29 replies to this topic

[BSLChrisStoner]

Before I begin this diatribe, please note I realize there is a 0.0% chance of Bobby Petrino joining Randy Edsall's staff at the University of Maryland. With how his tenures have ended at Louisville, the Atlanta Falcons, and now Arkansas; there would be plenty of people who would not want to hire Petrino (with reason), even if Maryland had the financial wherewithal to do so.

With the financial constraints facing the Terps Athletic Department, and the toxicity that would come with bringing his name into the Department; hiring Petrino is not something MD can even realistically entertain.

For discussion purposes only, would you want MD to hire him if they could?

If you told me because of Petrino's tarnished reputation, the Terps could bring Petrino in as Asst. Head Coach / Offensive Consultant / Recruiter; that is something I could get on-board with. Especially if you told me there would be a clause in his contract effectively preventing him from looking elsewhere for three years. Basically we (Maryland) assume the 'risk' of bringing you into the department, for the contractual guarantee that he would be part of the program for multiple years.

He helped make Louisville relevant in football. Despite how things ended with the Falcons, he was an NFL Head Coach (and a NFL Offensive Coordinator with the Jaguars, prior to that). He had success quickly elevating Arkansas.

Locksley is a great recruiter, but Xs and Os are not supposed to be his specialty. You would think Petrino being on the staff, could only help the offense. He also had success as a recruiter with Louisville (http://footballrecru...&tid=&mid=&rid=). It is fair to wonder if his current troubles would mitigate his ability to recruit going forward. I think it is also fair to suggest that Petrino could help open up recruiting locales not traditionally in MD's wheelhouse.

Maryland hired Edsall with the stated goal of going from 'good to great.' The University decided that a Top 25 finish, and a lowered-tier Bowl win was not satisfactory. Big time College football has large scale financial implications and numerous elite programs skirt the lines of what is ethical. I would never suggest bending existing NCAA rules, and doing anything that could bring sanctions to the program. I would suggest that if Maryland wants to be among the elite, they might want to hold their noses and hire a guy capable of directly elevating the program.

[DJ MC]

Screw Bobby Petrino. I don't want anything to do with that fool.

I'm already not very comfortable with the mix in place. My feelings on Edsall are well known. I'm good with bringing in Locksley, but his experience at New Mexico and his overall success, almost too much, with recruits no matter where he goes give me the willies.

Putting in Petrino as an assistant would be the last thing I want to do.

This isn't part of your question, but just for the record if he is hired to replace Edsall (which, if Edsall has another poor season and Petrino is the top guy available I could see as a possibility), I would be out on Maryland football. At least until he's gone, maybe for good.

[SportsGuy]

I don't think he should have been fired from Arkansas because he cheated on his wife.

If I were a college team, I would hire him. It may not end well but when he is there, you will win games.

[BSLChrisStoner]

I don't think he should have been fired from Arkansas because he cheated on his wife.

If I were a college team, I would hire him. It may not end well but when he is there, you will win games.

The firing was less about any morality issues, and the fact that he hired the woman, and the legal ramifications of doing so.

That said, I ultimately agree with you.

[SportsGuy]

The firing was less about any morality issues, and the fact that he hired the woman, and the legal ramifications of doing so.

That said, I ultimately agree with you.

Yea and I get the idea of the character issues and going into a recruits house, etc...but so what, a lot of these recruits have their own issues and if you own up to your mistakes, I think things would be fine.

Its not like this was NCAA violations or anything like that.

I think he probably ends up back in the NFL as an OC or QB coach in a year or so and then maybe work his way back into college after time heals some wounds.

[glenn__davis]

I'm with BTerp. If they hire Petrino, I won't be rooting for MD.

[PD24]

You guys are way more moral than I am.

Who gives a crap what kind of guy he is? Are you paying for a ticket to mass or a ticket to watch your team win games?

I agree with SG...If I'm Arkansas, I don't fire him...although, like Stoner said, it was clearly more about the 20K and fear of lawsuits that did him in.

With Petrino at Arkansas, they are a clear national championship contender with both Bama and LSU at home.

Without him, we'll see how they do in 2012...

He has success everywhere he goes. He'd have that same success at MD. I'd take him in a heartbeat.

[ravens8589]

Strictly for discussion purposes, i will humor this.

I agree that Petrino was not fired for morals or what not but more or less for the fact to cover their rear ends. The simple fact is this, he wins games and he is agreat recruiter. If he were to come on board, we would not only have the DMV covered but we would have other great, talented areas to recruit from.

Ultimately, if you're thinking football wise, this would be a terrific hire. If you're worried about what could happen off of the field, this is a dangerous hire but hey, don't you have to take risks to be successful?

[Brobey]

Petrino is the anti-Edsall...Petrino would probably encourage doo-rag's and piercings and cursing...LOL

That being said, I'd take a blind goat over Edsall coaching this team at this point...wasn't impressed by Edsall when he was in the Big LEast and definitely not impressed so far with his tenure at MD...

[SportsGuy]

Petrino is the anti-Edsall...Petrino would probably encourage doo-rag's and piercings and cursing...LOL

That being said, I'd take a blind goat over Edsall coaching this team at this point...wasn't impressed by Edsall when he was in the Big LEast and definitely not impressed so far with his tenure at MD...

To me, this is the larger point and the better question:

If Edsall's team underachieves again and he has guys wanting to leave, do you look to get rid of him and if you do, are you comfortable with Petrino as the guy to take over the program?

[Brobey]

To me, this is the larger point and the better question:

If Edsall's team underachieves again and he has guys wanting to leave, do you look to get rid of him and if you do, are you comfortable with Petrino as the guy to take over the program?

I wasn't in favor of the Edsall hiring from day 1 and thought it was a step down from The Fridge and thought he got the contract because he made it to a BCS Bowl (albeit in the worst football conference ever) and he is known as running a "clean" program without any issues (grad rates, impermissible benefits, etc).

Petrino is a jackass, but as a recruiter and a HC he is very solid and I wouldn't be "against" him being named HC, but I was also in favor of MD brining Leach in as HC as well.

[SportsGuy]

I wasn't in favor of the Edsall hiring from day 1 and thought it was a step down from The Fridge and thought he got the contract because he made it to a BCS Bowl (albeit in the worst football conference ever) and he is known as running a "clean" program without any issues (grad rates, impermissible benefits, etc).

Petrino is a jackass, but as a recruiter and a HC he is very solid and I wouldn't be "against" him being named HC, but I was also in favor of MD brining Leach in as HC as well.

Bingo!

I was hoping someone would bring up Leach.

Whether you felt what he did was wrong or not, he still comes with "character questions".

If you were in favor of him, not sure how you can't be in favor of Petrino.

[mweb08]

I'm not an expert on this, but wasn't the Leach issue one isolated situation that is quite debatable?

Petrino has had multiple character issues and I don't think they're as debatable.

[SportsGuy]

I'm not an expert on this, but wasn't the Leach issue one isolated situation that is quite debatable?

Petrino has had multiple character issues and I don't think they're as debatable.

I would agree with this but I think some of the Petrino "character issues" are a little overblown myself.

That being said, he shouldn't have cheated on his wife or told the players of the Falcons that he was leaving via a note in their lockers. Both are poor but obviously on different levels.

But with the way coaches get fired all the time, I don't begrudge anyone from leaving for a situation they feel is better.

I don't agree with the way he did it by any means and certainly wouldn't handle the situation the same way but still, I can also understand it on some level.

[SportsGuy]

I'm not an expert on this, but wasn't the Leach issue one isolated situation that is quite debatable?

Petrino has had multiple character issues and I don't think they're as debatable.

I would agree with this but I think some of the Petrino "character issues" are a little overblown myself.

That being said, he shouldn't have cheated on his wife or told the players of the Falcons that he was leaving via a note in their lockers. Both are poor but obviously on different levels.

But with the way coaches get fired all the time, I don't begrudge anyone from leaving for a situation they feel is better.

I don't agree with the way he did it by any means and certainly wouldn't handle the situation the same way but still, I can also understand it on some level.

[glenn__davis]

If you were in favor of him, not sure how you can't be in favor of Petrino.

Because there are different kinds of character issues.

Leach's are out there for all to see. He is what he is and doesn't try to hide it.

Petrino is a phony. Gives the smarmy nice guy act and in real life is a total jerk.

I can handle guys with character issues. Just can't stand phonies.

[Oriole85]

Before I begin this diatribe, please note I realize there is a 0.0% chance of Bobby Petrino joining Randy Edsall's staff at the University of Maryland. With how his tenures have ended at Louisville, the Atlanta Falcons, and now Arkansas; there would be plenty of people who would not want to hire Petrino (with reason), even if Maryland had the financial wherewithal to do so.

With the financial constraints facing the Terps Athletic Department, and the toxicity that would come with bringing his name into the Department; hiring Petrino is not something MD can even realistically entertain.

For discussion purposes only, would you want MD to hire him if they could?

If you told me because of Petrino's tarnished reputation, the Terps could bring Petrino in as Asst. Head Coach / Offensive Consultant / Recruiter; that is something I could get on-board with. Especially if you told me there would be a clause in his contract effectively preventing him from looking elsewhere for three years. Basically we (Maryland) assume the 'risk' of bringing you into the department, for the contractual guarantee that he would be part of the program for multiple years.

He helped make Louisville relevant in football. Despite how things ended with the Falcons, he was an NFL Head Coach (and a NFL Offensive Coordinator with the Jaguars, prior to that). He had success quickly elevating Arkansas.

Locksley is a great recruiter, but Xs and Os are not supposed to be his specialty. You would think Petrino being on the staff, could only help the offense. He also had success as a recruiter with Louisville (http://footballrecru...&tid=&mid=&rid=). It is fair to wonder if his current troubles would mitigate his ability to recruit going forward. I think it is also fair to suggest that Petrino could help open up recruiting locales not traditionally in MD's wheelhouse.

Maryland hired Edsall with the stated goal of going from 'good to great.' The University decided that a Top 25 finish, and a lowered-tier Bowl win was not satisfactory. Big time College football has large scale financial implications and numerous elite programs skirt the lines of what is ethical. I would never suggest bending existing NCAA rules, and doing anything that could bring sanctions to the program. I would suggest that if Maryland wants to be among the elite, they might want to hold their noses and hire a guy capable of directly elevating the program.

I realize this is for discussion purposes only, but why Petrino or any other assistant(excluding coach-in-waiting) agree to not look elsewhere for three years?

In all seriousness, I can't imagine he'd go to MD unless they made him the highest paid assistant. Think it would be more likely at a higher profile program. The drop from Arkansas to Maryland is just too deep.

[Oriole85]

You guys are way more moral than I am.

Who gives a crap what kind of guy he is? Are you paying for a ticket to mass or a ticket to watch your team win games?

I agree with SG...If I'm Arkansas, I don't fire him...although, like Stoner said, it was clearly more about the 20K and fear of lawsuits that did him in.

With Petrino at Arkansas, they are a clear national championship contender with both Bama and LSU at home.

Without him, we'll see how they do in 2012...

He has success everywhere he goes. He'd have that same success at MD. I'd take him in a heartbeat.

I got to say I'm surprised how many of you would tolerate like you say you would if you were Arkansas AD or administration.

Let's get the facts straight. No one is suggesting he should be fired for cheating on his wife. Bad person, but nothing illegal about that. He might have been able to get away with trying to cover up the fact his mistress was on the motorcycle with him at the time of the crash. He lied to the public there, looks even more foolish, but not necessairly illegal, maybe filing a false police report results in a slap on the wrist.

What was icing on the cake was hiring your mistress for a plum position that 158 other people applied for and not disclosing that relationship. A clear conflict of interest and as a university there was no way around it not to fire him for that.

Think you guys are all big talkers. While Jeff Long made the "decision," you can bet the administration and board would not have accepted anything less in this case. Checks and balances folks.

[Oriole85]

Strictly for discussion purposes, i will humor this.

I agree that Petrino was not fired for morals or what not but more or less for the fact to cover their rear ends. The simple fact is this, he wins games and he is agreat recruiter. If he were to come on board, we would not only have the DMV covered but we would have other great, talented areas to recruit from.

Ultimately, if you're thinking football wise, this would be a terrific hire. If you're worried about what could happen off of the field, this is a dangerous hire but hey, don't you have to take risks to be successful?

I've heard that but one of the concerns in addition to legal matters was how effective could his recruiting be in the short-term with the fallout from this? If you are a parent, do you want your kid playing for Petrino? I realize in 5 years no one will care like Pitino(who was much more upfront though).

[JeremyStrain]

I voted yes, but with the caveat that I HATE Edsall and would also have voted yes for a trained monkey, a potato wearing a Maryland polo, or a potato with no polo.