Lights, camera, action! Petrino wants you to know he’s sorry (UPDATED with video)
Unfortunately, Petrino won't be wearing neck brace tonight. (AP)
(Updated with link to ESPN story and video below)
So of the least-enviable jobs tasks imaginable, where would “Bobby Petrino-image repair rank”? North of Barry Bonds (post-[alleged]-steroid use) but south of BP (post-oil spill)?
Petrino has agreed to/orchestrated his first television interview since a somewhat comical motorcycle crash and face plant exposed his affair with an Arkansas subordinate and submarined both his career and his personal life. (Not his reputation. That already was a wreck.)
Petrino recently sat down with ESPN’s Joe Schad. The interview will air sometime tonight during the 6 p.m. Sportscenter. Maybe the Falcons for a chuckle to loosen up before their exhibition game against Baltimore. It totally should be on the big screen at the Georgia Dome.
According to Schad, Petrino appears both “remorseful” and “apologetic.” Both emotions would, of course, qualify as precedent-setting.
The funniest description I’ve seen of this interview came from the blog site Arkansasexpats, which wrote, “This is arguably the most anticipated interview in Arkansas history since Barbara Walters scored the first sit-down with Monica Lewinsky in 1999.”
Bobby Petrino. Monica Lewinsky. Perfect.
(Update: Here’s a link to ESPN’s story on the interview. A video excerpt is below. One of the money quotes: “Instead of standing on the sideline with [Arkansas players], I’m going to be sitting on the living room couch, watching them. And I just can’t believe I screwed up so bad.”)
“I’ll be a better coach because this happened, because I’ll coach the person and not just the player,” Petrino said in the interview, according to SB Nation. “I have a better understanding of what life is really about. Put your energy into people that love you and count on you.”
Sounds great. He should put that on a plaque.
Petrino has not spoken publicly since his firing but his temp replacement John L. Smith said at SEC media days that the two spoke last month.
Here’s the reality: Petrino knows his reputation has been soiled. No NFL team would touch him. At this point you wonder what major college program would touch him. He has a reputation for job-hopping, lying, manipulating and leaving wreckage in the rear-view mirror.
With the Falcons, he showed himself to be a coward. What happened at Arkansas was even worse because his affair with an underling exposed a public university to considerable damages (not to mention what the scandal did to the players).
Petrino won’t be speaking to you tonight. Nothing personal, but he really doesn’t care about you. He will be speaking to college presidents and athletic directors, whom he will try to convince that he is a changed man. (Or a man at all.)
But we judge people by actions, not words, and there are lot of actions to overcome. A TV interview doesn’t qualify as a cleansing.
•
Some previous blogs on my favorite guy, Bobby Petrino
– Arkansas living with deserved humiliation after Petrino firing
– Petrino saga explained in Taiwan cartoon
– Arkansas had no choice but to fire Petrino
– Arkansas fans should be ashamed of themselves
•
ESPN video
By Jeff Schultz
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177 comments Add your comment
Rick James
August 9th, 2012
10:17 pm
Petrino is rotten human being but my bet is that by the time the SEC network signs on he’ll be back on the sidelines.I’m thinking Kentucky or Tennesee.Hope I’m wrong.
JASon
August 9th, 2012
10:44 pm
“At this point you wonder what major college program would touch him.”
Any college team that wants to win.
Arthur Blank
August 10th, 2012
12:18 am
I wouldn’t hire him to stock hammers on Aisle 13
when are we goin' beat a top team ? how many will we beat 2012 ?
August 10th, 2012
1:34 am
This is what passes for news around here, what Petrino says. In the meantime, we have our coach making the news not for beating a top team, or even saying if he does, he will grow a Fu Manchu, not a Goatee, with 67 of his signed scholarship recruits all he has remaining, currently going 0-9 against teams who made the top 10 after beating # 9 Auburn way back in 2006.
LDawg
August 10th, 2012
3:54 am
Man, that picture never gets old!!!
alex
August 10th, 2012
6:25 am
Why do you continue to berate this guy? I don’t care either way about him, but I mean really. He left here years ago and you just can’t let it go. It’s like he is an ex girlfriend of yours that found someone new and you are so bitter you can’t stand it. For God’s sake move on. The Falcons are in much better shape than they would have ever been with Patrino. Stop crying like a little bitch. Grow up and move on. Start acting like a man for a change. You make me sick.
Bobby Two
August 10th, 2012
6:54 am
Enter your comments here
Bobby Two
August 10th, 2012
6:54 am
Enter your comments here
Bobby D Nile
August 10th, 2012
6:59 am
He is not sorry for what he did he is sorry he got caught! He has NO character #1 because he would have come out right away and not lied about it #2 He did not once apologize to the young lady whose life he ruined, why because it wouldn’t help him. If you answer a question with “that’s a good question, I don’t know” you got ALOT more soul searching to do. I just pray that when he watches this interview he sees the same lying, manipulative, and self-righteous man we all see! SOOO-RRR-EEE!
Bobby Petrino
August 10th, 2012
7:14 am
I am very sorry. Sorry I got caught. Sorry I did not tap the girl a few more times. Sorry I did not have some more honeys on the side. Sorry I did not milk more money from King Arthur Blank before I blew town. Sorry I did not get more money upfront from the Hogs. Yes….I am reeeeeealy sorry.
Spike
August 10th, 2012
7:21 am
Jeff. GATA!!
Louie Lou Eye
August 10th, 2012
7:23 am
When UGA fires Richt or her leaves on his own to become a missionary, Petrino will be trolling the sidelines in Athens. The good thing is most of the women in Athens are stone ugly so Petrino won’t be tempted to ride any on his Hog….or his motorcycle. Book it.
when are we goin' beat a top team ? how many will we beat 2012 ?
August 10th, 2012
7:34 am
China has 14 Gold Medals in these “sports” : Badminton, Ping-Pong and Synchronized.
mike
August 10th, 2012
8:04 am
I am trying to understand what is the purpose of this article. The man has moved on from Atlanta and you people continue to beat a dead horse. Is kicking someone when their down the best you folks can do? How about explaining why the Falcons are continuing their losing ways.
On the other hand...
August 10th, 2012
8:24 am
Being a scumbag has had no effect on Lane Kiffin’s job prospects;
Mike Price got a head coaching job following his escapades at bama;
Job hopping has never seemed to cause Urban Meyer any problems;
Lying to the press hasn’t hurt Nick Saban’s career.
I have no doubt that Petrino will be back coaching sooner than many would like.
ARdawg
August 10th, 2012
9:51 am
What a dou+che art thou Bobby P. Just go away man. It hasn’t even been a year and I know crocodile tears when I see them. Petrino was good for Arkansas and Arkansas was good to Patrino. I defended that slime right here on Schultz’s board. I am ashamed of myself now.
ARdawg
August 10th, 2012
10:03 am
Petrino will get a job eventually. I’m okay with that, the man has to make a living but, I do not enjoy him in my face. No problem with his affair, no problem with Lowdergate or the trash heap he left in Atlanta but to tell the baldfaced lie he did with his road face to hide his affair proves what a lowlife he is. He’s remorseful for that….yeah right
BTW, the word is around Arkansas that there wasn’t even a motorcycle wreck. The story Jessica’s fiancee beat the crap out of him and they fake the wreck
Dawg Tired
August 10th, 2012
12:34 pm
Motorcycles really are more dangerous than I thought.
when are we goin' beat a top team ? how many will we beat 2012 ?
August 10th, 2012
12:37 pm
Let’s all stop and talk about Bobby Petrino crying, instead of asking ourselves when in 7 years in a row, currently, we haven’t beat a team making the top 10, and now face 2012 with but 67 scholarship recruits of our 85.
Really smart.
Brainiac(Dawg For Life) / (CMR fan for life)
August 10th, 2012
1:18 pm
@ The Dixie Redcoat Band:
Your ENVY is showing and you know damn well UGA has the perfect and complete opposite to Patrino in CMR!!!!!!!!!!!!
You may end up at Penn State(Your kind of atmosphere if we are to believe the RUMORS) but in the interim we Dawgies will just “STICK with RICHT”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kno whut I’m sayin??????????????????????????????
Brainiac(Dawg For Life) / (CMR fan for life)
August 10th, 2012
1:33 pm
@ Bobby D Nile:
One of us hasn’t been exposed to the SAME Petrino BS???????
I’m wondering how her life was spoiled by Petrino unless, of course, he HAWG TIED her and forced her to do all the things that evidently has happened!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This sounds more like a Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton deal to me!!!!!!!!!!!
Only difference is Clinton was Impeached(Kinda) and Petrino was fired(for real) and neither has or will change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brainiac(Dawg For Life) / (CMR fan for life)
August 10th, 2012
1:45 pm
@ Bobby D Nile:
Also he most likely has been “Apologizing” to her 2 or 3 times a week unless his wife has an electronic ankle monitor on him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Schultzy: Do you not have any info on how his family relationship is??? Bill Clinton never apologized to Hillary but he helped get her the Secretary of State job so maybe B Petro can get his wife a bigtime job and ease out of the headlines
PS: Always remember!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you want to catch ANY ANIMAL ON THIS PLANET(Including the human species) you bait the trap with Food or Sex!!!!!!!!!!!!!
when are we goin' beat a top team ? how many will we beat 2012 ?
August 11th, 2012
6:39 am
I do not care about Bobby Petrino one iota; all I care about is that we’re currently on a 9-game consecutive loss streak all the way back to 2006 losing to every team who made the top 10 and that we’re down to but 67 scholarship recruits and transfer-in to play our 14-game cupcake schedule of but 1 game vs the 5 SEC teams in the Coaches’ Poll Top 10.
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August 12th, 2012
7:07 pm
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Pitbull
August 13th, 2012
4:50 pm
A very believable man.
Hahahahahahahaha!
dawg4life
August 13th, 2012
6:34 pm
I’m not one to kick someone while they’re down but, Damn that pic still makes me laugh. This guy has left a wake of destruction everywhere he has been. You want some good reading? Go back and look at the mess Kragthorpe was left to clean up after he left Louisville… Granted, him walking out on the Falcons was probably the best thing that has happened to the franchise, it still was a slimeball move. Then you want to ask this poostain to maintain a position of leadership at an institution of higher learning???? Do us a favor Quitrino and pull your bottom lip over your head and swallow….
need for speed
August 20th, 2012
4:44 am
come on now people. there’s not a man reading this that would’nt want a taste of that hot azz blonde. He needs to come out and confess “yeah dude, i did her and she was good”