Once a rat…
December 12th, 2007, 8:37 am · Post a Comment · posted by patrickdonohue
In case you hadn’t heard, Bobby Petrino bailed on the Atlanta Falcons after Monday night’s schlacking by the Bush-less, McAllister-less New Orleans Saints and took the head coaching job at Arkansas.
The Atlanta press have shown the veracity of their New York brethren in going after Petrino, calling him a quitter and saying that it wasn’t the downfall of Michael Vick or injuries that saddled the former Louisville head coach in the ATL.
In today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, columnist Jeff Schultz writes, “Bobby Petrino. Not a man. He’s running like a coward.”
The AJC’s beat writer Tony Barnhart says Petrino has “absolutely no communication and people skills.”
Simply put, Petrino is a rat. He jumped ship in the Derby City (not before trying to take Tommy Tuberville’s job at Auburn, whom had hired Petrino to work on his staff) for the glitz (and the cash) of the NFL but wanted none of the responsibility of being an NFL head coach. But worse than Steve Spurrier and Slick Nick Saban, Petrino didn’t even make it through a single year at the helm of an NFL franchise. And that’s the guy you want to lead 18-22 young men in Fayetteville? No, thanks.
If there was any doubt that Felix Jones was packing it up and heading for the The League a year early, this seals the deal. Darren McFadden was a done deal but with Jones, Arkansas still had a viable offensive weapon. What about now? Who’s going to lead that offense in the future? Casey Dick? You can’t be serious.
And what does this hire say about Arkansas football? Is this how desperate they are to win? I know after Tommy Bowden, Jim Grobe and Tommy Tuberville all declined the job, there must have been some scrambling in the AD’s office for some viable candidates but there are a lot of good coaches out there (Ron English, comes to mind) and none with the character issues that Petrino has. But this is really a reflection of how out of whack the expectations are at Arkansas. After the team won the SEC West, that fan base legitimately lost their mind and thought they were Alabama or LSU. With this hire, Arkansas has cemented its position as a second or even third tier SEC program for the forseeable future.
For the record, I do not, in any way, feel bad for Arthur Blank. He hired Bobby Petrino and he entrusted the future of his franchise in the hands of a young man that never exhibited any indication that he was mature enough to handle it and now the franchise is in tatters. As the saying goes, you made your bed, now you’ve gotta sleep in it.
