Mid-Week Madness Bans Petrino From His Own Funeral

On both Friday and Monday, I suggested that Arkansas would be forced to fire Bobby Petrino. Last night, it finally happened. We weren't sure how it would go down, but Jeff Long answered all of our questions:

It's safe to say that Long was the big winner yesterday. He handled the situation and the press conference with class, emotion, and conviction. While he shared with the media the facts that led him to fire Petrino, Long did not allow the media to pry into the private matters involving Petrino, Dorrell, and her fiance. Long was very respectful of Petrino, but he ultimately did what he had to.

So what did we find out?

Beyond what we already knew, what did we learn from the press conference? We learned some of the details regarding the relationship between Bobby Petrino and Jessica Dorrell and why Jeff Long had to fire Petrino:

According to Long, Petrino’s relationship with the 25-year-old recent hire, Jessica Dorrell, lasted a “significant” amount of time, and at one point, Petrino gave her $20,000 out of his own pocket as a “gift.” 

Dorrell, a former Razorbacks volleyball player, was hired by Petrino on March 28, only four days before both were involved in the motorcycle crash on a rural road outside of the city. Long said she was one of three finalists among a pool of 159 applicants, and was given the job in an unusually quick process. Dorrell, who reportedly called off an engagement one week before the accident, has hired a lawyer and could sue for sexual harassment. Under the school’s sexual harassment policy, even “consensual sexual relationships between faculty and their students or between supervisors and their employees in some instances may result in charges of sexual harassment.”

 As a state university, Arkansas had to fire Petrino because of fair employment practices and affirmative action. Dorrell was given an unfair advantage through the hiring process, and Petrino violated those employment policies by hiring her. While Jeff Long could have fired Petrino for a number of reasons, he had to fire Petrino for that. Petrino was fired with cause, which means that he will not be receiving any of his buyout money.

The white knight in all of this though is Jeff Long. CBS's Brett McMurphy was quick to praise the Arkansas AD:

So Long did the unthinkable. He did the right thing. He fired the man he took a chance on only five years ago because that same man "knowingly misled the university, he abused his authority, he made personal choices that benefited himself and he deceived me and members of the athletic department."

And he concludes:

Jeff Long showed Tuesday night that, unlike his former football coach, he is a class individual.

Integrity is the word that's being circulated to describe Long's actions. Now, there are some that question what he did because he was also the person that hired Bobby Petrino to begin with:

As we’re praising Long for firing Petrino, let’s not forget he also hired him. Petrino left the Atlanta Falcons immediately, during the season. Also, the coach had a long history of lying to superiors. So Long shouldn’t have been terribly surprised to learn Petrino tried to mislead or manipulate.

He has had a dodgy reputation that dates back to his time at Louisville, where he tried to keep one of his players from attending a friend's funeral. He also left the Falcons in the middle of the season to take the Razorbacks job. We all knew Petrino was a bad person. He was able to hide behind winning seasons up until the motorcycle accident. Long wanted to believe that he could trust Petrino, even though Petrino had provided no evidence that he could be trusted. While it may have been a suspect hire to begin with, Long didn't stand by his mistake, but rather he cut his losses.

Petrino for his part issued a statement last night, but there's nothing worth discussing. He made his mistakes and he's paying the price. End of story.

It's not the end of the story for Arkansas as they will have to move on. Taver Johnson, the former Ohio State assistant, will take over as Interim Head Coach through the end of Spring Practice as Jeff Long conducts his search. Clearly, the top choice or name at any SEC program would be Gus Malzahn:

GUS MALZAHN, head coach, Arkansas State. Without a doubt the first name to spring to mind of many Hog fans, the Natural State's native son (and, briefly, former Arkansas assistant) has been assumed to be headed for the Razorback head gig sooner or later. But this soon? That the previous Auburn whiz-"kid" said yes to the Red Wolves at all shows how close his ties to the state are, making the Arkansas position something akin to a dream job. But to sign up for 2012, leaving his new program in the lurch after just weeks at the helm, isn't likely something the low-key Malzahn will consider. If Long wants someone permanent now, he'll likely have to look elsewhere. But if he goes the interim route, and Malzahn's Red Wolves bolster his already solid reputation? Malzahn becomes your front-runner.

It seems that Malzahn is unlikely to leave Arkansas State after just having taken the job. Long could try to convince Malzahn to leave by giving him an ultimatum, but it's not like Malzahn's stock is going to go down if he declines. He has cemented his reputation as an offensive guru over the last few years, and he can only improve his stock by having success as a head coach. I could foresee a number of positions in the SEC opening up in the future, and Malzahn's name will be at the top of the list for all of them. There's no reason for him to leave at this time and if Long wants to get him, he might be best off waiting for next year and going through this season with an interim head coach.

Another option for Arkansas could be former offensive coordinator and current UAB coach, Garrick McGee:

All of which has led some to suggest that Long should go get one of the central figures of Petrino's success, 2010-11 offensive coordinator and current UAB head coach Garrick McGee. With quarterback Tyler Wilson, running back Knile Davis, receivers Chris Gragg and Cobi Hamilton and eight defensive starters returning, Arkansas has a chance to produce an SEC title contender this fall, and McGee, with his expertise of the system and the personnel, could take over with minimal disruption. 

But to do that would be to sell Arkansas' program short. McGee is a 39-year-old who's not yet coached his first game. While he's respected enough to land a head coaching job, it's only at a bottom-barrel Conference USA school. He may well be a future star, but better to find that out at UAB than to hand over the keys to an SEC program to a complete unknown.

With McGee, you would probably have a smoother transition due to the familiarity with the current players, but again, you run into the same problems as you did with Malzahn; McGee doesn't have head coaching experience. It's telling that these two are the best current candidates. It's safe to say that one of these coaches would be likely to succeed and one of them might be great future candidates for the Arkansas job. However, it might not be worth the risk for Arkansas to hire one of these candidates without any prior head coaching experience at the Division 1 level.

I just can't see Arkansas hiring a new coach at this point. Even if they found a worthy candidate and offered boatloads of money, it might not be the best time to make a new hire. We're past signing day and Spring Practice is near its conclusion. The new coach has missed his opportunity to acclimate himself with his current players (and vice versa) and he's missed his opportunity to bring in his own players. The best decision, in my opinion, would be to go with the Interim Head Coach, at least for this season.

Weekend Wrap Congratulates BC

I have to start today by congratulating the Boston College Eagles. On Saturday night, they won their third National Championship in 5 years and their fourth in the last 12 years. The story isn't the program though; it's this team. They won 19 straight games on the way to this title, including the Bean Pot and Hockey East. Riding that hot streak coming into the tournament, it's no surprise that the Eagles took home the hardware, but it is remarkable what they've accomplished.

Last Summer, Jerry York was unsure of what he had:

TAMPA - When Jerry York met with his staff last summer, the Boston College hockey coach viewed his team as something of a jigsaw puzzle, with its pieces scattered all over. 

He knew that eventually he’d figure out where they would fit together, but because of the players they had lost from the year before it was going to take time. 

York talked about it being a sort of rebuilding year, but the Eagles don’t rebuild, they reload.

That last bit has become somewhat of a motto for the BC faithful. While it may sound arrogant, it's hard to argue with the results that the Eagles have gotten. The Globe continues as it sums up this team:

As the whole became greater than the parts, BC went from a pretty talented squad seeking an identity to one with a genuine No. 1 goaltender in Milner, four viable lines that contributed on a nightly basis, six veteran defensemen who worked together like a well-oiled machine, and a coaching staff that deftly figured out that the leadership of the senior class - led by Cross, who was the captain - raised everyone’s standards and expectations.

A lot of times, when you have talented players, they do what they want. It's hard to get things to click. A good example of this might be BC's archrival, the BU Terriers. They probably get a similar level of talent, but they don't play with discipline or with an emphasis on team hockey. BC struggled early in the season, but York got them on the right path:

“In the beginning of the year, we didn’t know where everyone was going to fit in,’’ said Mullane. “As the year went on, everyone realized what their role was and where they were going to fit. The reason we were successful was because guys bought into that. A lot of teams that aren’t successful don’t buy into that idea of ‘I’m going to take my role and embrace it.’ Because everyone wants to be a goal-scorer, but if you’re going to be successful, you can’t have all goal-scorers. Our team realized that we had to be our best in our individual roles.’’

The BC team got "it" and was rewarded at the end of the day. With the way they played, it's hard to say that they didn't earn it. While they may lose a lot of players from this team, beware that the Eagles don't rebuild, they reload. They mean it too.

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Jeff Long has a tough decision to make

Obviously, the big story continues to be Bobby Petrino. I said on Friday that Jeff Long would be pressured to fire Bobby Petrino because of the lies. Upon further review, the biggest issue seems to be the affair and the circumstances under which Jessica Dorrell was hired. There seems to be plenty of leeway for Long to fire Petrino:

A clause in Petrino's contract gives Long the right to suspend or fire the 51-year-old coach for conduct that "negatively or adversely affects the reputation of the (university's) athletics programs in any way." 

That language gives Long plenty of leeway to punish Petrino, who is on indefinite paid leave after reviving Arkansas' football program over four seasons and, until now, steering clear of off-field blemishes.

There is no doubt that Petrino has brought negative attention to the university's athletic programs. While Long has the right to fire Petrino, I believe that if Petrino gets fired, it's because Long's hand is forced more than anything. Petrino is a winner and one of the brightest minds in college football. That's hard to let go. Unfortunately, the decision may be out of Long's hands. It would probably be the right decision though.

Petrino's misstep represents a lesson to head coaches of major programs:

"Like it or not, that's what you signed up for and that's your responsibility," Pelini said. "You're responsible to people way beyond just you first and foremost your family, the athletic department, the football team, the players, your staff, everybody you're associated with." 

Pelini said he keeps that thought in mind anytime he's in public. 

"Your reputation is your greatest asset," Pelini said. "You better protect it at all times."

Petrino's reputation has clearly been tarnished in the last week, and it's all from his own doing. Lori Duncan, a coach at Eastern Kentucky, where Long spent a lot of time, expects Long to do the right thing:

"Personal integrity is very important to him and to us, he alluded to doing things the right way," Duncan said. "It was very, very important to him. I can think back who the kids were, who they were as people and how he treated them. I'd be surprised if he didn't respond in a very strong way."

From the way that is phrased, one can only presume that Petrino is done at Arkansas. There are plenty of reasons to fire Petrino based on football, and there are a lot of rumors about what's going on with the story right now. It would only be prudent to look at who the next coach at Arkansas might be. One of the most talked about candidates seems to be Garrick McGee of UAB:

McGee is asked about the situation at Arkansas around 4 minutes into the interview, but doesn't specifically address any interest that he might have in the position. The other "big name" candidate that's been talked about is Gus Malzahn of Arkansas State. CBS Sports speculates about him, but concludes that he won't want any part of the drama:

Staying at Arkansas State is the right thing to do. It also might be the smart thing to do. Arkansas would be a huge step up, a step Malzahn is now prepared for. But by now he also has intimate knowledge of the soap opera Fayetteville can become. If they had just run Nutt out because he wasn't winning enough that would fine. But they also ran him out with innuendo, out-and-out harassment. 

When they don't want you at Arkansas, they really don't want you. 

That's the reason Malzahn won't take the job, perhaps ever. He'll make his underpaid $1.1 million at Arkansas State and turn it into “the next Boise State.” (His words.) Then he'll be back as an SEC head coach. Just not now and just not at Arkansas.

I'm not sure that Malzahn will turn Arkansas State into "the next Boise State" so much as he will wait for the right opportunity to open up. With a scandal like this, it's always tough to step into the situation. However, there seems to be some rooted problems with the way Arkansas handles these type of situations and it might be something that Malzahn wants to avoid. Down the line, there could be an opening at another big SEC school in the future (Florida, for one, if Muschamp continues his reign of failure). In the meantime, he can do his job at Arkansas State, where he will be the man.

CBS Sports also lists realistic replacements and McGee is at the top of that list:

Garrick McGee – The overwhelming No. 1 choice to replace Petrino. Alabama-Birmingham's new coach, like Gus, has yet to coach a game. But it's much easier to leave UAB than it is Arkansas State. Why? UAB isn't in the same state. McGee was Arkansas' former offensive coordinator and big time quarterback developer. Ask Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson. Deep down, I don't think the Blazers' administration would blame McGee for leaving. It's an SEC job and you're UAB.

It seems like an easy decision were it the case, unless Arkansas wants to bridge a year to get a bigger name. Some of the other names mentioned are Tony Dungy, Pat Hill, and Mark Mangino. Mangino would probably not be a good hire for Arkansas, but it would be a great deal of entertainment for the rest of us.

At this point in the offseason, I would presume that Arkansas would either continue under Taver Johnson, or that they would appoint a coach for a bridge year. There is no way they are going to lure someone away now considering that the recruiting year is over and we're essentially through Spring Practice. It just wouldn't make sense.

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The Rose Bowl is College Football's Tradition Like No Other

Georgia's president believes that the Big Ten-Pac 12 Rose Bowl matchup is outdated:

"This is not 1950, or 1960," Adams told The Wall Street Journal. "There are great schools in the [Atlantic Coast Conference] and the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12. I think it's time to put everybody on an equal footing. I just reject the notion that the Big Ten and the Pac-12 ought to be treated differently in this process. 

"If they can be accommodated without changing the entire process, then I think everyone is open to that. I have great respect for the Big Ten and the Pac-12, and have two Big Ten degrees [from Ohio State]. But I don't think that they have the right to dictate policy to all the rest of us."

I know this is taking his comments out of context, but as far as the tradition of having the Pac-12 and Big Ten in the Rose Bowl, I believe that should be preserved. The Rose Bowl was first played in 1902 and has been played annually between the two conferences since 1916. It's the Granddaddy of Them All. There's so much tradition and pageantry with the parade and everything involved. It's important to the two conferences, and I don't think it's dated.

If we got rid of some of the traditions in college football where would we be? What if Michigan-Ohio State wasn't played at the end of the season? What if Oklahoma-Texas wasn't played at the Cotton Bowl? These are the type of things we'd be missing out on because they've been done for so long. There's this call to come up with new solutions and to make things better, but why uproot beautiful traditions that have made the sport what it is?

Now, getting back on topic as far as Adams is concerned, I don't think that there should be a special rule that the Big Ten/Pac 12 Champions should have to play in the Rose Bowl, especially when the stake of the National Championship game is available. At the same time, I don't think that the Rose Bowl needs the Big Ten/Pac 12 Champions if they're in the playoff. We've seen a couple times in the last ten years where the Big Ten champion has gone to the National Championship and the runner up has gone to the Rose Bowl. It hasn't taken away from the game. I don't see how there is a problem with that.

The playoff system itself is another can of worms and I'll discuss it further when I look at proposals more thoroughly. The Rose Bowl should keep with tradition though. I feel very strongly about that.

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Quick Hitters: Cranky Arkansas old man is cranky and old. Brock Mealer walking is inspirational. The judge in the Sandusky trial has issued a Gag Order. S Josh Furman has been suspended by Michigan. The Wolverines are also listed as a 14.5 point underdog against Alabama in the season opener. How Urban Meyer broke Florida football. The number of college hockey players in the NHL has grown greatly since the 1999-2000 season.