Petrino could have stayed with the Falcons, but only under the NOW watchful eye of Arthur Blank. Blank gradually changed the relationship with Petrino as the Vick fiasco unfolded making it very uncomfortable for Petrino to make even common personnel decisions. (Petrino ended up being micromanaged by the owner) To me, Dunn's comment reflected more on the issue that Petrino did not try very hard to restore his lead position as a coach, with the authority to bench players and decide who would start, who would play, etc.etc.etc.etc.. Instead of trying to resolve anything, Petrino just quietly said 'screw this' and walked. I am sorry for all the retailers who are now stuck with, who knows how many, Falcon #7 Vick jerseys.
Agreed but it seems the fans are upset also and as fans we know it is a business but that doesn't take away from us having heart about our team (ref: me and the saints). The media of course reconized this and will harp on it until the cows come home. And of course if Vick was playing and he had a healthy team and was still facing this same record thier would be people calling for his head and likely would get it, but that is the life of a coach and you have to deal with it. I don't think the fans are upset he left as much as they are upset how he left, but this is just my opinion.
I feel for the fans and somewhat for the owner but every team member who wore Vick's number and chanted on his behalf or whatever they did (all indicating they think he is unfairly sentenced for dog-fighting) deserve no opinion about Petrino's comparatively minor "ethics" violation. I think that colleges can be angry about their coaches' lying and hopping about but it rings pretty hollow in the moneymad NFL.
Peter King jumps on Petrino hard. Love the comment on recruiting too... http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/12/16/week15/4.html Goat of the Week Former Atlanta coach Bobby Petrino. Idiot. Weasel. One day after having permission to speak to Arkansas denied him by the man who hired him for $4.8 million a year last winter, Petrino went ahead and talked to Arkansas anyway. Then he rode out of Atlanta for Fayetteville under the cover of darkness. I understand why he did it -- he felt he was 100 miles away from winning (he was); he felt the Falcons' front office -- particularly GM Rich McKay -- wasn't good enough to rebuild the team in a hurry (he might be right); and he missed college football. So Petrino pulled the most irresponsible act I've seen in coaching in the 23 years I've covered the NFL -- taking a job where it'll be easier to win and he can treat the players like doormats; and there's not a darn thing they can do about it. One last thing: If the other coaches in the SEC use Petrino's carpetbagging skullduggery against him, good for them. I hope it works. That wouldn't be negative recruiting. It would be truthful recruiting.
