Saturday, June 07, 2008

Rehabilitating Petrino's Tarnished Image

Bobby Petrino's sudden departure last December from his job as coach of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons drew criticism from far and wide, including the players he left behind and never addressed face to face, instead informing them of his decision by leaving a note in their lockers.

"Disloyal," defensive end Jamaal Anderson said.

"He's selfish. He's definitely a liar," tailback Warrick Dunn said.

"This league is for men. Not everybody is built for this league," safety Lawyer Milloy said.

Those were some of the nicer things said about Petrino, who coached the Falcons on a Monday night and was introduced as Arkansas' coach the next day.

But they're telling a different story in Arkansas. A sports agent with connections to the Razorback program says Petrino originally had the blessing of the Falcons to seek a return to the college game. That changed the day before Petrino took the Arkansas gig when Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison, with the NFL team fearing yet another tsunami of negative publicity.

Reader Greg writes: "These facts reveal the disgraceful efforts of the Falcon organization, ESPN, and some of the other media to discredit a very good football coach and person. ... Bobby Petrino has been nothing but business and class since he arrived."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Even with their timeline, Petrino is having his crony lobby for that job during the middle of the NFL season. He's still a confirmed jackass.

Anonymous said...

It doesn't take away from the fact that his players hated him. His boss told him to stay on and he didn't, he cut and ran to Arkansas. This is merely Arkansas people trying to feel better about their new coach and his unceremonious departure from the Falcons. Whatever makes you feel better I suppose.