I'm on a little bit of a blogging streak... 4 posts in 4 days. Let's take a second and acknowledge my lameness.
Since I couldn't sleep last night, I turned on ESPN to find the Bobby Petrino Arkansas press conference and DeAngelo Hall's comments. Just for fun, I am going to defend him since everyone else is attacking him. This column, therefore, is dedicated to Kevin, the king of "devil's advocate".
To begin, take a step back and look at the process of quitting your job in the first place. If you are searching for another job, most people don't tell their boss. It can feel kinda sneaky, but you could be setting yourself up for a bad situation if you do. The timing of Petrino's situation (coaching the Falcons on MNF, brown nosing the Razorbacks' boosters on Tuesday) is peculiar. Obviously, he and his agent got the ball rolling on this weeks ago. DeAngelo Hall berated him for trying to get the players to buy into his system while he knew he was on his way out the door. But wasn't that his job until the second he left - to coach the team? If he would have told the players and management of his plans earlier, wouldn't they have asked him to leave? What then if the Arkansas position fell through?
Another reason why he's been dragged through the coals is that he came to Atlanta for a very short period of time after leaving college. From the reports that have come out, it sounds like he had a difficult time adjusting to coaching pro athletes. DeAngelo Hall pointed out that you can't treat guys whose job is to play football to support a wife and kids the same way you coach 18 and 19 year olds. He's definitely right and I think that may be one of the reasons why Petrino didn't adapt well to the NFL. That, and the fact that his franchise QB was suspended before the season began. He didn't leave for more money or "a better position" - he left because he realized he made a mistake in going to the NFL.
The problem many had specifically with the timing is that he left before the season was over. While it may have been more admirable to stay through the end of December, college jobs are filled by then. He will have a lot of work to do to save Arkansas' recruiting class and build a coaching staff. Contracts are treated as suggestions by teams; coaches can be fired any minute. So shouldn't he be able to leave according to the contract's out clause?
Ok, now that I am done defending him, I want to make it clear I wouldn't want him within 10 feet of MSU or the Lions. I hear he is currently in talks with U-M about their vacancy. He looked so shady during the press conference. Plus, does any one believe Arkansas is the position he is really looking for? We'll be seeing him asskiss some other school's boosters in 2-3 years and we all know it. DeAngelo Hall put it best when he said "they're not a great team in the SEC anyway."
2 comments:
Yes! Arguing can be fun. I have been trying to explain that to people for years.
But I have to sympathize wiht DeAngleo Hall on this one. It's one thing to coach a team while looking for new job. It's another thing to talk about being a family, and talk about building a team together, and talk about trust and loyalty, while looking for a new job. Those points are not requisite to the coaching position.
But there is no excuse for Petrino to leave while still in season. He could have made an agreement with Arkansas to hold the position open for a few more weeks so that he could finish the season with the Falcons. Just because something is allowed by your contract doesn't necessarily mean it's right.
Leaving the Falcons while the season is in progress is a dick move. And Petrino rightly deserves the backlash from the media, the fans, and the players.
This appeared to be a lose-lose situation for Petrino.
He either:
A) Leaves Atlanta early, and gets the media backlash.
B) Stays, enjoys a few more losses, quits, and then falls behind in the recruiting "wars" with Arkansas.
To side with Adam, do you think Petrino would have ever left Louisville had Michael Vick not been there? I don't think he would have. It's like being asked to run a company without any resources- it's hard to be successful- and when you were expecting those resources, it's a major letdown.
To side with Kevin, there's something to say about a man's integrity. You put your name on the dotted line, at least finish the season with your team. Like Mike and Mike said yesterday, how can Petrino look recruits at Arkansas in the eye and tell them he'll be there for the long haul? He's now officially a quiter, and that reputation will never go away. Sometimes you just need to stick things through- because it's the right thing to do.
I think the thing that bothers me most is the lies. Apparently he told Arthur Blank point blank (haha) that he wasn't interested in any other jobs and wasn't going to leave...on MONDAY. That's flat out disrespectful, especially to the man who is paying you millions and putting his trust in you.
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