All these people killing Bobby Petrino for leaving the Falcons need to calm down. If you signed up for a job which had one key perk and before you even started getting assessed for the job that perk was taken away what would you do? Would you stick around and fail because you're missing the ingredient you thought would make you successful or would you jump ship before your stock was irreparably damaged? The Falcons really have no hope in the short term. Teams without a quarterback don't get miraculously better in a year. The Falcons are going to have to utilize one of their top picks to bring in a Quarterback which is always an extremely dangerous proposition and usually does not lead to early success. Meanwhile the teams repeated failure would continue to weigh on Petrino's mind and his image. By leaving now he cut his losses. Most people would do the same thing.
However I don't get the move to Arkansas. They're going to lose McFadden, their #1 and #2 wideouts and possibly #2 running back Felix Jones if he wants to make money. They're in the SEC so they never play an easy schedule and they always have a ton of recruiting competition. There's a reason Arkansas has been turned down so much during this short hiring process, it's not that attractive of a job. It has tradition, but not one that is above and beyond the typical SEC tradition. It does not have the talent to win next year which will put a lot of pressure on the 2009 season. They additionally start a series with Texas next year so add another tough challenge every year on their schedule.
So in the long run Petrino has probably been kicking himself about his decision to leave Louisville everyday since Bad Newz Kennelz was first unveiled. He probably wishes he could go back to Louisville right now but when a Big Conference school came calling he had to accept.
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