Petrino fired as top Hog; praises go to Long

Breaking news: The Cubs still suck. Oh yeah, and Bobby Petrino was fired as the football coach at the University of Arkansas.

Photo via ArkansasRazorbacks.com of athletic director Jeff Long
 during his on Tuesday evening.

This was basically a text I sent to a buddy of mine tonight as I watched the university press conference in which Arkansas director of athletics Jeff Long officially announced that they had cut ties with the controversial coach. As much as I would like talk about how bad the Cubs seem to be this year, this post is about my thoughts on the firing of Petrino.

Most of you who would actually care to read this probably know the specifics of the Arkansas football situation over the past week. Basically, Petrino was in a motorcycle accident with a female he was having an inappropriate relationship with. He lied to the university, and Long, about the specifics of the accident. Long then found out that the young lady was an employee under Petrino who he had recently hired.

When Long placed Petrino on “administrative leave” last Thursday, I had a conversation with the same buddy about the situation. I told him then that I didn’t think Petrino should be fired on the grounds of an inappropriate relationship with the young lady, but things could be a lot different if they find issues in the way she was hired. Well, buddy…I was right.

Jeff Long press conference video through ArkansasRazorbacks.com. 

(More details are given about the situation by Long in the press conference. If I find a YouTube video, I will embed that at a later date.)

Petrino was not fired because he was hooking up with someone under him, and as Long said in the presser, that was a personal matter between the parties and their families (loosely translated). He was fired “with cause” because he lied to Long initially about the details of the accident and the original hiring.

If this was just about a man having an inappropriate relationship with someone else and he was fired, I would have completely disagreed with Long. That is a personal situation that, if it didn’t affect his duties to the university, should be left between him and his family. However, even though the initial relationship was a factor, his insubordination in misleading Long on the detail of the hiring of the young woman and the accident are legitimate grounds for termination.

Most know that I’m and Oklahoma State fan, but I am also a fan of the Arkansas Razorbacks. But as far as the battle between the two athletic directors, Long is way ahead of Mike Holder at this point. As Long said tonight, no one person is bigger than the Razorback football team or athletic department. It says a lot about him that he is willing to cut professional ties, as well as potentially hurt close friendship, with a coach who has obviously done a lot for Arkansas athletics.

I also want to praise Long for his candidness with the situation, not doing what many universities do when there is a embarrassing situation such as this. Instead of remaining silent about the situation and leaving room for more speculation and controversy, the Razorback athletic department (including the media relations office) addressed the situation with “forward motion” and attacked the issue.

Petrino did a lot for the Razorback football program. He helped make the Razorbacks a program that was a conference contender. I understand he was trying to save his own butt, and a lot of people would do the same thing in a situation such as this. But as we all know, when you lie to those in authority, there are going to be consequences.

Here is a link to Petrino's statement following his termination. PETRINO'S STATEMENT