Friday Feature Fires Bobby Petrino

Bobby Petrino is (was?) the Head Coach of the Razorbacks

Last night, Arkansas Athletic Director, Jeff Long, held a press conference to announce that Bobby Petrino  has been placed on administrative leave, barring further investigation:

"I hope to have a resolution soon," Long said. I certainly don't have all the answers here tonight, as we meet. But again, I have an obligation and responsibility to obtain the information and then act appropriately on that information."

If you missed the details of what happened, Petrino was involved in a motorcycle accident, which left him in the above state (also, the Police Report):

"Arkansas State Police was notified of a single vehicle motor vehicle crash along Highway 16 in Madison County near the Crosses community about 6:45 last night (Sunday)," the statement read. "The crash involved a motorcycle that had left the roadway. Coach Petrino was the operator of the motorcycle. He was transported to a Washington County medical facility."

From the outset, this had a Tiger Woods-like vibe. If you remember back in 2009, Tiger Woods was in a car accident on Thanksgiving night. The accident and impending marriage problems led to the unearthing of the many affairs that Woods had had over the years. He lost endorsements and he lost the allure that made him Tiger Woods.

Bobby Petrino is nowhere near the figure that Tiger Woods is or was, but the accident has really brought to question his integrity. In his previous statement, he lied about having a passenger, which calls to question his trustworthiness. There are many other questions that might come from this as more details of the incident make their way to the public, but at the moment, we have to hold judgment. Just reading his statement, I can't say things are going to be fine and dandy for Petrino:

“The state police report today provides an accurate description of my accident, which includes details that had not publicly come to light prior to the report being issued. I regret that I have not publicly acknowledged a passenger on the vehicle. I have been in constant pain, medicated and the circumstances involving the wreck have come out in bits and pieces. That said I certainly had a concern about Jessica Dorrell’s name being revealed. In my press conference, I referred to her simply as ‘a lady’. My concern was to protect my family and a previous inappropriate relationship from becoming public. In hindsight, I showed a serious mistake in judgment when I chose not to be more specific about those details. Today, I’ve acknowledged this previous inappropriate relationship with my family and those within the athletic department administration.

It feels like there is a whole can of worms waiting to be opened. Petrino probably hasn't done anything illegal, but he's done plenty to threaten the reputation of the University of Arkansas and everyone associated with it. Petrino has backed Long into a corner where Long will either have to fire a coach when there's no one better on the market or keep Petrino knowing that he [Long] cannot trust him. CBS Sports's Bruce Feldman speculates on what will happen:

Winning coaches often get the benefit of the doubt. And Petrino, love him or hate him--and most people outside of the state of Arkansas tend to go with the latter, is a superb offensive coach. He is 34-17 in four seasons at Arkansas in the toughest division in college football. Two seasons ago, the Hogs finished 12th in the nation. Last year, they finished fifth. They're going to be loaded on offense again, led by QB Tyler Wilson and running back Knile Davis, and they have both Alabama and LSU at home. Expectations are soaring. Or at least they were till Thursday night. 

It is such a mess. Can he go back to work after being at the center of this? How does he face his co-workers? His team? How does he sit down in a recruit's home on the couch and speak to the kid or his parents after this? Some people I spoke to Thursday night (several who work in college athletes) said they don't see how Petrino can survive this. Really? It wouldn't surprise me at all. While these are valid questions, we've seen repeated instances of coaches getting themselves into awkward and embarrassing situations time and time again and yet, if the guy is a winner, people will give them another chance. Lots of folks have short memories. A lot shorter than those it seems of the media--and rival fans. It happens so often we just shrug our shoulders whenever that guy later says something that sounds like pure rhetoric, and yet a thirsty fan base is usually right there to vigorously defend him and administrators and boosters are there to pay him lots of money provided the guy wins enough games and doesn't get stuck in any NCAA spiderwebs.

I understand that having a winning program is incredibly important, but perhaps what hurts Petrino the most is the fact that he lied to the AD and paraded himself in public prior to the Dorrell news getting out. He was hailed as some sort of warrior for gutting out the injuries to return to practice. While it did take some courage to get back to work, there was an element of the truth missing. That element, as it turns out, is a big part of the story.

By parading himself out in the media while perpetuating a lie, he has put Arkansas in an extremely difficult situation, but I think Bobby Petrino has coached his last game for the Arkansas Razorbacks. The one thing that schools do not want any part of is scandal. While keeping a winning team is important, there will be moral pressure from alumni and administration to let him go. There is too much at stake.

I'm not sure how it's going to affect the current team. I'm not sure if it's too late to gain entry into the NFL Draft. I will say, however, that if Tyler Wilson does get into the draft, he'll probably be the third best QB on the board behind Luck and RG3. I mean Ryan Tannehill? Come on.

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Last night, Boston College rolled through Minnesota to get into the final where they will face Ferris State. I did not watch either of these games due to the poor quality of my ESPN U. From what I've heard, the Ferris-Union game was pretty even whereas the BC-Minnesota game was anything but. Boston College is not only one of the most talented teams, but also the hottest. They will be an overwhelming favorite to win the National Championship on Saturday night. There's really not that much to add.

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If you haven't been already, make sure you watch Shutdown Fullback, a show featuring EDSBS's Spencer Hall and SBNation's Jason Kirk. The show features a lot of laughs at the expense of everyone. My follow of the week would go to Eight Ball the Tiger, the fictional account of Clemson's drugged out mascot. There will be a lot of programs that will have their Spring Game this weekend, including Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, and South Carolina, so hopefully I'll have some reaction from those.

Have a great weekend everyone!