Falcons Coach Petrino Quits; Signs with Arkansas

This sounds alot like norv when he was here.

In My Opinion:
It's a pathetic move on Petrinos part.

He isn't some desk jockey at H&R Block that can be replaced by any CPA.
He isn't an assistant coach getting a shot at being a head coach.

This man was in charge of rebuilding the franchise. He brought in his coaching staff, His players and his system. He signed a LONG TERM Contract for a little under 5 Million per year.

Granted MV set the franchise back 4 years, but you don't quit because you lose a player. What if Greg WIlliams quit because sean taylor isn't coming back?

It's a chicken shit move.
There are some players on the team already fighting for a roster spot next year. His players are essentially wasting their time the next 3 games because there will be a new system next year.

It would be a bullshit move if he was fired and it's a bullshit move to quit before the season ends.

I guess in the end he couldn't deal with the men on his team so he is going back to coaching teenage boys on scholarship...

Agreed. Pretty much sums up my feelings on this. What a douche.

You know what this says? Maybe DeAngelo Hall isn't as crazy as we thought he was. He was saying the whole time that basically Petrino was not a NFL coach. Turns out he was right all along...

Perhaps Petrino was caught up in the glitz and glamour of the NFL when he took the job this past offseason. He was hired in January, Schaub was traded in March, Vick's operation was raided in April, and the team just lost it's 2 quarterbacks, and probably one of the reasons Petrino came to Atlanta in the first place.

1-6 going into the bye week and the players pretty much shut down for the year. The team's been in the headlines all year courtesy of Vick and an owner who openly criticizes the team and his coaching, and it became too much for Petrino.

While I don't blame him for leaving and taking another job (Nick Saban really set a tone for this kind of thing), I really wouldn't expect to see Petrino back in the NFL any time soon, if ever again.

I hope the NFL learns it's lesson from this. It seems like most of these guys just don't have the emotional wherewithal to be good coaches in the NFL. You have to stick it out through the lean years to get to some winning ones. Look at Cleveland?

The notion that Petrino was hanging his hat on Mike Vick is absurd. The Falcons signed him to a multi-million dollar contract and accepted the terms of the deal with the understanding that this won't be an easy task; not this year, not next year, and maybe not year three.

It just seems like no one wants to take their lumps anymore. Everyone is in a win now mode, and to an extent I can understand that. Truthfully, there really is a fine line between 11-5 and 6-10 in the NFL. Most teams are probably 7 or 10 points away from having really good records.

This mentallity just sucks.

Losing reveals a lot about a person's character. Much more so than winning. If Terrel Owens won the Super Bowl every year, we wouldn't know what a huge douchebag he is. Now we know about Petrino.

Losing reveals a lot about a person's character. Much more so than winning. If Terrel Owens won the Super Bowl every year, we wouldn't know what a huge douchebag he is. Now we know about Petrino.

very good point.

that being said, all of this makes you appreciate a guy of joe gibbs' caliber more these days.

This is tough to call in a way. If he feels he is really not cut out for the job & the nfl, maybe it's the honorable thing to walk away. Of course, he chose to walk away once he got another job.

He deserves some heat for it, but this Atl. team I believe is the worst in football, worse than the dolphins who seem to play hard & have been in a lot of games.

From reading about Vick over the years & his attitude in the locker room, I believe his situation polarized this team much more than is evident. YOu saw Crumpler & R. White w/their Vick support the other night. I think Vick had a handful of friends on the team, but otherwise a lot of them didn't respect him & thought he was too selfish.

ESPN said that there was a bet among some teamates whether Vick would play last year after he got slightly injured (don't remember the injury). The story made it clear that some teamates spoke anonymously that he was not a team guy.

His troubles probably exacerbated all of the falcons locker room tensions. D. Hall ran his mouth this year too. He's a problem, but the funny thing is that he is to be a free agent this year. They could let him & other jackasses walk. Maybe Blank wouldn't let Petrino do that?

I hope the NFL learns it's lesson from this. It seems like most of these guys just don't have the emotional wherewithal to be good coaches in the NFL. You have to stick it out through the lean years to get to some winning ones. Look at Cleveland?

The notion that Petrino was hanging his hat on Mike Vick is absurd. The Falcons signed him to a multi-million dollar contract and accepted the terms of the deal with the understanding that this won't be an easy task; not this year, not next year, and maybe not year three.

It just seems like no one wants to take their lumps anymore. Everyone is in a win now mode, and to an extent I can understand that. Truthfully, there really is a fine line between 11-5 and 6-10 in the NFL. Most teams are probably 7 or 10 points away from having really good records.

This mentallity just sucks.

I think there's just such a huge difference between coaching in college and coaching in the pros. The NFL is really a year round job now, and the time these guys put in each week is insane. They really have to dive head first into the job and everything else in their life is a distant 2nd on their list of priorities. And then there's the win now or else pressure the media and the fans demand.

I don't blame him at all for leaving.

But the way in which he did it really irks me. At least finish out the string. Don't quit with games on the schedule. I think it seriously calls into question his character.

Not as short as...this tenure (http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2000/0104/268868.html)

A bit off topic, but is there a way for the general public to look at those old archived ESPN pages? I could waste my entire work day looking at that old stuff. :doh: