On the day in 2012 he fired Bobby Petrino as Arkansas head football coach, athletic director Jeff Long wrote in the formal termination letter that Petrino’s activities – which included not disclosing a relationship with a woman hired to work in the football office and presenting her with gifts while she worked there – were “contrary to the character and responsibilities” of the position.
Long has been working lately as a consultant and also serving on the College Football Playoff selection committee, but that character line has become such a laughable joke he might want to look into gigging as a standup comedian.
Character?
In college sports? In college football?
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Character is an issue for coaches if they lose a lot, if it can save the institution significant money in the buyout process and especially if its apparent absence exposes the institution to liability issues. Exactly how concerned Arkansas is with character at this point, however, was made obvious when the athletic department hired back Petrino in November 2023 to serve as the football team’s offensive coordinator.
In his first season in that position, 2024, the Razorbacks ranked No. 10 in total offense among FBS programs, ahead of CFP semifinalists Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Texas. They’re 10th again this year. Even though Arkansas was 9-9 in those games, it was somebody else’s job to stop the opposition. He did what he was asked to do, if not more. That was all the character they needed to see in Fayetteville.
So when Sam Pittman was fired for starting 2-3 on top of five other years that added up to a sub-.500 record, it was not at all surprising for Petrino to be installed as interim head coach. Arkansas had plenty of reason to be embarrassed by his actions more than 13 years earlier, but if they could ignore all that to bring him back as OC, why not interim boss?
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In April 2012, Petrino was involved in a serious motorcycle accident, which left him with multiple broken ribs and a fractured vertebrae. He initially claimed he was alone on the vehicle but later admitted – after reporters discovered the truth through the police report – he’d had a passenger. It turned out the woman worked in the Arkansas football office as a player development coordinator. And it became public the two were engaged in an affair; Petrino had been married nearly 30 years.
By that point, Petrino’s problems with commitment long had been established.
In November 2003, Petrino was winning big at Louisville and met with Auburn officials about the job as Tigers head coach without notifying U of L officials. That fit the profile of this incident, because Auburn didn’t notify coach Tommy Tuberville they were looking for his replacement. Petrino initially denied the meeting occurred, but subsequently admitted it happened and apologized for his involvement. Tuberville wound up coaching Auburn another five seasons – and went 13-0 in 2004.
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Following the debacle at Arkansas, Petrino seemed lucky to get another job as a head coach, but Western Kentucky chose to ignore all that occurred and hired him eight months later to be Hilltoppers coach. “I hope it can be as long as possible,” Petrino said when he was introduced. He stayed one season, then left for Louisville when it offered four times the money. Yeah, Louisville took him back.
Although college basketball lost such quality people as Mike Krzyzewski, Jay Wright, Roy Williams and Muffet McGraw in recent years, there still are plenty around the sport who meet their standard: Tom Izzo, Matt Painter, Ed Cooley and Kelvin Sampson are active in college basketball, demanding effort and commitment from their players. There’s little doubt people like these are the majority.
It feels like they increasingly are kept company, however, by those who do not set the same positive example. Whether the issues were domestic violence charges or sexual harrassment claims or something similar, coaches with past success and past issues have had only marginal difficulty finding jobs at some level. This has been the case regardless of the circumstances that led to dismissals elsewhere; some faced only the briefest periods of unemployment. Those that win at the mid-major level or at off-brand high major programs then have encountered little trouble returning to more prominent positions.
There is no assurance Petrino will become Arkansas’ full-time head coach in 2026. Some Razorbacks boosters would prefer the program pursue SMU coach Rhett Lashlee, an Arkansas native and alum with a 31-14 record, but he might have more glamorous opportunities.
The university acknowledged, though, Petrino requested to be a candidate. Athletic director Hunter Yurachek said “he will have that opportunity.” Of course he will.
All that’s necessary is for him to win enough football games to have a serious shot at remaining.
A lot will be forgotten if that is the case.