Empty Nest: Falcons Coach Petrino Resigns To Take Arkansas Job

Petrino Leaves Falcons To Take Coaching Job At Arkansas

Falcons coach Bobby Petrino "abruptly resigned" yesterday to take the head coaching job at the Univ. of Arkansas, according to Steve Wyche of the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. Petrino in January left the Univ. of Louisville and signed a five-year, $24.5M contract with the Falcons, and his departure "came after he claimed several times that he would return with the Falcons next season." Petrino said his decision "was very difficult in one sense and very easy in another. It was difficult to leave Atlanta. I wish we could have finished what we started." A Falcons official said Owner Arthur Blank was "very disappointed, highly agitated and upset" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 12/12). An NFL source said that Blank "reluctantly granted Petrino's wish and let him out of his contract." SI.com's Peter King writes the resignation "had to be a major surprise to Blank." On ESPN's  Saints-Falcons "MNF" broadcast, Blank called Petrino "the CEO of our football team" (SI.com, 12/11).

BLANK STARE: Petrino's move follows Monday's sentencing of suspended Falcons QB Michael Vick to 23 months in prison, and in Atlanta, Mark Bradley writes of Blank, "Once again, the rich man has been caught unawares by the true nature of one of his employees. Once again, the long-suffering Falcons are left to wonder if anything will ever go their way." Blank "has poured body and soul into this franchise, and today he looks like just another rich guy with more money than sense" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 12/12). ESPN's Len Pasquarelli wrote the Falcons "are reeling. And while the franchise's dire circumstances aren't fully the fault of Blank and [Falcons GM] Rich McKay, they must share some of the culpability." Blank "failed to see through the tawdry side of Vick and the itinerant bent to Petrino" (ESPN.com, 12/11). An ATLANTA CONSTITUTION front-page story asserts, "Never has a professional football team seen such chaos"  (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 12/12).

PETRINO: ESPN's John Clayton reported Petrino's deal with Arkansas is "probably going to be in the neighborhood of $3(M) a year, once again showing that this is not a money thing," as he was making over $4M with the Falcons ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 12/11).  In Atlanta, Jeff Schultz writes Petrino "didn't quit because he lost Michael Vick. ... Petrino didn't quit because the Falcons' roster was decimated. Bobby Petrino quit because being an NFL coach isn't just about X's and O's. It's about all of those things Petrino didn't want to handle and clearly wasn't equipped to handle. Salary cap issues. Players' egos. The most basic form of communication" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 12/12). Falcons CB DeAngelo Hall said of Petrino, "He came here, lied to a great man in Arthur Blank. He lied to Rich McKay. ... It's Coach Petrino's loss" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 12/11).

Hall One Of Several Players To Honor Vick During "MNF" Game

VICK: Hall and other Falcons players during Monday's game wore eyeshades inscribed "MV7" in honor of Vick.  Also, Hall ran onto the field with a poster of Vick, and WR Roddy White wore a T-shirt stating '"Free Mike Vick."  Hall said of the tributes, "I don't want to say the franchise doesn't want to acknowledge the situation, but that's kind of the way you feel. All the pictures are gone. No more jerseys, no more nothing. We just wanted him to know we still cared about him" (USA TODAY, 12/12).  But the Chicago Sun-Times' Jay Mariotti said, "With all these outward displays, all it does is keep Michel Vick in the consciousness of these Falcons fans; and the franchise cannot move on until the players move on" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 12/11).

FALCONS CLARIFY BLANK'S REMARK:  When asked about Vick's chances of returning to the NFL, Blank said on ESPN's "MNF" this week, “If he doesn’t watch himself and eats a lot of fried chicken and fries in prison and comes out at 250 pounds, he’s not going to be the same athlete that he was.” Falcons VP/Communications Reggie Roberts said in a statement, “This was an innocuous comment in the context of Michael Vick’s conditioning. Blank was trying to convey that Vick needed to stay in shape in order to possibly return to the NFL. ... To suggest otherwise, to make more of this than it is, to make this a racial comment is simply preposterous” (ESPNews, 12/11).