Petrino left the University of Lousville after last season to take his chances in the NFL. He was given a SIZABLE contract, not to mention a pretty talented team that had underachieved the year before. It was a mistake. Everyone knew it was a mistake. College coaches almost always fail in the NFL. It is a completely different game. Yet every year you can expect to see at least one owner offer a college coach the chance and at least one college coach to take the offer.
Things got off to a bad start. What was supposed to be a dream pairing, offensive genius Petrino and athletic FREAK Michael Vick, was knocked off the tracks almost immediately by Vick's arrest and subsequent conviction on animal cruelty charges that will likely keep him out of the league for the next 3 years. What followed was a serious of confrontations and public issues between Petrino and his team. Players criticized him in the media. A leader of the team was cut mid season. The starting quarterback was benched without ever being notified. Petrino failed to lay down the law and gain the respect of his team when a player basically lost a game for the Falcons by drawing back to back personal fouls.
All of this turmoil and failure culminated in a Monday night THRASHING at the hands of the New Orleans Saints. According to sources, before the game Petrino delivered a message to the team in which he talked about not quitting, about sticking together, and finishing the season. Apparently this speech did not pertain to the speaker himself. Less than 24 hours later Petrino informed Falcons owner Arthur Blank that he was leaving for Arkansas and the contract was signed before midnight. At his press conference, Petrino talked about the virtues of Arkansas and how he'd always been a fan of what they do. The truth is, it was the first halfway decent program that called and offered him a "Get Out of Jail Free" card. If Michigan had called first, he'd have talked about how he had always admired Michigan. If it was UCLA, the same thing, and so on and so forth.
Look, I have no problem with Petrino going back to college football. He was in WAY over his head in the NFL and everyone knew it. I believe Blank would have stood by Petrino had he decided to stay but it would have likely ended in Petrino's dismissal within a year or two. My problem is with the guy bailing on the team during the season. Once the going got tough, Petrino got the hell out of Dodge without ever looking back. It was a cowardly, gutless act that, as stated previously, has become common place among college coaches. If he would have waited three more weeks until this abortion of a season was over, he could have walked off free and clear. In truth, the players, the fans, and the owner would have breathed a sigh of relief to be able to move on with a different direction now rather than wait through another year or two of failure. But instead, he Franchione's the team right after a big speech about sticking together and finishing what they started and leaves everyone involved (or uninvolved, like me!) with a bad taste in their mouths.
The big thing here is, how in the world can this guy recruit with any shred of integrity? He will have now coached in three places in two years and has left one chocking on his dust. If Petrino sits down in your living room tomorrow and tells your son what a great program Arkansas is and what great plans he has for your kid, is there any way on God's green earth that you believe him? Could he possibly look you in the eye and say "I'm committed to Arkansas" without conjuring up images of him fleeing from Atlanta? He has lost any and all credibility he may have had, not to mention any the program had. I wish I could be a fly on the wall the first time a coach from a rival SEC school steps into the house of a big time recruit. I can just imagine the conversation: "So who else are you considering? Arkansas, huh? Well you know Petrino won't be there for four years."
The craziest thing about this whole affair is that these big name, big money coaches seem to fail more often than not. Nick Saban bailed on two teams in two years to sign a monster contract at Alabama. Their record this season? 6-6. Dennis Franchoine left Alabama in the middle of the night to sign a big deal with Texas A&M. The result was a five year wallowing in mediocrity and an eventual buyout. With such expectations and obvious coaching talent, why is this the case? Because when you make your bed with a snake, eventually your butt gets bit. Arkansas thinks Petrino is the man for the job and on paper, he looks like a great fit. But if and when this fails and Arkansas is right back in the same spot in four years, or better yet, if it does work and Petrino leaves for an even bigger program in two years, I hope they remember this day and the pain and confusion expressed by everyone associated with the Falcons. They knew what they were getting themselves into. Once a snake, always a snake.
SIDE NOTE: If and when Les Miles bails on LSU for Michigan, expect an acid laced diatribe on this exact subject. Just fair warning.
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