

Not to mention that in the booth Monday night Blank was heaping praise on Petrino and looking forward to him bringing the team up a notch or two next year.

 

[FTRWRTR]

As for the Falcons themselves, DeAngelo Hall in his face during the Steve Smith debacle, the piss and moan fest from most of them from letting Grady Jackson go, and the lack of leadership from players brought in to lead like Joe Horn. Don't like Petrino's style? Tough crap, try playing for Coughlin. Those players had a big part in the whole thing. Who on the team stepped up at any time for Petrino?

Not supporting a guy is not the same as saying he should be fired.

 

[MOAT]

I've got a question for the Petrino bashers:Suppose Petrino "does the right thing" and declines Arkansas saying that he signed a five-year deal and he was going to stick it out. Falcons lose their next 3 games and Arkansas hires somebody else. Arthur Blank has a change of heart, goes against his earlier public support of Petrino and fires Petrino.Would anybody be on here questioning Blank's character and calling him a liar?

If Petrino is going to leave the NFL (and he was), he can't wait until the end of the season. Recruiting dead period begins this weekend, and schools like Arkansas - who have had a number of commits re-open their recruiting when Nutt left - cannot afford to wait another 3 weeks and take a chance to let their 2008 recruiting class implode.If Petrino wanted to jump to the SEC, he had to make the move now. Arkansas would not wait on him another 3 weeks to finish up his gig in Atlanta.Saban's situation was different b/c, IIRC, the Alabama search strung out so long that the recruiting dead period had already begun. Bama gained no recruiting advantage by having Saban join them immediately.The Falcons season is over anyway. You think the players haven't mentally quit on the season already? Please.

Great point. It was obvious (at least to me) that Petrino was not an NFL coach. Initially I was on board to string him up but that is really because Norwood sat on my bench unused all year (just like Petrino). If someone is going to succeed in college you need to give them the opportunity to recruit. IMO - The Vick fiasco rest solely on the shoulders of the person that signed the trade papers for Schaub. Vick's style of play always left him open to injury anyway. I don't follow the Falcons that closely so I don't know if Petrino was involved then or if the draft changes improved them in other areas. The QB hit combined with an inept NFL coach left them doomed in 2007.

 

[PatrickT]

Not addressing anyone in particular on this board, but why are people upset when they run someone out of town, and they actually get out of town?

Who ran Petrino out of town?

Umm, the Falcons themselves, the fans?

What is this based on? Did Blank knock him in the press? How was he run out of town?

Who said anything about Blank? Have we or have we not heard from Falcons fans (many of them on this board) that "Petrino is in over his head," "Can't adapt from the college game," etc., to the point where they were in their sigs? I am always listening to sports radio and can recall about 5-7 calls from different fans to Andrew Siciliano, Colin Cowherd, and Sirius NFL Radio wanting this guy out right now. Good enough sample size for me.

As for the Falcons themselves, DeAngelo Hall in his face during the Steve Smith debacle, the piss and moan fest from most of them from letting Grady Jackson go, and the lack of leadership from players brought in to lead like Joe Horn. Don't like Petrino's style? Tough crap, try playing for Coughlin. Those players had a big part in the whole thing. Who on the team stepped up at any time for Petrino?

It's pretty simple. I'm delighted he's gone. Because now I know for sure what I suspected but didn't want to admit. There was no master plan behind the ineptitude. It was just ineptitude.Why I am I still upset a guy left, who I was hoping would leave? Hope. I hoped I was wrong. I hoped like HELL I was wrong. That this was the guy. That next season, all this strange stuff he was doing would make sense and it would all come together. And now I know he was already gone by mid-season, maybe even earlier, and now we're back to square one. It was all for nothing.

Sounds to me like the players were feeling the same thing. I was on them for the same reasons you suggest, they needed to shut up and play, but starting to look like they had a bead on this guy much earlier than we did. And, if so, sounds to me like they maintained remarkable restraint, in hindsight.

Who stepped up? A lot of them, especially on defense, but they were continually put in unwinnable situations and it looks like it was because they were being coached in absentia.