Atlanta Failcons Next Head Coach

[EarlJam]

Props to Lavabe for the name, "Failcons." Perfect.

Anyway, it will be Mike Singletary. I promise. You heard it from EarlJam first. And EarlJam fully endorses this decision.

-EarlJam

[Channing]

Props to Lavabe for the name, "Failcons." Perfect.

Anyway, it will be Mike Singletary. I promise. You heard it from EarlJam first. And EarlJam fully endorses this decision.

-EarlJam

I will make the same suggestion I made for the next Duke coach . . .

Just have a really good video game player playing Madden up in the booth simulating the game one play at a time, and then use the ask madden feature to find out what to run next.

[wilson]

Chris Mortensen mentioned both Bill Cowher () and Marty Schottenheimer () as possibilities on sportscenter this morning.

[hurleyfor3]

He wouldn't need to invoke instant replay. He could just stare at the referee until he reverses the call.

[ugadevil]

I heard it was gonna' be this guy...http://images.bucem.com/images/admin/MikeVick.jpg

[JasonEvans]

I agree that Singletary or some other AfAm candidate will be carefully considered as the team needs to heal the rift with the AfAm populace from the Vick mess.

As an aside, is there is bigger horses patootey than Petrino? I am glad he is gone as he was clearly in over his head in the NFL, but the guy is a total tool. Sportstalk here in town has been all over him this morning. It is brutal.

--Jason "where was the guy's offensive genius? I never saw it" Evans

[Acymetric]

Would you want to stay with the Falcons? I don't see them having a winning season in the next 5 years...and I'm sure its partly his fault, but the blame isn't entirely on him. I'm sure he would've gotten fired before he got the team back to success anyway, would the team have then been "dirtbags"?

[wilson]

Would you want to stay with the Falcons? I don't see them having a winning season in the next 5 years...and I'm sure its partly his fault, but the blame isn't entirely on him. I'm sure he would've gotten fired before he got the team back to success anyway, would the team have then been "dirtbags"?

That's a rather bold assumption. The team may well be bad for a while, but this discontinuity definitely adds to that prospect. On the other hand, they don't have to be bad. And at any rate, firing a coach at the appropriate time and quitting before your first season is even complete are two entirely different things. So to answer your question, no. They would not have been dirtbags. putztrino's recent actions violate the cardinal rule of sports: don't quit. He is trash, and I fail to see why any team on any level anywhere would want that kind of person representing or "leading" them.

[wilson]

As for Petrino sorry but I think it was wrong the way he bailed on the Falcons and Aurther Blank. You don't leave in the middle of a season specially your first. It's not like he was about to be fired. Mr. Blank didn't blame Petrino for their problem's this season and was totally in supportive of him. I think he could have at least waited till the season was over to quit. I just think that was a very bad move on his part.

Amen. This is of course not to mention that he lied to Blank's face on multiple occasions in the weeks preceding his departure, the last time less than 24 hours before he left. Then, he informs Blank by telephone that he's leaving and subsequently informs the players with a four-sentence letter?
Bush league.

[DUKIECB]

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts on Petrino's decision to bolt from Atlanta are. When I first heard about it I thought well you can't blame him. But after reading about how he just left with three games remaining and didn't even have the decency to address his team before he left... Seems like the least he could do was agree to the job in Arkansas with the condition that he remain with the Falcons until the end of the season. I don't know, what do you guys think?

[wilson]

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts on Petrino's decision to bolt from Atlanta are. When I first heard about it I thought well you can't blame him. But after reading about how he just left with three games remaining and didn't even have the decency to address his team before he left... Seems like the least he could do was agree to the job in Arkansas with the condition that he remain with the Falcons until the end of the season. I don't know, what do you guys think?

I probably shouldn't weigh in...the end of the semester has my blood pressure high enough.

[SilkyJ]

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts on Petrino's decision to bolt from Atlanta are. When I first heard about it I thought well you can't blame him. But after reading about how he just left with three games remaining and didn't even have the decency to address his team before he left... Seems like the least he could do was agree to the job in Arkansas with the condition that he remain with the Falcons until the end of the season. I don't know, what do you guys think?

yea at first I thought well, he got totally dicked over by vick and so if he wants to leave after a year, well you can't blame him. But then I realized there are still a couple games left in the season, which makes him a bit of a jerk. But then to leave a letter for your players...reminds me of a year ago when randolph morris faxed tubby smith his papers that said he was leaving for the L

[Bluedawg]

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts on Petrino's decision to bolt from Atlanta are. When I first heard about it I thought well you can't blame him. But after reading about how he just left with three games remaining and didn't even have the decency to address his team before he left... Seems like the least he could do was agree to the job in Arkansas with the condition that he remain with the Falcons until the end of the season. I don't know, what do you guys think?

There is more to it than just that...

Falcons owner Arthur Blank sounded as though he had just been stabbed in the back. He got a call late last week from Dallas owner Jerry Jones, an Arkansas alumnus, to say the school was interested in talking to Petrino about its coaching vacancy.

Blank said he told Jones the Falcons had no intention of letting the Razorbacks speak with their coach, and general manager Rich McKay confirmed that position in follow-up calls with Jones.

That was followed by a series of meetings over the weekend in which Petrino laid out some areas of concern, and the Falcons thought they had addressed them all. In fact, Blank said he met again with the coach on Monday, just hours before Atlanta's 34-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints, to make sure he wasn't planning to leave.

"He stood up, we shook hands and he said, 'You have a head coach,' " Blank said.

Twenty-four hours later, Petrino submitted his resignation, hopped on a plane to Arkansas and signed a deal as Razorbacks coach for less money than his five-year, $24 million deal with the Falcons.

"The best way to describe the way we feel," Blank said, "is betrayed."

His credibility may be shot for a while.

Around the league, others took note of Petrino's shocking departure.

"He snuck out in the middle of the night like the Baltimore Colts did," said Kansas City Chiefs running back Kolby Smith, who played for Petrino at Louisville.

Even some of Petrino's fellow coaches were dismayed by his tactics.

"For my profession, I'm always very disappointed when things like this happen," Baltimore's Brian Billick said. "Kind of leave it at that. This profession needs to handle itself better at times."

Defensive end Jamaal Anderson, the Falcons' first-round pick from Arkansas, was asked what he would tell his alma mater about its new coach.

"One word: Disloyal," Anderson replied.

[Bluedawg]

Would you want to stay with the Falcons? I don't see them having a winning season in the next 5 years...and I'm sure its partly his fault, but the blame isn't entirely on him. I'm sure he would've gotten fired before he got the team back to success anyway, would the team have then been "dirtbags"?

So you think this is a proper way to handle it?

That was followed by a series of meetings over the weekend in which Petrino laid out some areas of concern, and the Falcons thought they had addressed them all. In fact, Blank said he met again with the coach on Monday, just hours before Atlanta's 34-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints, to make sure he wasn't planning to leave.

"He stood up, we shook hands and he said, 'You have a head coach,' " Blank said.

Twenty-four hours later, Petrino submitted his resignation, hopped on a plane to Arkansas and signed a deal as Razorbacks coach for less money than his five-year, $24 million deal with the Falcons.
Herald Sun

[Lavabe]

The local sports talk station has podcasts of the Arthur Blank press conference from yesterday, but they should also have a segment with Warrick Dunn from this morning. Dunn is usually the most soft-spoken player, but he pulled no punches. The web site for the station is 790thezone.com, but you should be able to find it with iTunes. The radio statio has been going after Petrino pretty hard. They had a good interview with Arkansas legend Frank Broyles (not the Frank Broyle that Petrino cited in his press conference the other day).

There's also plenty of coverage in the AJC.

Let's just say that I'd be more interested as to how the media that ArkieDukie gets are covering the situation.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[jma4life]

If I am not mistaken, I believe that Coach Lou Holtz also resigned from the New York before the season ended with his team having a record of 3-10, that being his lone season in the NFL like Petrino. What team did Holtz leave the Jets for? None other than Arkansas.

[YmoBeThere]

Must be something in the Ozark water? Petrino won't ever coach in the NFL again. But with this move, I think he shows he doesn't want to.

[Acymetric]

So you think this is a proper way to handle it?

It depends on what you mean...

I do fault him completely for the WAY he left. A short letter to the players, lying to Blanks repeatedly. But I get the impression that some people think he shouldn't have left at all. Had he not told Blanks he wasn't going to leave I wouldn't have a problem. So yes. Lying to Blanks? Completely unacceptable.

I'm talking just about whether he should have left, and really, how can you blame him? Besides, as I think I mentioned, how many of the players a week ago would have honestly said "I'm glad we have Petrino here coaching us". If the answer wasn't most to all of them, then why would he want to stay and coach a team that didn't want him when they were doomed to be unsuccessful. If you have 3 weeks left before your anniversary with some girlfriend, would you really stick it out just to finish the year, even if the relationship was painful for both parties?

Not the best analogy, but it sort of gets at what I'm trying to say. Shame on him for leaving the way he did, and maybe disappointing that he left, but you can't blame him.

[Bluedawg]

It depends on what you mean...

I do fault him completely for the WAY he left. A short letter to the players, lying to Blanks repeatedly. But I get the impression that some people think he shouldn't have left at all. Had he not told Blanks he wasn't going to leave I wouldn't have a problem. So yes. Lying to Blanks? Completely unacceptable.

I'm talking just about whether he should have left, and really, how can you blame him? Besides, as I think I mentioned, how many of the players a week ago would have honestly said "I'm glad we have Petrino here coaching us". If the answer wasn't most to all of them, then why would he want to stay and coach a team that didn't want him when they were doomed to be unsuccessful. If you have 3 weeks left before your anniversary with some girlfriend, would you really stick it out just to finish the year, even if the relationship was painful for both parties?

Not the best analogy, but it sort of gets at what I'm trying to say. Shame on him for leaving the way he did, and maybe disappointing that he left, but you can't blame him.

If you signed a contract with her, and you told her the day before you would stay...yes.

My point is if you are going to run away because things are going badly at least have the decency not to tell your boss you would stay and have the decency to finish out the year. You owe it to your team, your players, your coaches and your staff to complete the year.

Leave during the off season. tell youir boss you will finish out the year but will not be back.

Dale Murphy was a class act. When he decided to leave the braves he told them he would not come back and they should trade him while they could

[cspan37421]

I heard on some sports talk radio that Petrino has had a startling ratio of jobs to years worked, well above 0.5. Something like 10 in 14? I don't have the figures. But this is a guy who rents.

He did walk into a mess with Vick, ATL, but that's what due diligence is for. He could have lost Vick due to injury instead. If losing one guy makes the job unacceptable, then he shouldn't have accepted.

Blank should have known better than to hire him, too.

Say, June Jones is doing just hunky-dory in Hawaii, isn't he? He looks so relaxed with that lei around his neck. I can't help but think that he doesn't miss a minute of being in ATL. But he might not regret it entirely, because having been there might have been important in getting his current gig.