Arkansas living with deserved humiliation after Petrino firing
John L. Smith has his hands together. He should drop to his knees.
HOOVER, Ala. — Similar to three months ago, when the invertebrate Bobby Petrino took his young wench (“student-athlete development coordinator”) for a mid-life crisis spin on his motorcycle and got run over by the karma train, Arkansas is feeling the pain for its missteps.
Sympathy? Anybody?
When Petrino was fired – not because Arkansas suits really cared that he cheated on his wife or even lied to their face, but rather to protect themselves from litigation for playing footsie with a subordinate – they hired former assistant John L. Smith.
This is the same John L. Smith who agreed to take the job as a temp (10-month contract) even though he had just left for the Weber State job four months earlier. So much for loyalty. In that sense, at least, this should be a seamless transition from Petrino.
Smith is 63. He’s entertaining. He’s the kind of guy who would watch his house burn down and suddenly break into vaudeville: “Hah! I told you my wife couldn’t cook!” He had several media members laughing at SEC Media Days on Wednesday. (Question: Would you like to be the Arkansas coach for more than one year? Answer: “Certainly. Do I look stupid? Wait, don’t answer that.”)
You want Smith warming up the crowd before the real comics come out. You just don’t really want him coaching a potential top-10 football team.
Prepare for the crash. And the laughter.
This is what happens when a college athletic program hitches its wagon to the morally bankrupt. Athletic director Jeff Long went behind the Falcons’ back and hired Petrino. They gave him everything he wanted. They played dumb when he hired his mistress for a legitimate job posting. They asked only for wins in return. In the end, they got a mangled Harley and national humiliation. (How Long still has a job for enabling this mess is remarkable.)
Bobby Petrino phoned Smith to talk about "Coaching, life, family."
Smith hasn’t been a head coach for six years. He went 14-21 in his last three years at Michigan State. He got the Weber State job because, well, it’s Weber State and he went to school there.
As if overcoming the emotional trauma of Petrino’s clumsy philandering and firing isn’t enough, Smith is trying to function as an SEC head coach while basically suffering from financial ruin.
Seriously. He admits that a series of failed real estate ventures likely will lead to him to declare bankruptcy soon. That might explain why he was willing to take a U-turn out of Weber State and grab the short-term job for $850,000.
I had a few questions for Smith.
One in particular.
Do you ride a motorcycle?
Answer (laughter): “No. I’d fall off and hurt myself.”
Me: You mean like your predecessor?
Answer: “Oh. Yeah.”
We know the man doesn’t have much of a conscience. He worked for Petrino. But did he have any problems leaving Weber State right after he got there?
“Well, you’re leaving your alma mater and you know people gave you the opportunity – yeah, it’s not fun,” he said. “But you weigh it, and the scales weighed heavier to leaving.”
He disclosed that Petrino phoned him last week. They spoke for up to 30 minutes. But Smith declined afterward to discuss particulars about the conversation — “Coaching, life, family” — but he expects Petrino to get back into coaching. He said the two remain friends.
So when you heard about the motorcycle accident, the girl and everything, were you disappointed with him as a man?
Answer: “Uhh … No.”
Alrighty then.
It gets better. Here’s Smith, somewhat, on his philosophy on life.
“Like we tell players, ‘You’re not a regular student. You can’t go out and do something stupid.’ Believe me, we all do stupid things. We just try not to be overly stupid.”
I’m feeling really good about the Alabama game right about now, how about you?
Smith is not new to adventures. He has run with the bulls in Pamplona. He climbed part of Mount Kilimanjaro. He has jumped out of an airplane (with a parachute). So in his mind, or out of his mind, taking the Arkansas job is just the next logical crazy step.
“My granddad came to this county when he was 12 years old,” Smith said. “His folks put him in a boat and said, ‘Go to America.’ What kind of adventure is that?”
One that inspires more good feelings than this one.
By Jeff Schultz
Previous SEC Media Days blogs
• Muschamp getting heat but deserves some time at Florida
• Slive: SEC needs to be vigilant to avoid Penn State situation
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194 comments Add your comment
globeflyer
July 19th, 2012
8:11 am
Misery loves company……
It’s UGA’s turn at SEC Media Days | UGA sports blog
July 19th, 2012
8:19 am
[...] Schultz: Arkansas living with humiliation after Petrino firing [...]
rbusby
July 19th, 2012
8:20 am
Enter your comments here
bobby petrino's bloody face
July 19th, 2012
9:13 am
that picture will never stop being funny.
Capt Jack
July 19th, 2012
9:17 am
Damon, the word you you mean is advice, not advise. That UGA education shines through again.
FOR REAL
July 19th, 2012
9:18 am
I hope Jacksonville State stomps their butts in their season opener.
JIM
July 19th, 2012
9:20 am
Arkansas AD Long looks like the only one with integrity from what I see.
Most everyone school in the USA would have kept Petrino because he wins, yet Long shows him the door and your criticize him. Long deserves praise he is anything but morally bancrupt, as you say.
Whopper Dawg
July 19th, 2012
9:25 am
Arkansas has no one to blame but themselves. Talk about walking right into one.
SylvanHi
July 19th, 2012
9:26 am
I JUST read the caption under John L. Smith’s pic… ROTFLMAO!
Jason
July 19th, 2012
9:28 am
Climbed part of Kilimanjaro? That’s suppose to impress anyone? I climbed the entire thing and I’m nobody. A guy from Gwinnett did it a few months ago… he has no arms or legs but still made it all the way to the top. It’s not a walk in the park but it’s not Everest either. If you don’t make it to the top, it really isn’t worth mentioning.
Duke Keith
July 19th, 2012
9:32 am
Dude, Pampelona? Is that near Atelanta?
Media vote: Georgia will win SEC East | UGA sports blog
July 19th, 2012
9:39 am
[...] Schultz: Arkansas living with humiliation after Petrino firing [...]
JHP
July 19th, 2012
9:45 am
“the invertebrate Bobby Petrino took his young wench…”
Jeff, give it a rest. This is the kind of article you find at TMZ or the Daily Mail.
Preseason All-SEC team includes six UGA players | UGA sports blog
July 19th, 2012
9:58 am
[...] Schultz: Arkansas living with humiliation after Petrino firing [...]
1eyedJack
July 19th, 2012
10:12 am
“My granddad came to this county when he was 12 years old,” Smith said. “His folks put him in a boat and said, ‘Go to America.’ What kind of adventure is that?”
John L. had mean great-grandparents. Putting a 12 year-old in a boat somewhere in Europe and telling him to go to America, that’s cruel. I hope they at least gave him some charts and a sextant.
1eyedJack
July 19th, 2012
10:12 am
“My granddad came to this county when he was 12 years old,” Smith said. “His folks put him in a boat and said, ‘Go to America.’ What kind of adventure is that?”
John L. had mean great-grandparents. Putting a 12 year-old in a boat somewhere in Europe and telling him to go to America, that’s cruel. I hope they at least gave him some charts and a sextant.
1eyedJack
July 19th, 2012
10:13 am
Jeez. I didn’t even get the, “you already said that” thingy.
Jones
July 19th, 2012
10:15 am
Disloyal to spouse and teams = Bobby Petrino
Disloyal to spouse and loyal to team = Larry “Chipper” Jones
One hated, one deified.
Go Braves!
Mitch (the one in Rome)
July 19th, 2012
10:15 am
Jeff, I love your writing on sports. It’s always refreshing and funny. That opening paragraph made me laugh out loud. Thanks for asking tough questions to morons.
Frontman
July 19th, 2012
10:20 am
UGA education – now there’s an oxymoron…
Pitbull
July 19th, 2012
10:31 am
And just think that the Aubarn President and Athletic Director met with Petrino on a plane in Louisville to discuss the possibility of him leaving Louisville to become the Aubarn coach without asking Louisville for permission or informing Tuberville.
That motorcycle crash could have happened in Aubarn just as easily.
Just think, If Petrino had gone to Aubarn he could have told his girlfriend he was in the mooooooooooood!! And she could have worn a bell around her neck so he could find her in the pasture.
Petrino's motorcycle
July 19th, 2012
10:51 am
@ Oldskoolrazor,
For real how about you Google NFL’s top 10 college coaches that should have stayed in college guess who’s number 1.
Taylor Wooten
July 19th, 2012
10:55 am
Well well…gotta feel good if your Arkansas Razorback, huh? LOL
SECGRAD
July 19th, 2012
10:57 am
“R”Kansas lives with humiliation because it is “R”Kansas. That state is as big an embarrassment to the SEC as West Virginia will be to the Big 12.
alphadog
July 19th, 2012
11:01 am
The young woman involved in the Petrino incident may be guilty of extreme poor judgment but to publicly call her a “wrench” is extreme poor taste. Regardless of her career-climbing actions she is still someone’s daughter, sister, and hopefully, future fiancee’. That said, Petrino got what he deserved.
Petrino's motorcycle
July 19th, 2012
11:13 am
You know it amazes me that all you trolls even now when it’s obvious that Petrino is a complete disgrace and failure at being a human being can still take jabs at UGA or ATL. I don’t blame Ar-kansas for wanting to hire a winner he almost made Louisville national contenders and look at them now. Ar-kansas was like the Vandy of the west back before they hired him and wanted to win and unfortunately there’s one good thing Petrino knows how to do and that’s win football games well except for in ATL can’t say he had the pieces together to really win much especially after losing Vick. However it doesn’t change the fact that everyone in the sports world outside of Ar-kansas basically burned Petrino’s reputation to the ground. Schultz you guys at the AJC need to invent a filter so these morons will stop taking up space on all your blogs. Otherwise you might need to make a blog dedicated to all these Petrino lovers that have about as much class as him.
art
July 19th, 2012
11:40 am
@alphadog, it’s WENCH not WRENCH… And excuse me, but any grown woman who knowingly has an affair with a married man deserves to be called that and worse.
Dawg Tired
July 19th, 2012
11:48 am
I’m having a difficult time seeing Arkansas being humiliated. I mean look at the last two hires for head football coach. I have a friend from Arkansas whose only comment about the whole Petrino fiasco was , “But he was winning games! Why did he get fired?”
bbama67
July 19th, 2012
12:02 pm
Schultz is still perpetuating Blank’s lie that Arkansas’ AD went behind his back to hire Petrino. Petrino and his agent both were up front with Blank. Schultz’s biased hate comes again. And it’s incredible the hold Blank has on the Atlanta media.
Q
July 19th, 2012
12:04 pm
Hey, I’d bang that blonde girl and her pearly white chompers too. I think the worst part is he rode a Harley, those guys are douchy.
Dooley: ‘You’re not going to have Tennessee to kick around anymore’ | UGA sports blog
July 19th, 2012
12:05 pm
[...] Schultz: Arkansas living with humiliation after Petrino firing [...]
Paddy
July 19th, 2012
12:05 pm
JIM……….Ark Ad, Long had no say in the matter. The Board of Gov’ers made that call quick. They were protecting the Univ. from impending sexual harrassment etc. that was going to cost the school huge amounts of $. Well documented from the local press and Little Rock newspapers. Only thing Long did was have a press conference to announce the firing. He was out of the loop!
Cram
July 19th, 2012
12:06 pm
Maybe if Ga. hired Petrino, we could talk about National Championships instead of just making the SEC Championship game. Oh well, we have CMR and he’s a class act.
Q
July 19th, 2012
12:06 pm
“And it’s incredible the hold Blank has on the Atlanta media”
He does have a sweet stache.
Arkansas Dave
July 19th, 2012
12:17 pm
For everyone that thinks this program is crumbling, let’s see how this season plays out. JLS is a good man and was actually the perfect fit for THIS team, THIS year. For those of you laughing now, again…. let’s let this thing play out and see who is laughing at the end of the season. For those of you that are blasting the character of others, including Jeff Schultz, you should look at your character first and then see if you are worthy of casting stones. For that evaluation we don’t need to wait, your flaws are evident now.
HoosierBack
July 19th, 2012
12:30 pm
wow, let it go guys, let it go.
DawginLex
July 19th, 2012
12:48 pm
I see the baboon named “Well” is back
An Auburn fan berating another program is a joke
Auburn is the most morally bankrupt program in America
You talk about the Fulmer Cup yet Auburn holds the all time points record
You are so easy to abuse
UGA coach Mark Richt: ‘We don’t recruit bad kids’ (UPDATED) | UGA sports blog
July 19th, 2012
1:08 pm
[...] Schultz: Arkansas living with humiliation after Petrino firing [...]
Bo in North Carolina
July 19th, 2012
1:21 pm
Carlyle, if you are so intelligent, what have you written and published?
Jeff as usual another good one.Thanks! Appreciate the humor and sarcasm.
Hawg Times
July 19th, 2012
1:24 pm
Schultz, I guess you must have inside information that has not yet been disclosed, judging by your quote “They played dumb when he hired his mistress for a legitimate job posting.”. Are you suggesting that J. Long, or somebody else within the organization knew that Dorrell was Petrino’s mistress prior to the investigation which followed the motorcycle accident?
This article is full of misinformation, and lacking facts. It’s better suited for the National Enquirer.
Well
July 19th, 2012
1:40 pm
“I see the baboon named “Well” is back”
Your obsession with me is duly noted, trailer trash.
“Auburn is the most morally bankrupt program in America”
No trash, that honor belongs to Penn State.
“You talk about the Fulmer Cup yet Auburn holds the all time points record”
Check out this years Arky stats, ma’am.
“You are so easy to abuse”
I’m sure you say that to all the little boys out there.
Well
July 19th, 2012
1:47 pm
” Mark Richt: ‘We don’t recruit bad kids’ ”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHH!!!!!!!!!!
DawginLex
July 19th, 2012
2:03 pm
Well
Typical Auburn comeback
Can’t defend your school because you know what I said is true so you personally attack me
Hog Wyld
July 19th, 2012
2:03 pm
Just pile on Petrino everyone. You are just mad he had to leave such a horrible franchise(Falcons) to find a better life. He is not the first person to cheat on his wife. Why should he lose his job for that? The school buckled under pressure from hacks like Schultz who have a vendetta against Petrino and the success he brought to the school
Haters.
Well
July 19th, 2012
2:15 pm
“Can’t defend your school because you know what I said is true so you personally attack me”
I love hypocritical mutt fans. Defend my school? LOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PERSONAL ATTACK: I see the baboon named “Well” is back
Pot, meet kettle.
DawginLex
July 19th, 2012
2:16 pm
Success at all costs schools
Head of the line-Auburn
Next in line-Ohio State
Newest addition-Arkansas
DawginLex
July 19th, 2012
2:16 pm
You are a baboon
I’m not any of the things you call me
Jimmy Crack
July 19th, 2012
2:16 pm
It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving program, hiring a scumbag quitter of men in the middle of the night and having the audacity to broadcast that moment to the world. How unbelievably embarrassing, you backwoods fools. You are reaping what you SOWEEE!
Mr. Hankey
July 19th, 2012
2:20 pm
Delighted about Petrino. Love the pic. Really WOULD make a great tattoo!! Maybe put it on a lower cheek. I got fired by somebody one time and put a picture of her on the very front of my toilet seat so when I sat down, guess what was sitting there. Might do the same with Patrino. Can’t wait to see the next train wreck in his life. Don’t think karma is done with that mother……er.
Well
July 19th, 2012
2:24 pm
“You are a baboon”
PERSONAL ATTACK.