Bobby Petrino: On leave, in trouble and maybe out of a job
Uneasy rider: Bobby Petrino speaks after the crash but before the confession. (AP photo)
Bobby Petrino has been placed on administrative leave. Ordinarily this is a prelude to getting fired, but Bobby Petrino coaches football in the SEC. And we’re about to see if Arkansas places a higher premium on winning football games — which Petrino has — than on cornball stuff like family values.
Speaking of which: Bobby Petrino first said he’d spent Sunday with his family at a lake before hopping on his motorcycle. If he had, he wouldn’t be on administrative leave.
Turns out Petrino hadn’t been riding alone. Turns out, via the police report, that Petrino had been accompanied by a 25-year-old woman whom he’d just hired as the football team’s “student-athlete development coordinator.” (Memo to would-be cover-uppers: Police reports are pesky things.) Turns out Petrino lied in his first public statements, same as he’d lied to Arthur Blank when he told the Falcons’ owner, “You’ve got yourself a coach” — 27 hours before surfacing in Fayetteville, Ark.
Petrino has since acknowledged an “inappropriate relationship.” Though he, oddly, described it as “previous.” Does that mean it has ended? That true romance took a hike the instant he lost control of the bike? Ah, the vagaries of the human heart.
Of greater concern to athletic director Jeff Long is surely this: Did the coach hire the 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell — a press release was issued just last week — only because of her expertise in “student-athlete development”? (She’d previously been an Arkansas volleyball player and a fundraiser for the Razorback Foundation.) In announcing her appointment, Petrino is quoted as saying: “[Dorrell] is familiar with what the University of Arkansas can offer.”
(In other news, Dorrell reportedly is engaged to the director of operations for the Arkansas swimming and diving team. The wedding date is set for June 9.)
Long moved to put Petrino on leave Thursday night, only hours after the police report was made public and the coach finally came clean to his boss. But there is, in athletic departments housing a major football program, a sort of reverse pecking order: The AD is technically in charge, but the football coach is the bigger deal.
Of all people, Long shouldn’t have been blindsided by such duplicity. He handled the search that resulted in Petrino standing in Fayetteville calling the Hogs on a Tuesday night after coaching the Falcons on a Monday. Rumors of Petrino’s departure had been swirling before the game, prompting Blank to confront Petrino, who offered his handshake assurance he’d be staying. This prompted Blank to tell newsmen he looked forward to the Falcons moving boldly forward under “CEO Bobby Petrino.”
The next day: See ya later, CEO.
The same Petrino infamously interviewed for an Auburn job that wasn’t open in November 2003. He denied any contact with Auburn officials until reporters from the Courier-Journal offered documentation of a private plane registered to the Montgomery bank controlled by the toxic Tigers booster Bobby Lowder landing in Sellersburg, Ind., which sits across the Ohio River from Louisville, where Petrino was then coaching. The backlash was such that Auburn’s president and AD wound up resigning.
But Petrino? He kept coaching the Cardinals, leading them to an 11-1 season in 2004 and an Orange Bowl victory in 2006. He’d signed a 10-year contract to remain at Louisville despite many more flirtations with other schools/teams. Then, in January 2007, he left to coach the Falcons. That lasted 13 games, 10 of them losses. (The Falcons were without Michael Vick.) Then he split for the Ozarks.
In sum: Petrino has long been a selfish jerk, but people keep hiring him because he wins. When it comes to coaches, administrators tend to develop cognitive dissonance: “He’s a jerk, but he’s a winning jerk.”
Long has pledged to conduct a review, but let’s note again: This AD hired Petrino, baggage and all, and has seen him win 21 games over the past two seasons. We’re about to see if Petrino, his belatedly admitted indiscretion aside, can deploy his won-lost record as the ultimate defense. We’re about to see if a bad guy gets to keep his job just because he’s a good coach.
By Mark Bradley
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412 comments Add your comment
The Mighty Quinn
April 6th, 2012
11:55 am
Arkansas knew he was a liar and a cheat when they hired him, thus they valued his coaching ability above his character. Based on that, I say he won’t be fired, because he’s still a winning college football coach.
Tech '10
April 6th, 2012
11:55 am
Shame on both of them. He can’t operate a motorcycle while claiming to be an enthusiast and she was engaged to someone else..
Rick James
April 6th, 2012
11:55 am
I wonder what the women on the back of the bike did to make him lose control.Checked his prostate maybe?
Giggs
April 6th, 2012
11:56 am
Giggity giggity goo!
We can't hit squat
April 6th, 2012
11:56 am
Have you people never heard of a mid-life crisis? This girl is so hot that it would be very difficult for any man to resist the temptation. Petrino had money and power and was middled-aged. Perfect storm. Might happen to Mark Richt someday.
doggoneit
April 6th, 2012
11:57 am
Evil empire: there is way tooo much you will never understand! If you don’t like our city Please leave!
frank
April 6th, 2012
11:57 am
I think some of us here need to with hold judgement,there are things we have did (cheat)but did not get caught..Just because we did not get caught ,does not make us any better.
Tide fan
April 6th, 2012
11:58 am
“Why did his girlfriend get her new job in the football program last week? Was it because she was having an “inappropriate” relationship with her soon-to-be-boss? What about the other applicants to that job? Do they have a claim against the university?”
Yep. He put the school at legal risk if he is having an affair with this girl. Mike Dubose got fired for essentially the same thing at Bama. If its not just the legal risk its the whole inappriateness of conduct- Mike Price at Bama and Damon Evans at UGA will tell also tell you what inappropriate behavior will do for ya. He’s a goner if the Arkansas AD has any backbone whatsoever.
What else is he hiding?
April 6th, 2012
11:58 am
Love it!!! Not only should he be fired, I hope they also take a microscope and find out what else he is hiding. If his wife is smart, she’ll do just that and leave his sorry butt, and take his $$ with her. This guy is a Class A d-bag and it’s just fun to watch Karma do its thing.
BG
April 6th, 2012
11:58 am
I will be shocked if is fired.
wcbryan
April 6th, 2012
11:58 am
Petrino leaving the Falcons was the best thing to ever happen to the franchise…we lucked out on that end. Am glad the city of Atlanta and state of Georgia is rid of him.
Booger
April 6th, 2012
11:59 am
Is she available? I have a go kart.
doggoneit
April 6th, 2012
11:59 am
They need him! To Late to let him goo.This Just reinforces to his players that it is ok to lie, cheat and steal.
Woodstock Dawg
April 6th, 2012
11:59 am
All the Dawg fans have just one questions…Where were her panties?
DP
April 6th, 2012
11:59 am
I don’t think being caught fooling around would get Petrino fired by itself given 21 wins in the last 2 seasons. But hiring a girl half his age that he’s sleeping with to a job that reports to him, lying to his boss that he was riding alone when he had the accident and the University putting out that lie in a press release on its letterhead, those things complicate matters. But my guess is they still keep him and do something to save face like cut his pay. Under other circumstances they could suspend him for a few games but Arkansas is supposed to be pretty loaded this year, they have Alabama and LSU at home and the Alabama game is early so they’re not going to risk screwing up the season by suspending him.
Has Petrino reached out to #1 Arkansas fan Bill Clinton for advice on how to navigate through this bimbo eruption, as they were known around the ‘92 Clinton campaign?
It’s not like the Arkansas AD didn’t know what he was hiring given the behind the scenes visit from Auburn officials when he was at Louisville and the way he quit on Arthur Blank during the season. He’s getting what he deserves.
What do you want to bet Playboy has already tried to contact the hottie? If she loses her job and her fiance she would probably be a good candidate to cash in.
Focus on the Family
April 6th, 2012
12:00 pm
`
Houston Nutt is available.
DawginLex
April 6th, 2012
12:01 pm
a father counters my comments with his take on Romney and his assumption i would vote for him
OK
I am convinced
You are the village idiot
Karma du jour | ATLmalcontent
April 6th, 2012
12:01 pm
[...] also a lying scumbag who should be fired but probably won’t be because he coaches at a “university” [...]
George
April 6th, 2012
12:01 pm
He has a right to do stupid things like this, but not to do stupid things like this and coach a “big time” football team.
DILLIGAF
April 6th, 2012
12:02 pm
We can’t hit squat:
“Might happen to Mark Richt someday.”
No, it won’t happen to Mark Richt ever because Richt has morals and integrity, something Pigface has never had or never will.
UGA/85′
Ryan
April 6th, 2012
12:02 pm
He wasn’t arrested lex. Look at your own program for that. He is a stupid idiot and should be fired.
YoungerThan ThatNow
April 6th, 2012
12:02 pm
MarkB… you know what they say… “payback’s a… you know”! Speaking for Falcons fans everywhere… it couldn’t happen to a better guy!
Tide fan
April 6th, 2012
12:04 pm
Just heard on the news that Petrino had admitted to an “improper relationship” with the girl. Well that’s it folks. He’s done.
TG
April 6th, 2012
12:04 pm
Look at this hypocrisy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUPZJDBJI84
G8R8U2
April 6th, 2012
12:05 pm
Well, we all knew somebody was eventually going to have to step up to the plate and take Kiffin’s place as the SEC’s official disgrace… guess we’ve got our new POSter boy.
Doubt they get rid of him, though; they care more about their winning reputation than their ethical or moral reputation. So what if he’s married with 4 kids, and the woman he’s having an affair with just got engaged to his strenth and conditioning coach.
MaxxFalcon
April 6th, 2012
12:09 pm
Sounds like he meets the requisite level of scumbag to join the New Orleans Saints organization
inappropriate relationship
April 6th, 2012
12:10 pm
That motorcycle
barbecued Petrino’s cute little face.
Jackie Chile
April 6th, 2012
12:10 pm
”Coach Petrino was as cooperative as anybody that we could ever hope to encounter following the traffic crash,” Sadler said.
Desperate comment from a trooper who doesn’t want to lose his football coach. Perhaps his quote should have been along the lines: The driver of the motorcycle reported the accident according to what he said happened.
What a pathetic mess college sports has come to be. Grownups worshiping teenagers and rationalizing away poor behavior by idiot adults.
Just saying..
April 6th, 2012
12:10 pm
evil empire
April 6th, 2012
11:18 am
don’t understand all the hate towards petrino…falcons are a bad organization, atlanta is a loser city…arkansas better job and nicer state…
evil: May you be surrounded by, and work with, the Petrinos of this world…
Jackie Chile
April 6th, 2012
12:11 pm
Petrino looks like a total idiot with his neck brace and beat up face. This is funny stuff.
MyPatootie
April 6th, 2012
12:13 pm
It is very obvious from the getgo that he is stupid by not wearing a helmet(law or not). Then he goes out and proves it by taking his girlfriend for a ride (no helmet either). Two stupid people on a death machine. They are both dang lucky! BTW, saw two or three photos of her last night on Arkansas newspaper sites and I don’t know where you guys are getting that “she is a hottie”. I didn’t see that. Her nose is sharp enough to shave with. Goof grief, are your eyes bad or just hard up? First day I read this story, my “Sumthins up” radar went off. Now we know.
Bryan
April 6th, 2012
12:15 pm
damon evans was let go because of the dui. not the infidelity. quit distorting things.
Jackie Chile
April 6th, 2012
12:15 pm
Arkansas fans put mule blinders on and hoped his poor character didn’t travel with him from ATL, but it took awhile to rear its ugly head, but it did travel with him, didn’t it?
Dr. Phil
April 6th, 2012
12:16 pm
The girl went from one of those sexy voices that call at supper time wanting donations to the athletic fund, to recruiting coordinator and special companion to the head coach. This issue certainly speaks to Petrino’s arrogance, i.e. riding around in daylight with no helmet with a young lady clinging to him–a great role model for his players. More details will emerge, as they usually do, and this won’t go away for a while. If the president of the university has any spine at all, he will send Petrino packing. This probably won’t happen, and Bobby’s only punishment will be from Mrs. Petrino.
C'MON Man
April 6th, 2012
12:18 pm
Who here without sin, cast the first stone. What I thought. So shut up and move a long.
bamaguy
April 6th, 2012
12:20 pm
If Arkansas fires him, he will be unemployed about a week. Another school will snap him up because his firing had nothing to do with losing, NCAA infractions or illegal behavior.
Brewmaster
April 6th, 2012
12:22 pm
This story will become a made for TV movie : “Easy Rider .”
WDE
April 6th, 2012
12:23 pm
Every time you hear this type of stuff CMR just looks better and better….this could not happen to a more deserving person.
inappropriate relationship
April 6th, 2012
12:24 pm
The 25 year old blond girl is engaged to be married
to an Arkansas Assistant Football Coach.
Way to go Petrino !
savannahdawg
April 6th, 2012
12:26 pm
You get what’s coming to you in the end. Just remember this the next time one of you idiots want to critize CMR. No issues, no problems, no scandals, no stupid crap. A good man and coach.
Shug
April 6th, 2012
12:27 pm
With the neck brace, pig, bad Petrino kinda looks like Teddy Kennedy at his Chappaquiddick press conference. Petrino’s girlfriend got off easier than Miss Kopechne.
DawginLex
April 6th, 2012
12:30 pm
Ryan
When did I ever mention about him being arrested?
That does not matter anyway
He violated the morals clause of his contract with the university. If he was banging this chick prior to March 28th when he hired her, he should be fired.
This is a mess either way. If they fire her and not him, they get sued and she wins. If they keep them both, they are a joke.
In my book they have to fire them both
bigdon
April 6th, 2012
12:31 pm
My total mood has been uplifted by this news. Big Bobby, don’t you know that sweet lady karma is a bitch and there ain’t nothing worse that a bitch scorned. Yuo have richly gotten what you deserve, KMA, FU and the horse you rode in on.
Truly look forward to you soon to be firing. What will you do then, Ahol? Judging by this picture you sure as hell ain’t geting by on your looks. Are those scrapes or more likely liquor burn. LOOSer! Dbag! I formally spit on you.
Sincerly, All Falcons season ticket holders
Bright Idea
April 6th, 2012
12:31 pm
And this fox was cavorting with Petrino because he was a young, handsome stud who was a barrel of laughs or because he rides a Hogg and coaches the Hawgs??????????
Yankee
April 6th, 2012
12:31 pm
Blank got EXACTLY what he deserved, since arfur STOLE a coach who was already under contract. BTW, hope Blank’s ex-wife takes control of the Falcons. Farfetched? See Dodgers, L.A.
evil empire
April 6th, 2012
12:31 pm
who is the better football coach, petrino or richt??? i say bobby p, and it ain’t even close…
Tim
April 6th, 2012
12:31 pm
Mark… Very well-written column. I wonder if he’ll ludicrously be paid off like the hypocritical Damon Evans was by the ultimate jerk, Michael Adams at UGA. $237,000 is a good financial reward for Evans for driving drunk, trying to bribe a law enforcement officer, running around on his wife and having the other girl’s red panties in his lap. We’ll soon learn if and how Arkansas rewards Petrino for his indiscretion. What’s your opinion on that, Mark?
pb
April 6th, 2012
12:32 pm
Like Bradley said, Petrino has been a jerk for a long time, but a winning jerk at Arkansas. Will really be surprised if he is fired, even though probably deserves to, for “inappropiate” relationship. Let’s see if the athletic director has the guts to do it.
Couldn not of happened to a nicer guy . . .
April 6th, 2012
12:33 pm
Once again, why would any parent send their kids to play for this immoral piece of crap? Hope Arkansas takes the higher road but doubt it.
Chek
April 6th, 2012
12:33 pm
Good Grief!
Hell,we all knew Petrino is a dumb azz.
But somebody needs to get a mental evaluation on the girl.
Why would anybody touch that.
Bobby did go to the right school.
He is a pig,both in attitude and looks.