Wednesday (Bobby Petrino) edition: Wha’ Happened?
Posted on December 12th, 2007 – 10:02 AMBy Michael Rand
We don’t really care much about college football, and we don’t pretend to know much about its inner workings. But we do know a thing or two about [redacteds], and so we want to spend a little time on this whole Bobby Petrino situation (he’s pictured, two teams and one year ago, on your right). For those who didn’t hear, Petrino left Louisville to take an NFL job with the Falcons, then quit after 13 games to take the job at Arkansas. This process gave us two things: 1) The strangest ESPN graphic we have ever seen, in which only three NFL coaches have ever quit in mid-season of their first year. One of them we can’t remember. The other is Lou Holtz, who freakishly also left for Arkansas (in 1976) after “leading” the Jets to the same 3-10 mark that Petrino leaves the Falcons with. What are the odds of that? About the same as Holtz landing the role of Hamlet on Broadway. 2) Another sad sign of the times in which very few people are willing to persevere. Maybe Petrino does belong in the college game, and he’ll possibly be happier there in the long run, but he didn’t even give himself — or the NFL team he purportedly committed to — a chance. It seems rather gutless, and we can’t respect that.
Fasola-link! RandBall Fantasy Fishing League?
19 Responses to "Wednesday (Bobby Petrino) edition: Wha’ Happened?"
What is up with all these people getting out of contracts? If I was an owner of a NFL team or an AD at a bigtime college I would make the buyouts so large that this sort of [redacted] didn’t happen. If Petrino had to pay back $10 million I don’t think he would have left Atlanta. That being said Petrino was not an NFL coach. The Falcons are a huge mess right now and he is part of the reason why.
Onto another coach, did anyone else see that Mason is trying his hardest to throw his hat in the Michigan ring. How funny would it be if Mason got that job at Michigan?
I’m shocked, SHOCKED that Rocket is not on this list.
Hey, Lou could do Hamlet!
To be, or not to be - that is the queshtion:
Whether tish’ nobler in the mind to shuffer
the shlings and arrowsh of outrageoush fortune
Or to take armsh againsht a shea of troubles…
If Mason got the Michigan job, we might finally be able to beat them.
Jon: plush 1
Agreed, this guy is a world-class d-bag. I don’t fault Petrino, or anyone else, for pursuing a better job … but man, whatever happened to the two-week notice? Petrino is a gutless turd.
How many of us would take a $2 million/year pay cut to go to Fayetteville, ArKansas?
Who is going to leave the SEC first, Les Miles or Bobby Petrino?
He did the honorable thing and took the money, lied, and used people.
A city that re-elects Mayor Nagin and his chocolate city anology deserves this.
When I see fans at the game supporting Vick, I have no trouble pulling for injuries, losses, and spilled beer.
I think he did all that Jim, but more than that, he knew he was in way over his head in the Big Show. I mean college ball must be nuts because of all the halfassed aging alumni and constant recruiting, but the NFL must be a real meatgrinder and this clown didn’t realize he had the meat ’til he got there. But personally, there are so many college teams, I rarely pay attention until I have such a hangover on New Year’s Day that I can’t help but lie there and watch…
Wait, Ray Nagin is the mayor of Atlanta now? Somebody better tell New Orleans, they’re going to want to hold a special election to replace him.
Jim,
Ray must really get around. Maybe as much as Petrino.
Thank you for the accurate comment.
Jim,
People also support Michael Jackson and Martha Stewart. People are crazy. Is that news to you?
But hey, as you say, it’s nothing a few football injuries can’t cure.
I’d argue that New Orleans deserves precisely zero bad things to happen to it for the next millenium or so. Call me a softie.
softie.
I’m guessing the trend of throwing lots of money at big name college coaches is at its end.
Of course someone will still throw a bunch at Pete Carroll next year I bet.
I agree with Ryan. That theory has been backed up by the great Glen Mason.
Randball,
Is the modest one still waiting by his phone?
Actually, Petrino had little choice. If he truly determined he was meant for college rather than the NFL (and he would only know by taking an NFL job), then how was he supposed to do this?
If he waited until the season was over, it would be too late, recruiting-wise. While there is a recruiting dead period coming up, Petrino will have time to put his staff in place and prepare for an all-out assault on recruits in January.
A school like Arkansas isn’t going to wait. The schools that would be available after the Falcons season are ones like Minnesota last year. Or Petrino would have to sit out a year of coaching, and quitting on a team without having a job would look pretty bad in the eyes of those considering him.
I think Petrino did the only thing he really could do, given that he discovered his life was the CF and not the NFL.
Twinstalker
That still doesn’t explain telling your boss the day you quit that you are committed to the team and that you are not leaving. And who tells the owner of an NFL team that he is quiting over the phone? I thought only bag boys and fry flippers did that.
