I was working on a post about Bobby Petrino, when I ran across this article by Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic.  I just can’t cover it any better than this…

Bobby Petrino is a pig!

OK, so technically he’s a Razorback. But you have a pretty good idea where this is going, right?

He isn’t the first and he won’t be the last, but the way Petrino lied to his owner and bolted as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons to take over as Arkansas’ new coach reeked of cowardice and was purely unprofessional.

On Monday, the first-year coach assured Falcons owner Arthur Blank he was committed to the team despite all of its turmoil.

But somewhere in between suspended quarterback Michael Vick getting sentenced to 23 months in jail on federal dogfighting charges that morning and the Falcons getting spanked 34-14 by the Saints later that night, Petrino turned tail and ran.

Showing even less class, he didn’t bother to meet privately with his players to explain his decision. Instead, he typed up a lame letter, made a bunch of copies and had a clubhouse attendant tape them up on each player’s locker.

Veteran safety Lawyer Milloy was so offended, he crossed out Petrino’s signature on the letter he received and wrote "Coward" in its place.

"Everything he preached over the last eight weeks was a lie," Milloy told reporters. "Everything he said he stood for was a lie. He came in and messed with a lot of people’s lives. He wasted a year of my life. It was a cowardly act, a selfish act."

Milloy was only getting started.

"One thing I’m really pissed at was while he was having a half-hearted approach to games, he was putting us all at risk. His mind wasn’t in it. That explains why he threw a challenge flag a play after he was allowed to. Why we went for it on fourth and 9 and punted on fourth and 1.

"Maybe he was on the phone at Arkansas to the AD at that point."

If he was on the phone, he should have at least made a call to his players.

"He took the easy way out," Falcons linebacker Michael Boley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "There are a lot of different ways you can handle that. As a man, call us. Come in here for one last team meeting. A note in the locker? That’s just saying, ‘I can’t even look you in the face right now.’ That’s cowardly."

Yes, it is.

And now Petrino is Arkansas’ problem. As his tale of leaving the Falcons in an insensitive lurch makes the rounds, it can’t help in his recruiting efforts for the Razorbacks.

Falcons rookie defensive end Jamaal Anderson, the team’s first-round pick out of Arkansas, has been fielding non-stop calls from players and associates with the Razorbacks football program, asking him what type of person they are getting in Petrino.

"Disloyal," Anderson said. "If he can leave players here, what makes you think he won’t leave the players he’s going to coach? I’m just afraid to see what happens if he does bad at Arkansas. Is he going to leave those kids?"

The Falcons, who are being coached by longtime assistant Emmitt Thomas, fell to 3-11 on Sunday following their 37-3 loss to Tampa Bay.

As for Blank, the Falcons owner was asked if he has become disillusioned with the NFL after being lied to by Vick and then Petrino.

"If I end up becoming a real cynic as a result of a National Football League team, I probably shouldn’t be in this business," he said at a news conference. "One of the reasons I love the business is because of the people side - the coaches, the staff who believe in everything I believe in.

"Obviously, you have times when you’re disappointed. We’ve had a couple severe disappointments this year." 

Technorati Tags: nfl, bobby petrino, atlanta falcons, arkansas razorbacks, emmitt thomas, author black, michael vick

Click on a Star to Rate This Stupid Post: