Mike Zimmer calls Petrino a ‘coward’ over his 2007 exit
Former Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer (right) is probably not having Bobby Petrino over for a cookout this summer. (Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com)
After practice in Cincinnati on Wednesday, former Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer ripped former head coach Bobby Petrino.
Zimmer was the defensive coordinator in 2007, the season that Petrino abruptly resigned 13 games into the season. Zimmer ended up in Cincinnati and has led the defense to its highest ranking in three decades last season at No. 4.
“When a coach quits in the middle of the year and ruins a bunch of people’s families and doesn’t have enough guts to finish out the year, I’m not a part of it,” Zimmer told the Cincinnati media. “And you can put that in the Arkansas News Gazette. I don’t really give a (bleep). He’s a coward, he ruined a bunch of people’s lives, a bunch of families, kids, because he didn’t have enough (guts) to stay there and finish the job. And that’s the truth. Most people in football have enough courage about him and enough fight to stick it out and not quit halfway through the year. It’s cowardly.”
Petrino went back into the college ranks to coach at Arkansas. Zimmer shined some light on Petrino’s exit.
“He came in and said he resigned, (said) he’d talk to us all at a later date, walked out of the office and no one has talked to him since,” Zimmer said. “Not that anybody wanted to. He’s a gutless (bleep). You can quote that.”
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194 comments Add your comment
JKA
October 20th, 2010
11:57 pm
While there is no doubt that the Petrino resignation was the ultimate weasel move, it was also the key moment in the resurrection of the team…..Blank would have given Petrino at least another year, because in his mind it would be the fair thing to do, given the Vick fiasco……Bobby’s run for the border allowed Blank to completely clean house and this time (finally !) hire some professionals…………
Hunk Erdown
October 21st, 2010
12:00 am
Amen! JKA
Dr. Warren
October 21st, 2010
12:10 am
Seems like Petrino has Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Look it up. Fits him to a tee.
Hunk Erdown
October 21st, 2010
12:25 am
I’m way to important to look up something like that, Dr. Warren. I really don’t care how you feel about it either…
jarvis
October 21st, 2010
12:42 am
my nickname for petrino is bobby p***y
SawThat1nce
October 21st, 2010
1:42 am
Calling Petrino a coward, is comparing him to a coward.
I don’t think that is fair, to cowards, it gives cowards an even worse name, when you say Petrino is equal to them.
Bobby Petrino is lower than whale doo-doo.
scottbravesfan
October 21st, 2010
3:28 am
Petrino is a peace of garbage and I’m glad Auburn destroyed their ass on Saturday.
Mora less Petrino
October 21st, 2010
3:29 am
I’m glad the DA left. He would have been fired by now and the Birds still would not have had two winnings seasons in a row. Addition by subtraction. Sooey Hawg Sooey…, what a DA! He made Moron look good.
Mora less Petrino
October 21st, 2010
3:40 am
“Seems like Petrino has Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Look it up. Fits him to a tee.”
Well, looks like Dr. Warren is correct! I looked up NPD, and sure enough, it says; The state or quality of being an extreme DA. Indeed, that fits him to a tee. Good call Doc!
dagnabit
October 21st, 2010
4:20 am
Wow!! Zimmer trashes a former boss. I never heard of such.
Jim007
October 21st, 2010
5:02 am
Petrino is a low life who only cares about himself
You can not trust him at all
His time will come and only wonder why anyone would ever hire him ?????
Paddy
October 21st, 2010
6:03 am
chris…ok with your explanations. I think Zimmer seems like a good guy.
David
October 21st, 2010
6:28 am
the truth hurts, often more times than once.
Not So Falcon Fan
October 21st, 2010
6:47 am
Putridino did you guys a favor. Why be mad at him? I would be happy he left my team. Shows he was looking out for you Falcon Fans. I would rather him leave when he did then to stay around 2 or 3 years then get canned. Heck that’s old news anyway.
Harvin
October 21st, 2010
7:05 am
Petriny is adick !
Harvin
October 21st, 2010
7:06 am
Pertiny is a puss !
Real sense
October 21st, 2010
7:07 am
I think Zimmer was being very generous. My feelings about that low life piece of trash, Petrino, are far to explicit to ever be printed or published here. I detest that SOB! He tried to screw Auburn and he did screw the Falcons. What a disgusting excuse of a man.
Jim (not Mora)
October 21st, 2010
7:10 am
So why did he wait three years to say this?????
dawgma
October 21st, 2010
7:12 am
now a hog….how appropriate.
hahahah
October 21st, 2010
7:24 am
hahahahahahahahahahahah.
Darryl H
October 21st, 2010
7:33 am
That was a Cowardly Act if he done it to Atlanta FAlcons he’ll do to Arkansas as well, they both deserve it!
Darryl H
http://www.topaffiliatesolutions.com
Jimmy Crack
October 21st, 2010
7:49 am
I hope nobody had breakfast…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7×3x6QHlrA
A piggie for the ‘Backs. Remember this “introduction” was at 11:30 at night!!!
DogTheMan
October 21st, 2010
8:27 am
Worst hire in Atlanta history. What a totally and classless guy. Everything he tries to teach young men about perseverance is a bunch of crap. I would never let me son play for him. Good Riddance.
LawdhamMercy
October 21st, 2010
8:37 am
Nice Mike Zimmer, very nice
Karl
October 21st, 2010
8:39 am
I can’t remember the details but didnt Petrino try to submairne Tubberville at Auburn before he went to Atlanta? Seems like he is just a pile of garbage. I could be wrong
Todd
October 21st, 2010
8:45 am
I just became an instant Mike Zimmer fan.
SawThat1nce
October 21st, 2010
8:53 am
Jim(not Mora)……Maybe, it took 3 years for a reporter to ask him about Petrino.
Karl……………I think that you are right, he is a pile of garbage.
Petrino took his departure plan out of the Irsay family play book, like when they moved the Colts out of Baltimore in the middle of the night, without telling anyone, at all. Kind of like Pearl Harbor. The city woke up the next morning, and SURPRISE, the Colts were now in Indianapolis.
Eagle/Falcon fan
October 21st, 2010
8:55 am
Kind of like the Falcon’s current D-Coordinator did at Georgia Southern!!!! I wouldn’t #!$$ on either of them if they were on fire.
SawThat1nce
October 21st, 2010
9:00 am
I believe the Petrino defection, might have been a factor in McKay losing his job as the Falcons GM. I think that he is the one that hired the weasel, but that might be another thing, that I am wrong about.
tbones
October 21st, 2010
9:02 am
The vast majority of you people sound like scorned lovers when it comes to Petrino. Three years ago and you’re still sensitive about the issue. The Falcons are on the right track and have a better coach and Arkansas is happy with Petrino. Sounds like a win-win situation.
Eraserhead
October 21st, 2010
9:03 am
Mike Zimmer’s wife, Vikki, passed away just over a year ago. Zimmer coached the next game and is beloved by his players.
Sid
October 21st, 2010
9:07 am
Now, think about it, why would Zimmer wait until 4 days before his defense takes on the Falcons to blast Petrino……………this happened 3 years ago. Doesn’t it appear to be an attempt to cause the Falcons to lose focus before they play the Bengals. I don’t doubt he feels that way, most of us do, but the timing is a little suspect.
******************************************************
Cincinnati’s Bengals-Falcons scouting report
******************************************************
Series: Bengals lead 7-4 but have lost the past two meetings. The most recent was on Oct. 29, 2006, at Paul Brown Stadium in a 29-27 Atlanta victory. The Bengals are 0-1 at the Georgia Dome, having lost 30-3 there in 2002.
Early storylines
Both teams have talent on offense but have struggled in the red zone. The Bengals are tied for 27th in touchdown percentage inside the 20 at .375 (6-of-16), and the Falcons are tied for 21st at .455 (10-of-22).
If the Bengals are going to make a move in the AFC North race, they have to win this game. For a team that has lost five of its last six games on the road and is unlikely to be favored in its remaining five away contests, that’s a tall task.
The Falcons’ defense is reeling. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (knee) will not play Sunday, according to coach Mike Smith, and cornerback Dunta Robinson (concussion) is unlikely to play. Christopher Owens or Brian Williams would take Robinson’s place and Stephen Nicholas will start in place of Weatherspoon.
Three Falcons to watch
Tony Gonzalez: He’s the first tight end in NFL history to have more than 1,000 receptions and 12,000 receiving yards.
Roddy White: A wide receiver, he is third the league in receptions with 43, for 546 yards and three touchdowns. He surpassed 100 yards receiving in two of his past three games.
John Abraham: One of the more dominant defensive linemen in the league, he has four sacks this season.
Connections
Bengals: Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer held the same role with the Falcons in 2007 and safety Chris Crocker was with Atlanta in 2006 and ‘07. Tight end Reggie Kelly was with Atlanta from 1999-2002.
Falcons: Assistant offensive line coach Paul Dunn coached at the University of Cincinnati in 1994-95 and at Kentucky in 2003-04.
SawThat1nce
October 21st, 2010
9:08 am
Hasn’t Ga. Southern dismissed coaches that have had winning records before? I know that the dismissed one coach, the same year that he had a winning season and I think that he had an overall winning record.
How many head coaches have they had since Erk retired?
SawThat1nce
October 21st, 2010
9:09 am
tbone……….that still doesn’t make him any less of an A——hole.
Dontavius Supremo
October 21st, 2010
9:12 am
Love it! Finally, some honest opinions
david
October 21st, 2010
9:13 am
The funny thing here is the Arkansas people do not have a clue about Bobby. They have no idea what happened in Atlanta. However, he should have told the story along time ago.
Sid
October 21st, 2010
9:15 am
The ONLY reason Petrino was brought in was to tutor Michael Vick. Petrino was successful at coaching adolescents @ Louisville and obviously the Falcons staff were aware that Vick was not giving 100%.
Makes me wonder, what % was Michael Vick really giving………..was it all just natural God given talent……………no, he had to read the playbook at some point…….hmmmm I say 50%……can’t imagine what he could have been had he really wanted to go the mountain top and see the promised land.
Beau Gest
October 21st, 2010
9:16 am
Hey, it’s just a stoopid kid’s game. Who really gives a rip? Nobody with a real life.
petrino sniper
October 21st, 2010
9:18 am
I named my toilet seat bobby petrino, and my crosshairs are on the hunt for that sorry pos.
How anyone trusts that guy to coach their kids up ill never know??? I pray that on every saturday he gets taken out on the sideline.
petrino sniper
October 21st, 2010
9:19 am
Hey Beau Gest, your an idiot!
RoswellHOG
October 21st, 2010
9:19 am
Wow,
I starting to believe my Alabama buddy who said that all the Saban ( and now Petrino) haters are suffering from “coaching envy”.
He’s lasted 3 years, gotten better every year. What’s not to like?
Oh yeah, the way he left that millionaire in ATL. Poor owner. A family ruined.
I’m sure Zimmer is struggling with his millions in Cleveland too. Poor guy. Another family ruined.
Petrino, the family killer.
petrino sniper
October 21st, 2010
9:20 am
i wish petrino would get attacked by mike vick’s pit bulls…
petrino sniper
October 21st, 2010
9:21 am
next atom bomb test site, Arkansas U !
Unknown Hinson
October 21st, 2010
9:23 am
Awesome article, glad someone finally came out and said something publicly. I hope Bobby’s children read this article and question him about it daily. Thanks DOL.
enz
October 21st, 2010
9:25 am
FINALLY someone who speaks with conviction and heart in sports…
Unknown Hinson
October 21st, 2010
9:27 am
Just found the telephone number listed for Mr. Petrino. Anyone wants to have some fun have at it. Let me know if anyone can find his email.
Office – 479-575-4849
petrino sniper
October 21st, 2010
9:27 am
bobby p needs to head to the hills and really learn how to “squeal like a pig” deliverance style…
look in the dictionary for the word “prepuce”, and it will say see Bobby Petrino.
RYAN
October 21st, 2010
9:27 am
AS MUCH AS I CANNOT STAND PETRINO IT IS OUT OF BOUNDS TO BRING UP ZIMMER’S WIFE! GET A LIFE! IF I WAS ZIMMER I WOULD BEAT UR A** FOR BRINGING UP HIS WIFE! HAVE SOME CLASS!
cheetah1976
October 21st, 2010
9:27 am
I don’t know if lives were actually ruined by Petrino’s departure but you have to consider the “trickle down” effects of his leaving. Did all the assistants lose their jobs at the end of the year? Did they have to re-locate families that perhaps had just moved here several months before? Did the kids of the coaches have to change schools yet again? It was a real mess and Petrino couldn’t have handled it any worse than he did!
Richard Dawson
October 21st, 2010
9:27 am
LOVE IT!