Who’s the bigger rat – Bobby Petrino or Lane Kiffin?
Watching Lane Kiffin’s wretched introduction at Southern Cal last night — delayed 45 minutes by traffic, it should have been canceled to spare everyone involved– the thought occurred: “This guy is the biggest rat I’ve ever seen.”
Then, a bit later, another thought: “Wait a minute, son. Didn’t we in Atlanta happen across a rodent of our own not long ago?”
Well, yeah. His name: Bobby Petrino. He fled the Falcons in same harum-scarum manner that Kiffin left K-Town. And that terrible memory got me to thinking: “Kiffin or Petrino — who’s the bigger rat?” Here’s where I attempt to answer myself.
Category: Truthfulness. Petrino reaffirmed to Arthur Blank the day before he headed over the Ozarks, “You’ve got yourself a coach.” According to Tennessee AD Mike Hamilton, Kiffin at least informed him last weekend that he’d be interested in the USC job. Bigger lying rat: Petrino.
Category: Manliness. Petrino left without facing his players. He had a type-written note left in their lockers instead. Kiffin at least addressed his players. Mayhem nearly ensued, but at least he showed his creepy face. Bigger cowardly rat: Petrino.
Category: Timeliness. Petrino was gone by sundown the day after his team lost to New Orleans on Monday night. Kiffin didn’t flee the Smokies until the next day. Bigger lamming rat: Petrino.
Loading ...Category: Shamelessness. Not 24 hours after leaving the Georgia Dome as coach of the Falcons, Petrino was captured on live TV calling the Hogs alongside Razorback cheerleaders. Kiffin somehow resisted the urge to ride into his Southern Cal press briefing atop Traveler, the equine mascot of Troy. Bigger shameless rat: Petrino.
Category: Spousal involvement. Becky Petrino joined her husband to lead cheers. Layla Kiffin did not lead any cheers, at least not on-camera. Bigger familial rat: Petrino.
Category: Obliviousness. According to those Falcons folks who knew Petrino well (and there weren’t many), he was stunned his abrupt departure elicited such venom. Kiffin maintained Tennessee fans were upset he was leaving because he’d done such a great job. Bigger tin-eared rat: Kiffin.
Category: Staying power. Petrino coached the Falcons for 11 months. Kiffin coached the Volunteers for 14 months. Bigger fickle rat: Petrino.
Overall: You’ll note that Petrino is the winner, if that’s the proper word, in six of the seven categories. Which would seem to make him the landslide choice as the rat of all rats, would it not? Uh, no. Forget categories, I say. Look instead at the big picture. (At least Petrino can coach.) Alongside Kiffy, all other rodents must bow. King Rat: Kiffin.
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540 comments Add your comment
AusTx
January 14th, 2010
9:54 pm
Spare me your retarted logic, Mark Bradley. Leaving a bunch of overpaid, pampered professional athletes … and a crybaby, spoiled baby NFL team owner … doesn’t even rate on the richter scale when you compare it with what happened at Tennesse.
I don’t blame Kiffin for going home to his dream job. However, the things he did with the recruits he is trying to steal makes him the rat of all rats.
If Petrino had left the Panthers, the Jaguars or any other town in the south that does not have a big media presences it would not even be a blip on the screen.
Can’t wait for Hogs v. Dogs in Athens in September!!! Soooooie!
George
January 14th, 2010
10:13 pm
Are you seriously asking this question? Petrino was lied to by Blank and the Falcons organization….Vick went to jail….Hall and crew blatantly revolted against the coach….who wouldn’t leave those bunch of thugs??
Kiffin is the most ego-maniacal coach since….Urban Meyer, but at least Urban has earned that right. He lied to all the high school kids he was recruiting. Then his staff told the kids to not go to class in case they wanted to come to USC. What garbage. That guy is the epitome of a rat.
ron jules
January 14th, 2010
10:19 pm
Why would it be Petrino, because he left a trashy city with a team full of thugs? I am sick of idiot journalist who keep on bringing up a coach that left a team that was 3-10, and didn’t even have the players that he agreed to coach. Oh wait, he should have stayed and tried to win those last three games so his team could have finished at 6-10, then it would be ok to leave. That makes no sense. His family wasn’t happy and nor was he. He did what was best for them and more coaches should do the same thing. Unless you personally know Petrino and have witnessed his devilish persona, stop with these ignorant stories.
steve5270
January 14th, 2010
10:34 pm
You people in Atlanta continue to wine and cry over Petrino. Get over it. It’s as if you broke up with your junior high girlfriend and you read her love notes to feel sorry for yourself. It’s Friday night and your all alone and there is a tear in your eye. Shut up and be happy with what you have. Crybabies…..you too Mark Bradley.
hind tit
January 14th, 2010
10:49 pm
just 7 categories for these guy’s. you had a stroke and couldn’t finish, keyboard trouble, you got fired. you got the tenn job and had to catch a plane.surly you can come up with a couple thousand more.
Sonny
January 14th, 2010
10:57 pm
childish. can’t get off petrino since he left a sinkin ship that had been described to him as the new cruise liner? hahaha…call artie b and ask for a job as his pr man. you’d be a good fit.
if that doesn’t work out, think about journalism school. ya might like learning about that, writing and reporting the facts.
good luck either way!
Cylouden
January 14th, 2010
11:04 pm
If I was you I would be a helluva lot more concerned whether Georgia can find a new Defensive Coordinator than mouthing off about Bobby Pertrino – really, are we not happy with Mike Smith and what he has done with the Falcons? It is really getting old, old, old & brining families into the picture puts you at an all-time low & I did not think that was possible!
JESUP
January 14th, 2010
11:29 pm
VIDEO…..Grantham breaking down game film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSsx-E7UEHc …..He speaks well ????
JESUP
January 14th, 2010
11:33 pm
http://blog.cleveland.com/plaindealer/2008/01/browns_fire_grantham/1514/comments-newest.html ……………..SOME OF THE BROWNS TAKE ON GRANTHAM……..I like him
FalconPhil
January 15th, 2010
2:07 am
As a falcon fan, I still haven’t gotten over petrino leaving the falcons during the season! He’s a jerk and I hope he loses big at arkansas, with all those hog calling trailer park rednecks out there.
Sarah
January 15th, 2010
8:17 am
Mark, I think you would be surprised at how many ARK alumni live in the Atlanta area.
Byron Mathison Kerr
January 15th, 2010
9:16 am
@ FalconPhil: Pot calling the kettle black, no doubt.
@ Sarah: Never underestimate those Razorbacks, right?!
Rich Mckay
January 15th, 2010
10:06 am
Mark- There’s no comparison, Kiffin finished the season. So what if he left after only one season, everyone leaves at some point. Few people turn down their dream job out of loyalty to a company to whom they were employed for a little over a year. Petrino abandoned everyone, mid-season, during the darkest chapter in Falcons history. His exit was the most disgraceful act I’ve seen from a football coach. This is coming from a man who shook Tommy Tuberville’s hand in the Ole Miss AD’s office as TT delivered an unsolicited pledge to win a national championship, less than two weeks later he accepted the Auburn position. I also lived in Tuscaloosa during the Dubose, Price, Franchione saga. I wish nothing but the worst for Petrino.
Mark Bradley's Dad
January 15th, 2010
10:50 am
Well Mark, your mom is the biggest rat.
Who's the bigger rat — Bobby Petrino or Lane Kiffin? | Mark Bradley | Drakz Free Online Service
January 15th, 2010
11:02 am
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Falcons' Fan
January 15th, 2010
11:07 am
I’m the biggest rat for thinking that my franchise even matters outside of Atlanta.
(Best move Petrino or any coach could make – leaving the Atlanta Dirty Turds.)
nate
January 15th, 2010
12:42 pm
Kiffin for sure, Petrino was smart and bold to get away from Arthur and the gangsters. Id have him any day plus he is proven. A coach can only go so far when played like a puppet.
charlie
January 15th, 2010
3:49 pm
2 years and y’all still whine over Petrino. Pitiful.
Chattanooga Chuck
January 15th, 2010
3:51 pm
I can’t be angry at Petrino since he did us a great favor by quitting. How would you like to be coming off his third season with Brian Brohm as the QB? Maybe things will turn out as well for UT as they have for the Falcons.
WPS
January 15th, 2010
4:25 pm
How is Petrino more of a rat than ATL Falcons? They fired Coach Mora after 1 season. They got what was coming to them with their thugs on that team, who threatened to make Vick Dog meat of him. The only reason Petrino was made out to be the slime in the Media is because Arthur Blank Check is such a huge ESPN sponsor.
Mark Bradley
January 15th, 2010
4:27 pm
The Falcons fired Mora after three seasons, not one.
Jimmy
January 15th, 2010
4:45 pm
A rat is a rat.
Unfortunately, college football is overrun by them.
Brady Sythe
January 15th, 2010
5:17 pm
all heck, you surely can’t blame Bobby for leaving that collection of thugs known as the Atlanta Falcons. I wouldn’t even had left a note in their lockers, considering it is doubtful that many of them can read!
Maxx
January 15th, 2010
6:28 pm
Ugh they both need to hold hands and jump off a cliff. PETRINO IS THE BIGGEST COWARD SCUMBAG IN SPORTS HISTORY. At least that sniveling punk douche a$$hole Kiffin waited until the season was over to leave his program high and dry.
DawgVoiceofReason
January 16th, 2010
12:47 am
Some of you have tried to compare Arthur Blank firing Dan Reeves with 3 games left with Petrino leaving with 3 games left. However, your premise is completely WRONG. Blank offered to let Dan Reeves coach the remaining three games but Reeves chose to decline the offer. Blank had promised to let him know if he ever decided to make a change and he did just as he promised.
Both Kiffin and Petrino are scum of the earth and why their current schools want them is beyond belief. I personally think Petrino is worse due to his lie to Blank and his absolute cowardliness in refusing to face his players. These guys have zero character or integrity and are all about themselves, to the extreme.
Students at schools other than USC on the West coast refer to USC as the University of Spoiled Children, because they are a bunch of rich, snobs. Kiffin fits in perfectly as a spoiled brat.
DawgVoiceofReason
January 16th, 2010
12:59 am
You people defending Petrino and attacking Blank are ignorant (aka ARK fans). Blank did not lie to Petrino; he didn’t know that Vick was running a dog fighting ring; no one except Vick did. Blank was trying to work with Petrino because of the tough situation he inherited and Petrino bailed on him AFTER committing to him, knowing ALL of the facts.
mars
January 16th, 2010
1:34 pm
Wow. What does being an Arkansas fan have to do with whitewashing a true scumbag? I understand you want to be loyal to your team, and rightly so! I always kinda liked the Razorbacks. But don’t let you loyalty blind you to the future damage this confirmed scumbag is going to do to your student-athletes. This piece of trash has left carnage in his wake throughout his career. Don’t blame us Falcon fans because you have embraced denial.
mars
January 16th, 2010
1:39 pm
Previous statement reads better as “because you have chosen to embrace denial”. Good luck with your scumbag. He doesn’t deserve your loyalty. However, your loyalty is yours to waste on whomever.
catfish31015
January 16th, 2010
3:34 pm
The Biggest Rat is the Sports Betting Services whom people actually pay out good money to for a winning bet. For anyone actually dumb enough to pay for this worthless dribble, I have a proposition: You pay me $100.00 and I will give you a guaranteed winner in the Arizona vs.New Orleans contest. If you don’t win with my “Lock of the Week”, I will gladly refund 100% of the cost of this service. Remember, you have to bet REALLY BIG on this one because it is my personal “Lock of the Week”. Bet BIG on this one game because it will make up for all the losses you’ve had all year. Now, if you’re a mind to, I can let you have the “Special Divisional Lock” for only $300.00. Of course, it has the same guarantee. (What I won’t tell you is the $100.00 Lock is Arizona and the $300.00 Lock is New Orleans. Either way I win. You only have a 50% chance of winning. We balance our “Picks” just like the bookies do, only instead of 10% juice, I have your credit card account charged after the game for an easy windfall. I also now have your personal telephone number to harass you daily to run up an even bigger tab. I just won’t tell you all this. Trust me on this one – you’ll find out.)
Ivan
January 17th, 2010
2:40 pm
Mark, you left off a choice. Vick is the biggest rat.
Ken Stallings
January 17th, 2010
3:33 pm
It is such a silly notion that reporters carry on like this about a coach changing jobs. Not one reporter would urge that his option to pursue other jobs be censured in the way reporters constantly censure coaches.
This all to predictable visceral reaction prompts a few questions:
1. When do reporters find it acceptable for a coach to seek other employment? If not after one season, then after two, three, four?
2. If it’s not right that a coach accept a better paying position, then is it only acceptable if they accept a lesser paying position?
3. Why is it offensive that a coach seek another job soon after his current team’s season ends? When else would it be better? In mid-season? Just before the start of the next season?
I suppose given the level of discontent among reporters that it’s considered a black ball offense if a reporter leaves one news network or paper for another? We all know the answer to that question, just like we know the answers to the others.
The truth is reporters change jobs all the time, do so on frequent timelines, and are always on the outlook for a better paying and more prestigious opportunity. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. What’s disappointing is the rank hypocrisy with which reporters act when reviewing coaches doing the same!
Powder Springs Playa
January 18th, 2010
2:24 pm
That’s like saying which is more disgusting vomit or diarrhea.
Michael
January 18th, 2010
5:40 pm
“AJC sports columnist Mark Bradley is a blogging fool. But you knew that already.”
No I didn’t, but I know it now. Petrino left the Atlanta Chickadees when it turned out his quarterback was too busy murdering dogs to learn how to win football teams, and his bosses failed to tell him.
Kane337
January 18th, 2010
6:11 pm
How is Kiffin a rat? If someone offered you your dream job would you drop your current job and take it? Yea that’s what I thought.
USC is a 100x better program than Tennessee. USC is the #1 school in one of the hottest recruiting states (California). You just can’t get that kind of recruiting in Tennessee. Sorry Vol fans.
smith
January 18th, 2010
7:34 pm
Petrino took a 1.3 million dollar pay cut while its rumored Kiffen left Tennesse for more money. Seems to me like Petrino just wasn’t happy living in Atlanta.
Cliff
January 18th, 2010
9:40 pm
Mark Bradley for even writing this stupid article. The National Enquirier is always looking for this kinda crap.
Maya
January 19th, 2010
8:00 am
It is good thing Petrino the rat skipped town in the dark. With Petrino rat coaching the Falcons we would not have got any where, Why? He doen’t know how to coach men. He only knows how to piss them off. His college motivational techinique of threat and intimidation would not have worked.
Didn’t Glanville use threat and intimidation for motivation? Did it work? Din’t think so.
John
January 26th, 2010
1:36 am
Gosh get over it! Falcons fans are make me sick!
Go Hogs!!! WPS!!!!
John
January 26th, 2010
1:42 am
Enter your comments here
Scott
April 21st, 2010
11:48 pm
I think the bigger rat is the one who wrote this article. An owner can fire a coach for no reason, but when a coach leaves without warning you label him as a shameless rat. I think the problem is the media.. I can’t blame Petrino for leaving the Falcons. He wasn’t happy in the NFL, and if your not happy then get out. After all it’s a job coaching a GAME. It’s not like he’s saving the world.