‘He’s always been a snake in the grass’

[aubiefifty 16,842]

Paul Finebaum on Bobby Petrino: ‘He’s always been a snake in the grass’

Published: Jan. 05, 2023, 4:42 p.m.

3–4 minutes

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FILE - Missouri State head coach Bobby Petrino is shown in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State on Sept. 4, 2021, in Stillwater, Okla. Petrino will return to Fayetteville on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, when he will lead Missouri State against his former program in a much-anticipated game for an FCS program that he's quickly turned into a juggernaut. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)AP

Desperate people do desperate things, Paul Finebaum contends.

That’s the reaction the SEC Network analyst shared Thursday during an appearance on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 when asked about Jimbo Fisher’s decision to hire Bobby Petrino as his offensive coordinator.

“We forget about JetGate Petrino,” Finebaum said. “We fixate on the Harley motorcycle Bobby Petrino, but this guy has always been a snake in the grass.”

Petrino was last in the SEC in 2011, his fourth season as head coach at Arkansas. He was fired the following spring after it was revealed he was untruthful about an extramarital affair with an athletic department staff member. The photo of Petrino - with a neck brace on - will forever commemorate the incident in which he misled officials about being alone on a motorcycle.

Long before that, in 2003, on the Thursday before the Iron Bowl, Auburn officials flew to an airport near Louisville to talk to Petrino, who, at the time, was the head coach of the Cardinals, to talk about the job at Auburn behind then-coach Tommy Tuberville’s back. Petrino had worked at Auburn under Tuberville the season before.

“We act like Bobby Petrino is a savant, that he’s never failed, but, quite frankly, he did fail at Louisville. He got fired there in his second go round. That’s on top of the other malfeasances that has occurred in his clock.”

Finebaum is referring to December of 2007, when Petrino - the head coach of the 3-10 Falcons - resigned to become head coach at Arkansas for the second time. The move was less than 24 hours after personally promising owner Arthur Blank that he was staying in Atlanta. Petrino informed his players of his departure with a four-sentence note left at each player’s locker.

While Petrino brings luggage with him, Finebaum contends, the hire is more of a reflection of Fisher than Petrino.

“I don’t know how to interpret this,” Finebaum said. “Jimbo Fisher finally woke up and realized he may be down to his last swing. He’s going to go down in flames or roll the dice with someone who is, quite frankly, one of the most disliked people in modern football history.”

Check out the full interview here.

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