In a strange way, it was probably the only option all along that could have pulled it off. The splashy hiring of Bobby Petrino has achieved what once seemed impossible for brand new Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long. It has mended and unified the once-fractured Land of Pig Sooie football.
And so maybe now the ache and pain of the Houston Nutt era can finally be buried. It's time for the glitzy new offense. At long last, it's time for the spread attack Razorback fans have long wanted.
But didn't something about this whole deal seem just a little bit off last night. I mean, so much for the phrase "a man of his word" then, huh? In this day and age of big business sports, it appears the saying has rung as hollow as the men who like to use it so much. Bobby Petrino---the new Man of the Moment here in the Natural State---was on public record yesterday morning as "having no interest in leaving the position (he was) committed to with the Atlanta Falcons." Of course, this statement came just hours before Petrino reversed course in a hurry, telling his agent to contact Arkansas about its coaching vacancy. By 10:30 PM last night, Petrino was Calling the Hogs at an introductory press conference on the Hill.
All that aside, from the moment Petrino expressed serious interest yesterday afternoon, it was a no brainer for the Hogs. Already spurned by the likes of Tommy Tuberville, Tommy Bowden and Jim Grobe in the past ten days, athletic director Jeff Long was peering at a list of names that had dwindled significantly. Rumors swirled around Arkansas's interest in Auburn's Will Muschamp and Oklahoma's Brent Venables, but even Reggie Herring (UA's interim coach) was starting to look like a realistic fit. Gus Malzahn got an interview, for goodness sake. And yet, while every one of those names would have had its band of supporters, none would have made everyone as happy to jump on board the bandwagon as Bobby Petrino. Once he reconsidered coming to Arkansas, Jeff Long must have been licking his chops. In Petrino he had several key criteria he'd been looking for all along: a proven winner (41-9 at Louisville, 3-10 this year with Vick-less Atlanta notwithstanding), a guy with serious head coaching experience, somebody who had been to (and won) a BCS game and who was widely known as a tremendous recruiter. Given all that, can you really blame Long for rushing to the podium with his new coaching bride last night? I mean, sure, it all felt a bit rushed, but after the Bowden and Grobe fiascos, there was no way Arkansas could let Petrino get a night of sleep in to think about this one.
Now I'll admit the idea of leaving a $5 million-per-year job for one that pays less than $3 million a season doesn't sound all that appetizing, though I think it would be a nice problem to have. But Petrino's heart clearly wasn't all that invested in his NFL gig anymore. Realistically, head coach of the Falcons probably stopped being the "dream job" Petrino once called it as soon as Michael Vick fessed up to his involvement in a dogfighting ring. Losing your superstar quarterback for something completely unrelated to injury---as well as for something you had nothing to do with---well, let's just say it sucked the air out of the balloon for both Petrino and his organization. The road back was going to be difficult and long for the Falcons' franchise (two years? three?) and a look in the mirror after Atlanta's 34-14 Monday Night Football thrashing at the hands of New Orleans was apparently all that it took for Petrino to assess his options and then renege on a $24 million contract agreement with team owner Arthur Blank. No check of conscience at the door. Just see you later, to the A-T-L.
But back to the matter at hand for Razorback fans. The hiring of Bobby Petrino is a slam dunk for them. Talk to pretty much anyone in Arkansas today and I'll bet they tell you how excited they are by this hiring. A quick survey of listeners on my talk show today revealed the general reaction to Petrino as a 9 out of a possible 10 in terms of support for the new Head Hog. That's about right, because Petrino will bring a fresh offensive look to Arkansas football---finally---and he's just the kind of elite recruiter who should be able to bring a viable playmaking quarterback to Fayetteville at long last as well. To put it plainly, for the next few years, he's the perfect fit for the Razorback fan base. He's got pizzazz and flavor, something that potential coordinator candidates Will Muschamp of Auburn and Brent Venables of Oklahoma did not. He knows how to balance a spread passing attack with a grinding run game. And collegiately speaking, he just wins. A 41-9 mark in four years is impressive at any school this side of USC, but achieving that at Louisville? My goodness, just go ask Petrino's Cardinal successor Steve Kragthorpe how difficult that is to do. Petrino literally put Louisville football on the map, a place that basketball school had never been before. To think he won't be able to take Arkansas to another level competitively is nothing short of foolish.
Amongst other things said last night, Petrino claimed that "the opportunity to coach in the SEC was something (he) just couldn't pass up." It's obvious that the Southeastern Conference is the preeminent college football league in America---I view it as the baseball equivalent of Triple 'A'---but you've got to wonder whether or not Petrino will come to regret those words at any point. In a division loaded with power teams (LSU, Auburn, Alabama) and big name coaches (Les Miles, Tommy Tuberville, Nick Saban, Houston Nutt), Razorback fans will still expect plenty of wins out of their major coaching investment. And Petrino should deliver---in a year or two. But the cupboard will be all but bare in 2008, with All-World tailback Darren McFadden in the NFL, along with the departures of Peyton Hillis, Marcus Monk, Robert Felton, Felix Jones and Jonathan Luigs (in all likelihood).
With Petrino in place, the glow for the Razorback nation is a beautiful maroon right now. But will it last through five wins and seven losses next year? And ultimately, will it stay fixed in the memory banks of a passionate fan base if Petrino does as his history says he will, and leaves after three or four years for greener pastures elsewhere? Those are strong practical questions for another day down the road. For today, the point of it all is that the Razorback football ship has its main sail righted again.
-JAB
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