Petrino Pusses Out On The Falcons

Wow, at least Saban finished out the season.

Bobby Petrino leaving Atlanta for college again should only come as a surprise if you haven't been paying attention to the Falcons all season long (and I can certainly understand if that's the case... I'm actually a little jealous of you.) Even though he had worked as an assistant in the pros before, he just wasn't equipped to command the respect of an NFL locker room for a full season. Both DeAngelo Hall and Joe Horn said that Petrino seemed to be relating to the players better in the last couple weeks, but neither of them had so much as a trace of shock or disappointment in their voices. Hall's tune changed a little after seeing Petrino at his Arkansas press conference.

"If I saw him in the street I wouldn't have anything to say to him. I don't have any respect for him. He turned his back on the organization."

Hall says Petrino used the Falcons job as a stepping stone to a better college head coaching job, but a 3-10 record and a locker room in chaos hardly seems like a resume builder. More likely, he really did want the Atlanta job but quickly became disillusioned with it after the whole Michael Vick thing and having to settle for Joey Harrington in training camp. Things didn't go well for him right away, so he picked up and went somewhere else -- like an enormous pussy.

Like I said, I'm not surprised by his move. But that doesn't lessen the pussocity of bailing on a team with three games left to play the day after the owner of the team proclaims on national television that he has his complete confidence and how great the future looks with him as the coach. Petrino didn't even have the balls to say that he just didn't like the pro game and was deliberately vague about his reasons for being so abrupt:

Petrino said "circumstances" presented themselves and that the decision needed to be made now.

"Circumstances" like a 3-10 season and December recruiting. Fuck that. He should have sent a message to these college kids he's getting ready to lead and showed them that a man takes care of his obligations. He should have been up front with Arthur Blank and at least told him that he would entertain college offers so, at the very least Blank didn't make an ass of himself when he was asked the inevitable question of Petrino leaving. The Falcons as a team can go suck a camel cock for all I care, but Arthur Blank is a good dude who deserves better than this.

The general feeling around Atlanta is, from what I can tell, pretty apathetic. No one was going to the games and people stopped caring after it became mathematically impossible for them to make the playoffs. A couple people I talked to were actually kind of optimistic about who would take Petrino's place, but not in a passionate way. Whoever Blank hires will be the Falcons' fifth coach since 2003 and folks around here are going to be guarded about who they give their dedication to. The only person I can think of who would capture Falcons fans' hearts immediately is Bill Cowher. Anyone else can expect an extended probation.