As the saying goes, no matter how bad things get, there’s always someone who has it worse. Saints coach Sean Payton may be thinking about that right now, given that former Falcons coach Bobby Petrino reportedly has been fired by the folks at Arkansas.
Petrino’s world came crashing down after a motorcycle crash gone bad (as if any motorcycle crash ever goes well). He lied about being alone on the bike, and as it turned out he was with a former Arkansas volleyball player who had just become an employee of the school -- and with whom he admitted to having an “inappropriate relationship.”
It’s refreshing to see the folks at Arkansas look past the fact that Petrino was successful. In plenty of similar cases, an excuse gets made for someone who is a valued employee, and an example is made of someone who isn’t.
In 2007, the former Falcons coach drew the ire of all-time good guy Warrick Dunn by quitting during his only season in Atlanta, with Dunn calling Petrino a “coward” and “classless.”
At only 51, Petrino likely will find another job, somewhere. It’s fairly safe to say he won’t be applying for the interim head-coaching job in New Orleans.