Falcons Coach Petrino Quits; Signs with Arkansas

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:

I love that wood paneling look, reminds me of the Brady Bunch stationwagon.

very good point.

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

I was thinking the same thing, no matter what they say about Gibbs, don't call him a quitter! Even if he leaves after this year, he'd have put in 4 years of honest work.

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.

True. I think you further expanded on what I was trying to say. It's not a nine to five like it used to be. But still, they know this from jump street. They know that the stakes are higher and so is the level of committment.

I just don't get how one minute a guy stands in front of a podium and say how he's "excited", inks a big deal, and six months later is waving good bye saying, this just 'aint for me.

Just to be fair, I think Petrino is probably a good man....and even a good coach. In the end I guess he just wasn't cut out for the NFL.

I was thinking the same thing, no matter what they say about Gibbs, don't call him a quitter! Even if he leaves after this year, he'd have put in 4 years of honest work.

You can say a lot of things about Gibbs, but you will NEVER be able to say he's a quitter. I really, really admire that about him.

I'd bet the bank that he returns next year too.

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.

I think more importantly is the fact that in college you are coaching kids and in the NFL you are coaching men. It takes a whole different management style and it seems a lot of these coaches lack exactly that. The ability to manage their team from a personell standpoint. Rarely do they looked overmatched football-wise but they almost always seem to have troubles getting guys to play for them.

Even the successful ones like Jimmy Johnson basically was coaching a college team for the first few years. That team was insanely young and he was able to slowly mature his coaching style as they aged. Those types of teams don't exist anymore. Who was the last successful college coach?

No one knows what was going on with him, his family, and anything else which could have caused him to make this dicision. Its not like he is jumping ship for more money and he is actually taking a pay cut of about 2mil per year. That fact alone tells me that he was very unhappy in the NFL. He had the chance for the Ark. job but he had to move quickly to get the deal done. I think he had to make a tough personal choice which he really did not want to just walk as he did. Sometimes in life you have to make decisions that is in the best interest of your family and yourself.

No one knows what was going on with him, his family, and anything else which could have caused him to make this dicision. Its not like he is jumping ship for more money and he is actually taking a pay cut of about 2mil per year. That fact alone tells me that he was very unhappy in the NFL. He had the chance for the Ark. job but he had to move quickly to get the deal done. I think he had to make a tough personal choice which he really did not want to just walk as he did. Sometimes in life you have to make decisions that is in the best interest of your family and yourself.

Yeah but you still need to handle it with class. Not a single thing he did showerd any class. He could have held a news conference and explained why this was best for everyone involved. Explained why it wasn't working. He could have met with his coaches and helped them formulate a plan to go forward. Instead he just walked away. He took his ball and left. It's not the quitting that irks me. It is the complete lack of desire to do right by the organization and all the players and coaches that worked for him. What an ass.

I guess contracts are no longer legally-binding documents.

These coaches should have to take SOME kind of financial hit to get out of these contracts. Petrino has now signed 3 contracts adding up to 20 years in the last year.

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...

Hall really laid into Petrino yesterday, Brookings as well. If I'm the parent of a child being recruited by Arkansas first question I'd ask though is "How do we know you won't bail on the Razorbacks in a few months?"

He's entitled to do what he wants I suppose, but-and it's been reiterated across this thread-there's a right way to do things. Petrino lied to his owner, players, and fellow coaches; especially Blank who asked him just before the Saints game if the Arkansas rumor was true. And Petrino lied and said no.
Totally classless.

Hall really laid into Petrino yesterday, Brookings as well. If I'm the parent of a child being recruited by Arkansas first question I'd ask though is "How do we know you won't bail on the Razorbacks in a few months?"

He's entitled to do what he wants I suppose, but-and it's been reiterated across this thread-there's a right way to do things. Petrino lied to his owner, players, and fellow coaches; especially Blank who asked him just before the Saints game if the Arkansas rumor was true. And Petrino lied and said no.
Totally classless.
We really don't know the whole story of what has gone on over the time that he has been the head coach for Atlanta. Maybe he wanted to keep the other QB (forgot his name) and the owner went around him and traded him off getting things started on the wrong foot. I agree that it may not have been handled in the best way but the point I was making that other thing may have been involved.