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
Jackets2010
January 14th, 2010
10:37 am
Mark Richt isn’t a rat for firing Willie Martinez. What in the WM record says job well done? Lucky u lasted there that long.
GoJackets
January 14th, 2010
10:37 am
Petrino is worse. He took a job that was over his head and ran and hid like a little girl when things got bad. Thankfully he has basically no chance at another bit time NFL or college coaching job. Lane Kiffin is scum bot not nearly as bad as Petrino.
Get a Life
January 14th, 2010
10:38 am
Who cares about Hati
WonderDawg
January 14th, 2010
10:40 am
Petrino is a good coach. I think he’s found that he is just one of many in the SEC, though. On the other hand, what has Kiffin done to deserve these jobs?
anotherdawg
January 14th, 2010
10:40 am
Speaking of politics, I can barely type. I think it’s “Al Gore’s Global Warming”
Sweet Home Alabama
January 14th, 2010
10:40 am
you are comparing a rat or a snake.dont like neither.Tenn has class fans and a pretty staduim.they will do just fine.
Bill
January 14th, 2010
10:44 am
Owners and ADs like Arthur Blank who claim to be victims when a coach leaves on his own accord, but claim it’s just business when they fire a coach in the same manner. These are the real rats.
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
January 14th, 2010
10:45 am
One time when I was a pup I was in a car with my brothers and we were on the way to Athens for a big game. I needed to stop on the way because of my notoriously weak bladder. I found a great spot along the highway and I asked the driver to pull over for me but he said, “Let’s go just a bit down the road, I know a better place.” I will continue this story in a later segment . . .
Neyland de toilet grande
January 14th, 2010
10:45 am
Yeah, Kiffin wins because he hasn’t accomplished Jack Stuff.
Jackets2010
January 14th, 2010
10:47 am
How many times will this country’s idiot billionaires buy a pro team and offer some college coach a fortune to leave?
The skills for motivating college and pro players are different as are the football strategies used.
Idiot billionaires?
I like that.
One function of a vent is the fans get to say what the AJC will not allow its sportswriters to spit out.
Phillip Fulmer
January 14th, 2010
10:48 am
All you “Vol” fans LOVED Kiffin right until the moment he made his decision to leave, and now call him slimy, rat, etc. Like he didn’t exhibit those behaviors during his 14 month reign in Johnson City. No, y’all looked the other way and thought he was the second coming of Neyland. And now you’re so HURT that he chooses sunny So Cal over Johnson City, TN. You guys ARE as stupid as you sound when you talk. Enjoy your 5-7 season next year. I’ll be laughing my arse off while you BEG me to come back.
'Bama 1
January 14th, 2010
10:49 am
I’ve learned to tell how they both are lying. When their mouths are moving. Talk about two pea’s in a pod. Both are total A**HOLES!
Lord of the Lizards
January 14th, 2010
10:49 am
Kiffin because of his mouth and utter disregard of the rules. UT needs to run that Hamilton guy out of town. With this next hire being so critical, do the Vols really want the decision on the next coach in THIS mans hands???
Jackets2010
January 14th, 2010
10:49 am
Bill – agreed.
Boise Dawg
January 14th, 2010
10:49 am
I actually think that Kiffin leaving for USC was the least offensive thing he did while in Knoxville. The guy is obnoxious and I can’t understand why the Vols hired him in the first place, let alone Southern Cal.. but coaches leave for their “dream job” all the time and don’t get this much flack.
I guess some of the vitriol is because we aren’t used to seeing a coache leave a program with the reputation and money that Tennessee has… but that was a hiring mistake. Why hire a young coach that has strong ties to another elite program? It was not a stretch to think that Pete Carrol might leave for the NFL in the near future and that Lane Kiffin might then want the USC job. I think this entire mess falls squarely on the AD at Tennessee, what a dumb hire that was.
D(r)ooley
January 14th, 2010
10:50 am
Option 3 – Mark Richt
Eric
January 14th, 2010
10:50 am
1. Petrino. 2. Saban (I will not be the coach at alabama). 3. Kiffin.
Sarah H
January 14th, 2010
10:51 am
I think with the Falcon’s record (remember Dan Reeves), that Petrino was the smart one. Remember, it is all about the money.
sk
January 14th, 2010
10:53 am
SUUUUUUUUU-IEEEEEEEEEEE
Jackets2010
January 14th, 2010
10:54 am
You know what.
Pete Carroll deserves an dishonorable mention in this vote; maybe a close third in the voting.
Two current Trojan pros have stated he tried to talk them out of leaving with variations of the “how can you leave your buddies in the lurch?” etc.
Sanchez and White I think are the two.
Bobby Ross did the same thing in 1991 when Swilling satyed and hurt himself in the next year’s draft.
Then as soon as the college coach gets offered the better money, it’s bye bye.
NORRIS
January 14th, 2010
10:55 am
I dont see how any body can complain about Petrino. The guy totally left because of lack of support on the team. The team was full of guys that were insubordinate and should have been fired. And yes, they had to be removed before the new coach could even come in or it would have been the same thing all over again.
The team was full of a bunch of thugs!!
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
January 14th, 2010
10:56 am
2 words for Petrino & Kiffin: Business Ethics!! they’re just like your typical CEO of a large company- only CFB is involved.
Dr. Phil
January 14th, 2010
10:56 am
This recalls the joke about using lawyers for lab experiments: there are numerous and available, nobody cares if they are injured, and there are some things that even a rat won’t do for money. The university presidents that encourage this behavior and the puppet athletic directors should be put into the same rodent cages with the Petrino and Kiffen.
Dawg 3/20
January 14th, 2010
10:56 am
Check out this story about Lame Kiffin
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/columns/story?columnist=shurburtt_jc&id=4822232
Nativebird
January 14th, 2010
10:57 am
Petrino’s victim was our beloved Atlanta Falcons, Kiffin while just as big a rat in personal terms as Petrino, victimized our SEC enemiy, which is still aweful, but none the less, not near as painful.
Dorsey Hill
January 14th, 2010
10:57 am
Let’s see Kiffin utilizes provocation to gain attention, stir things up and to make money. He doesn’t care how accurate he is in what he says. He isn’t very good at what he does.
Mark, is this article an example of unwitting self-loathing?
RoswellHOG
January 14th, 2010
10:57 am
A Coach said: ” I don’t blame Kiffin, USC is a better job, just not how it should have been handled.”
So, how it should have been handled?
Smoke Porterhouse
January 14th, 2010
10:58 am
Glen Mason. He didn’t even coach his first game for the dogs before he quit.
kauai dawg
January 14th, 2010
11:00 am
That’s like trying to say what is worse a earthquake or a tsunami? They are both devastating. For sure 2 guys who don’t get it. Not that public opinion is a good measuring stick but these guys have proved themselves to be real pieces of work. There is no “me” in team. That doesn’t register with them.
Please continue to pray for Haiti. God Bless!
BubbaDaBaller
January 14th, 2010
11:02 am
Like saying what’s worse…Incurable Syphilis or Herpes?
Larry A
January 14th, 2010
11:05 am
really, this is a contest. Hmmm. Petrino leaves and NFL job for a lower tier SEC school – most college coaches aspire to become NFL head coaches not the other way around.
Kiffin leaves a top tier SEC school (but not the most prestigious position in the SEC by far) for one of THE top/most prestigious positions in college football. Their roster is stacked, I could coach USC to the BCS (and trust me – I am not flattering myself here).
USC is a half step from the NFL – the players are practically pros anyway – so if he wants back in the NFL, USC is the place to be.
Petrino was FAR and away the rat of all rats in NFL history. He could coach USC to 5 straight straight NCAA championships and I doubt anyone in the NFL would talk to him.
Midday Links «
January 14th, 2010
11:05 am
[...] Midday Links 2010 January 14 by James Kratch The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mark Bradley ponders the question — Lane Kiffin or Bobby Petrino, who’s the bigger rat? [...]
LFP6
January 14th, 2010
11:06 am
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I’m pleased to announce that a new class has been added to the upcoming semester.
The class:
CF 1313: College Football; Lying, Cheating, and Backstabbing.
The class will be taught by both Coach Bobby Petrino and Coach Lane Kiffen.
We also wish to remind students who take this class that they bring their own daggers.
Thank you for your time.
Ron Recruitment
January 14th, 2010
11:08 am
Gators continue gaining
“Florida, which has the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class, has two of the top 3 prospects and five of the top 15 nationally committed. Also, all four of the versatile movers (Powell, Easley, Elam, Floyd) are committed to the Gators.There is talk that this could be the best recruiting class ever assembled. Those numbers certainly would support that argument.” – JC Shurburtt, Scouts
Johnny Reb
January 14th, 2010
11:11 am
I’m just glad we gots the best coach in the SEC, Houston Nutt. This guy is as honest as the day is long. I bet we get a SEC West Championship this year. Go Rebels!!
Otto
January 14th, 2010
11:12 am
Larry, Sadly a mid tier SEC job is a step up from the Falcons job. You can either turn into Glanville or run.
Norris, Agreed the Falcons especially at the time Petrino was hired were a disgrace to this city. Congrats to Petrino for understanding he made a mistake and attempting to get his career back on path.
Parking Dawg
January 14th, 2010
11:13 am
How many players came, or committed to Tennessee because of Lane Kiffin? How may players paychecks were affected by Bobby Petrino’s departure. In professional sports how many times do we hear players and management say, “this is a business.” I’m no Petrino fan, but he didn’t sit in players homes and convince them to come play for the Falcons, as for his departure, tasteless as it was, that’s just business.
As for Kiffin, he convinced young men to trust him and come to Tennessee. Then jumped ship at the first opportunity. I didn’t like Kiffin shortly after he came to Knoxville. He cheapened what had been a respectable, albeit struggling program. His last act shows what little loyalty he had to those men he wanted to be loyal to him. He gets my vote for the bigger rat. If I was a parent whose son was being recruited by a Lane Kiffin coached team, I would do all in my power to steer my son elsewhere. I gave him 3 years at Tennessee just based upon the negative light he brought to that program. I’ll reset the clock and give him 3 years @ USC. That is of course if some NFL team doesn’t come calling first.
NC Braves Fan
January 14th, 2010
11:16 am
Mark: on the timeliness issue, I think Kiffin gets BRPs (Bonus Rat Points) since he left recruits and the Vols program in such a lerch. Petrino left in the night late in a lost season.
At least Arthur Blank had the time to get TD on board and get things together in time for the year following.
Ross
January 14th, 2010
11:16 am
Full discloser, I am an AR fan.
I don’t understand the venom directed at Petrino for the following reasons:
Petrino was not a good coach at Atlanta.
The Atlanta players hated Petrino and where thrilled to see him go.
Atlanta was better off without Petrino. Petrino was smart enough to know that he was not a good fit in the pros so he left to go do something he is good at.
Petrino probably figured the players would be celebrating that he was gone. He could have handled the situation much better obviously but having a feel good meeting when you are bitter toward the players and the players hate you seems rather dishonest.
Petrino did not hurt Atlanta as a team, Kiffin has dealt TN a bad hand.
Your points are biased in favor of Mr. Blanks version of events. Coach Petrino was not the only one who handled the situation badly but he is the only one who had enough class to not fight it out in the media.
Jim007
January 14th, 2010
11:16 am
It’s a Tie.
Petrino & Kiffin are both losers and P.O.S.
Jackets2010
January 14th, 2010
11:17 am
What Mark and Jeff say about either Tech or Georgia is nothing compared to what fans say on live blogs whgen their team is losing.
Then its “bench the QB, fire some assistant, fire the head coach and fire the AD” usually phrased in an insulting way.
So where are all you defenders of your coaches and players when it is your own crazed fans doing the bashing?
Just curious.
Indra Moedjio
January 14th, 2010
11:17 am
For the Falcons, Petrino is a big Rat, and for Tennessee, Kiffin is also a big rat
West Coast Bias
January 14th, 2010
11:18 am
USC is a better job than Tenessee. Get a grip and grow up people. Lane Kiffin isn’t a rat. He left his job for a better job after the season was over- end of story. If he was a lawyer leaving a law firm for a better law firm after a year, no one would think twice.
By Bradley’s definition, 90% of the coaches in the SEC are rats for leaving their last coaching job- Richt left FSU with Bowden’s blessing and Houston Nutt was run out of Arkansas but I can’t think of another example like this. Meyer and Saban are clearly rats.
Get Some Perspective
January 14th, 2010
11:19 am
Tenessee’s next coach will be considered a rat by someone.
Mid Town Joe
January 14th, 2010
11:20 am
This is an insult to the rat species!
MarkBradleylikesMen
January 14th, 2010
11:21 am
MARK BRADLEY IS A RAT. THIS ARTICLE IS POINTLESS .. HOW ABOUT WRITING SOMETHING WORTH READING. THE FALCONS ARE A TERRIBLE ORGANIZATION. PETRINO IS DOING A GREAT JOB WITH THE RAZORBACKS.. GIVE HIM HIS CREDIT.
JSS
January 14th, 2010
11:21 am
Volaholic…
???? “Ted Striker” is another Jeffrey
But thanks and please give!!!
Johnny Reb
January 14th, 2010
11:21 am
Ross – THANK ARKANSAS for giving us Houston Nutt!! SEC West Champs 2010!!
gdawginkalamazoo
January 14th, 2010
11:23 am
Petrino hands down. He slithered out the back door and lied. At least Kiffin said that he would be interested in the job and that he has connections to the program in a big way. With the one NC this millenium USC used to be THE premier program in the country (according to ESPN).
Get Some Perspective
January 14th, 2010
11:23 am
Bama 1 — you do realize your current head coach has lied on record on multiple occasions? Just wait, he will eventually lie to you too. I know it’s probably worth it because of the title, but he will.