Enough about Petrino

[keesler 5,934]

I am not a lawyer. An certainly don't know Arkansas laws.

I saw this on an Arky site a while back.

BP had an agreement not to leave Arky for AU.

I know he got the boot.

Several posters stated the non complete could be enforced.

I know of professional non compete clauses within an industry

in a certain service radius of the old company

that have gone to court after an employee has left a firm

and not of his own choosing.

Petrino's contract with Arkansas became null and void when they fired his ass and refused to pay him his buyout of $18million. Petrino can coach anywhere that will have him.

[Auctoritas 2,828]

Ok, you tell me: Why should I open my mind to a man who was involved in the Jetgate fiasco, left Louisville months after signing a 6 year deal and saying he was never going to leave, going to the Falcons and leaving them 3/4 of the way through a season in the middle of the night ONE DAY after telling Arthur Blank to his face that he was staying no matter what? For god's sake, he didn't even have the cojones to tell the team, he taped a 3 sentence note to the lockers.

To me, it has nothing to do with him getting a reacharound on a motorcycle, its about him screwing every program that hires him.

Not completely disagreeing here, but don't forget that Tuberville famously vowed he would leave Oxford "in a pine box"...

You are absolutely right about that...and what happened EVERY offseason CTT was here? Rumors and innuendos about secret hunting trips, and the talk was always "Oh, he's about to leave again! What a snake!"

Look, I'm not saying Petrino's not a hell of a coach, but when the entirety of the program is based on selling your image to a) recruits (and their mamas), b ) the media so they will write positive things about you and c) the paying public that sends you piles of cash, it's not a good move to put yourself behind the bad-image 8-ball from the outset.

[TitanTiger 20,572]

You are forgetting one question that matters more than the others: What if you hire him, and you're wrong about him?

Frankly, it's not a question that I'd want to be in a position to answer.

This is a question that doesn't go away by letting Petrino go to UT or somewhere else and patting yourself on the back about how moral you are. No matter who you hire, you run the risk that you were wrong in various ways. The guy who says all the right things could be blowing smoke. Or he might not be able to cut it here and we waste 3-4 more years falling further behind Alabama, LSU, Florida, Georgia and others.

Hiring is always a risk. I'm not suggesting we just take a flyer and hope for the best. There are ways to ascertain whether someone has owned up to their problems and errors. But at least you know what they are. If you get the vibe that he is a changed man, there's no reason not to heavily consider him. If anything I believe he'd have way more incentive now to not jeopardize his second (and probably last) chance than someone who has yet to be caught. But the bottom line is, anyone you hire is a risk. You don't somehow avoid it by refusing to consider Petrino.

[TitanTiger 20,572]

Look, I'm not saying Petrino's not a hell of a coach, but when the entirety of the program is based on selling your image to a) recruits (and their mamas), b ) the media so they will write positive things about you and c) the paying public that sends you piles of cash, it's not a good move to put yourself behind the bad-image 8-ball from the outset.

The media is not uniformly chomping at the bit to run down Petrino. The media is also a sucker for a comeback...a redemption story. You think these mamas have never had to deal with people in their lives who made mistakes or did the wrong things? As he said in his interview, there is value to being able to say that you've screwed up before and you know what it's like to fall flat on your face because of your own stupidity, and you know what it's like to have to rebuild trust and work your way back. Life is full of adversity...sometimes of the variety that just happens to you and sometimes of the kind that you do to yourself. Either way, you don't have to be defined by your worst moments and that as a result, more than ever he is committed to paying attention not only to their kid's football career but the entire person and helping them learn from his mistakes so hopefully they won't have to suffer the consequences of making the same ones themselves.

[kickerman97 3]

Hiring is always a risk. I'm not suggesting we just take a flyer and hope for the best. There are ways to ascertain whether someone has owned up to their problems and errors. But at least you know what they are. If you get the vibe that he is a changed man, there's no reason not to heavily consider him. If anything I believe he'd have way more incentive now to not jeopardize his second (and probably last) chance than someone who has yet to be caught. But the bottom line is, anyone you hire is a risk. You don't somehow avoid it by refusing to consider Petrino.

You got that right.

[taylojo 0]

Petrino works hard and plays hard. I like it!! Maybe he could get attitude back into the program.

[ellitor 33,126]

Look, I'm not saying Petrino's not a hell of a coach, but when the entirety of the program is based on selling your image to a) recruits (and their mamas), b ) the media so they will write positive things about you and c) the paying public that sends you piles of cash, it's not a good move to put yourself behind the bad-image 8-ball from the outset.

A. He has a great offensive background and recruits on offense will come because they know he puts offensive players in the NFL and if we can keep BVG on D that will take care of the defensive side of the ball.

B. F THE MEDIA! They hate us anyway so I could care less what they think

C.the public will fund as long as we win and as long as Petrino has learned from his mistakes.

[yeaauburn 21]

Ok, you tell me: Why should I open my mind to a man who was involved in the Jetgate fiasco, left Louisville months after signing a 6 year deal and saying he was never going to leave, going to the Falcons and leaving them 3/4 of the way through a season in the middle of the night ONE DAY after telling Arthur Blank to his face that he was staying no matter what? For god's sake, he didn't even have the cojones to tell the team, he taped a 3 sentence note to the lockers.

Thanks for confirming that no evidence can sway you. Why do you insist on restating things that no one is disputing? The question was never, "has Petrino done bad things?" It's whether or not Petrino, as a result of hitting rock bottom, come to look at himself honestly in the mirror and realize he had to change and be a better man? Does he own his failures and take responsibility or continue to blame others or make excuses? Because those are the questions that matter.

Only his hair dresser would know...

[yeaauburn 21]

OK, your priest and Gene are off the table as next year's coach.

If not them or BP then who ?

And all the kids we recruit are choir boys...

[keesler 5,934]

If Bobby Petrino gets hired as AU head coach, we gonna all be eating some tough old crow for a long while. AU folks have always liked to look down on the uat program for "selling their soul to Satan" because they have a win at all cost attitude. Statements have been made publically that Gene Chizik is a great man, a fine, upstanding Chrisitan man, he embodies the Auburn Creed, he is a Godly man, he is a Family man. What kind of backlash will we take if we fire a man with Gene Chizik's moral character and hire a morally corrupt man like Bobby Petrino? Bobby is an egotistical man that holds no regard for authority, loyalty, or truthfullness. Please tell me what AD could ever trust a word that comes out of his mouth? What parent of a recruit could ever trust him to lead, and guide their son to be a fine, upstanding man?

Bobby has too much baggage - IMHO Auburn can't afford to bring in a man that you know from the start is dishonest, trashy, and a total liar.

[TitanTiger 20,572]

If Bobby Petrino gets hired as AU head coach, we gonna all be eating some tough old crow for a long while. AU folks have always liked to look down on the uat program for "selling their soul to Satan" because they have a win at all cost attitude. Statements have been made publically that Gene Chizik is a great man, a fine, upstanding Chrisitan man, he embodies the Auburn Creed, he is a Godly man, he is a Family man. What kind of backlash will we take if we fire a man with Gene Chizik's moral character and hire a morally corrupt man like Bobby Petrino? Bobby is an egotistical man that holds no regard for authority, loyalty, or truthfullness. Please tell me what AD could ever trust a word that comes out of his mouth? What parent of a recruit could ever trust him to lead, and guide their son to be a fine, upstanding man?

Bobby has too much baggage - IMHO Auburn can't afford to bring in a man that you know from the start is dishonest, trashy, and a total liar.

You keep using the word "is" and are evidently unaware of what it means.

Also, neither Dye nor Bowden were choir boys.

[AUcivE09 582]

So is BP the only solution AU has after Chiz?! No other names? No decent people? Was L'ville, ATL, and Arky not enough warning? 4th time a charm? The worst part is we have a Mod arguing FOR this piece of no defense-cant recruit-trash.

[TitanTiger 20,572]

So is BP the only solution AU has after Chiz?! No other names? No decent people? Was L'ville, ATL, and Arky not enough warning? 4th time a charm? The worst part is we have a Mod arguing FOR this piece of no defense-cant recruit-trash.

Because admins aren't allowed to have opinions? Shut up already before you say something even dumber.

Look, I'm not arguing FOR him, I'm arguing AGAINST refusing to consider him out of hand.

[aucanucktiger 1,809]

If we're rash enough to not let Gene have the 2013 season he earned through our first national title in 53 years....Bob Stoops.

[autodd03 0]

Louisville has never been a destination job. The NFL wasn't for him. I am a Falcons fan, and I don't understand the hatred. He signed on to lead the Michael Vick led Falcons. Vick got caught dog fighting and Petrino was left with scraps and a total franchise rebuild. The NFL is a business. He took the Arkansas job because he knew that he could succeed. I believe there is still a large contingent of both Louisville and Arkansas fans that wish Bobby Petrino was still their head coach.

No defense- no recruiting... Screw recruiting if it leads to 1-5 starts. I will take the coach that can lead a team to victory. His last two stops both found themselves ranked in the top 5.

[TitanTiger 20,572]

If we're rash enough to not let Gene have the 2013 season he earned through our first national title in 53 years....Bob Stoops.

You can lose things you earn through poor performance later. Tim Cook has led Apple to record breaking years, but if two years later their stock price was tanking and the company was having negative quarter after negative quarter, it's doubtful he'd get another year. You don't get carte blanche just because of a national title. If anything with that BCS title in his pocket and the recruiting classes we've had, there's even less excuse for where we are 2 seasons later.

[channonc 466]

I don't want our next head coach to be affiliated with Auburn. This automatically rules Petrino out. Not only is he affiliated with AU, but he was involved in one of the most divisive times in our programs history (the present notwithstanding)--- Jetgate. If he had not been involved in that, and so close to those who wanted to meddle with our program, then Titan I would be with you. But since he was, I really think Auburn should look elsewhere and start with a clean slate.

[Mike4AU 1,742]

Chiz is being paid handsomely for the NC. With the raise he got after the NC and the $7.5 mil buyout, that will net him about $10 mil. That is gracious plenty. More is not needed.

[AUStudent09 2]

It does sound like he is on the right track and I hope he is, actions speak louder than words though. I'm in favor of letting another take a chance on him. Just MHO of course

I'm in favor of not having to face him at Tennessee or elsewhere because we set the bar impossibly high or just refused to even consider him out of some out-of-balance sense of moral superiority at Auburn. I want a good man as our coach but I primarily want a coach. My priest is a great moral leader but I wouldn't pay him 5 bucks to coach my football team.

So wanting a decent person to represent Auburn is an "out of balance sense of moral superiority"?

No. Hiring a football coach primarily on that basis instead of as a factor among others (chief of which is whether or not he's a good coach who can compete in this league) is. So is refusing to consider him regardless of what he's done to change since his fall from grace. That and a few other tired canards I keep seeing brought up are a "out-of-balance sense of moral superiority."

I'm always a fan of leading by example. There are other options to pursue besides Petrino. Maybe by not hiring Petrino, Auburn says to college football "yea we know he's a good coach, but he doesn't represent the values at Auburn".

Sure. There are always other options. The question is whether those options are as good at coaching football in the SEC. If he is indeed a changed man, it would be foolish to refuse to consider him.

And that "doesn't represent the values at Auburn" thing...more of that inflated sense of superiority I mentioned earlier. Because if he has repented, if he's done the right things and has dealt honestly with what he did and who he was, then closed-mindedly refusing to look at him as head coach says nothing good about Auburn values.

We are just going to have to agree to disagree.

[Miden 0]

If Bobby Petrino gets hired as AU head coach, we gonna all be eating some tough old crow for a long while. AU folks have always liked to look down on the uat program for "selling their soul to Satan" because they have a win at all cost attitude. Statements have been made publically that Gene Chizik is a great man, a fine, upstanding Chrisitan man, he embodies the Auburn Creed, he is a Godly man, he is a Family man. What kind of backlash will we take if we fire a man with Gene Chizik's moral character and hire a morally corrupt man like Bobby Petrino? Bobby is an egotistical man that holds no regard for authority, loyalty, or truthfullness. Please tell me what AD could ever trust a word that comes out of his mouth? What parent of a recruit could ever trust him to lead, and guide their son to be a fine, upstanding man?

Bobby has too much baggage - IMHO Auburn can't afford to bring in a man that you know from the start is dishonest, trashy, and a total liar.

To be honest, I think the largest backlash would come from Auburn fans themselves as opposed to outside forces. I'm with you that I think BP brings too much baggage, but I honestly don't see Petrino as having a negative national reputation even with the scandal. Most Arky fans want him back, I've seen Tenn. fans who want him, I've seen Texas fans who want him. I think Bobby Petrino will get a serious look from just about every major football program that has a head coaching opening.

[Raven_tiger 5]

Agreed, people can change. I'm just not sure what BP has done to demonstrate that, at least publicly.

Well, for the most part he's been laying low which is how he should be going about things. But there was this interview a couple of months ago where he did indicate publicly he was at least on the right track:

"There is no justification," Petrino said. "There is no excuse for having her in the interview pool, hiring her, having her on the back of the motorcycle. I look back on it and there is no good answer. I wasn't thinking and I wasn't acting correctly.

"That's not how I was raised. That's not how I raised my children. I take responsibility for it and I am really sorry. I have played it over and over in my head a million times. How could I do this? How could this happen? And not just the hiring. Or that day. But my actions, my behavior -- for months it was just wrong."

Petrino said he and Becky are in counseling.

"I'm working hard to save my marriage," he said. "I'm working one day at a time. I want to stay married. That's my main priority right now. Making things right with my family."

Petrino said that time to think has also led him to believe he would approach certain aspects of coaching differently, given the opportunity.

"I've made mistakes and I'm going to be a better person for it," he said. "I'm going to keep my life in better balance. And I really feel I'll be a better coach because this happened, because now I know that I'm going to coach the person as much as the player and help the person who has made mistakes, help him understand that he is not going to be defined by the mistakes he has made but how he reacts to it and overcomes it."

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8251166/bobby-petrino-fired-arkansas-razorbacks-coach-apologizes-interview-espn

You forgot this part where he blames others and circumstance as to why he immediately didn't come clean, or why the cover-up failed...

"Petrino said that all along he intended to tell his wife and Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long. Petrino said at first he was too injured and incoherent to do so. He said he intended to tell them three days after the crash, but Long sent Petrino a text that morning to say he was leaving town for a while."

The video is a better indicator of how disingenuous this guy is.

[TitanTiger 20,572]

I think that the whole thing is part and parcel to the bad decision making prior to getting caught. I don't think that changes what he's done since then.

Plus, I really didn't see where he blamed others. He mentioned how the circumstances played out in ways he didn't intend to happen and said there were some extenuating circumstances that makes some of the situations (prior to the affair) more than meets the eye, but still no blame. It doesn't excuse what he did and I don't see him saying that it does. But it just sort of explains why it played out the way it did.

[AUStudent09 2]

I think that the whole thing is part and parcel to the bad decision making prior to getting caught. I don't think that changes what he's done since then.

In my mind, and hopefully the mind of AU, years of sheister behavior isn't erased by a few months "repenting".

[autodd03 0]

I don't want our next head coach to be affiliated with Auburn. This automatically rules Petrino out. Not only is he affiliated with AU, but he was involved in one of the most divisive times in our programs history (the present notwithstanding)--- Jetgate. If he had not been involved in that, and so close to those who wanted to meddle with our program, then Titan I would be with you. But since he was, I really think Auburn should look elsewhere and start with a clean slate.

You make the best case against Petrino that I have heard yet. Much better than the "Sinner! Sinner! Sinner!" argument that we hear so often.

[TitanTiger 20,572]

I don't want our next head coach to be affiliated with Auburn. This automatically rules Petrino out. Not only is he affiliated with AU, but he was involved in one of the most divisive times in our programs history (the present notwithstanding)--- Jetgate. If he had not been involved in that, and so close to those who wanted to meddle with our program, then Titan I would be with you. But since he was, I really think Auburn should look elsewhere and start with a clean slate.

You make the best case against Petrino that I have heard yet. Much better than the "Sinner! Sinner! Sinner!" argument that we hear so often.

A valid point. One I don't really agree with (I wouldn't put such a restriction on it either way...don't care if he has AU ties or not), but one I can at least understand the logic of.