Arkansas fires coach
Affair, misleading statements result in ouster of football coach
“Misled” school over relationship with staffer; won’t get buyout,
“The simplest response I have is: I’m sorry. These two words seem very inadequate. But that is my heart. ... This time, I have no one to blame but myself.”
— Bobby Petrino
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Bobby Petrino’s deceit about his motorcycle crash and his inappropriate relationship with a female staff member half his age have cost him his Arkansas football coaching job and more than $21 million that remained on his contract.
Petrino’s dismissal was announced Tuesday night by Arkan- sas director of athletics Jeff Long, the man who hired Petrino to take over as Razorbacks coach for the 2008 season.
With Petrino’s teams going 21-5 over the last two seasons, reaction among some Arkansas faithful is certain to be bitter. But that resentment might be tempered by Long’s disclosure that Petrino, 51 and married, quickly hired 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell on March 28 over 158 other candi- dates and that he also gave her a gift of $20,000.
Long didn’t specify the source of the $20,000, or whether it involved school funds, but did say he interviewed the two and, “Both parties admitted a gift was given.”
Dorrell was a passenger on Petrino’s motorcycle when it veered off a rural Arkansas road and left the coach with four broken ribs and a cracked vertebra April 1. Petrino didn’t disclose that information to school officials until four days later, nor was he immediately forthcoming about the details of what he admitted was an “inappropriate relationship” with the former Arkansas volleyball player, who reportedly is engaged.
Petrino “had a lot of opportunities to share with me the nature of his relationship, and I’ll leave it at that,” Long said.
Long said two other candidates were interviewed for the football program’s student-athlete development coordinator job that Dor-
rell was awarded.
Long said Tuesday that Petrino had engaged in a “pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior to deceive me” and the coach had “multiple opportunities over a four-day period to be forthcoming, and he chose not to.”
Long said his investigation made him aware the two had a relationship for “a significant period of time.” AD: ‘I’m disappointed’
Petrino did eventually confirm Dorrell’s involvement in the crash, but only after misleading Long and the public during a news conference. That led the school to release a statement saying no one but Petrino was involved in the crash.
Long said there was no single issue that led to Petrino’s dismissal but “casting the negative publicity onto our university . . . was one of the more acute factors.”
The investigation didn’t turn up anything that constituted an NCAA violation, Long said, nor did he uncover any past misdeeds aside from the crash aftermath that made him regret hiring Petrino.
“I’m disappointed with Coach Petrino’s actions,” Long said. “I’m disappointed in his lack of judgment, his failure to tell me the truth of it.”
Addressing the backlash that’s certain to come from fans, Long said, “I realize this decision may not sit well with some Razorback fans here and across the nation. I’m certainly concerned. I know we have passionate fans. . . . I know they have disappointment. I have disappointment.”
Petrino, through his agent, released a statement.
It said, in part, “The simplest response I have is: I’m sorry. These two words seem very inadequate. But that is my heart. All I have been able to think about is the number of people I’ve let down by making selfish decisions. I’ve taken a lot of criti- cism in the past. Some deserved, some not deserved. This time, I have no one to blame but myself.
“I chose to engage in an improper relationship. I also made several poor decisions following the end of that relationship and in the aftermath of the accident. I accept full responsibility for what has happened.”
Petrino added he had “hurt my wife, Becky, and our four children. I’ve let down the Uni- versity of Arkansas, my team, coaching staff and everyone associated with the Razorback football program. As a result of my personal mistakes, we will not get to finish our goal of building a championship program.”
As for what will come next for him, Petrino said, “My sole focus at this point is trying to repair the damage I’ve done to my family. They did not ask for any of this and deserve better. I am committed to being a better husband, father and human being as a result of this and will work each and every day to prove that to my family, friends and others. I love football. I love coaching. I, of course, hope I can find my way back to the profession I love. In the meantime, I will do everything I can to heal the wounds I have created.”
Petrino was 34-17 in his four seasons at Arkansas and took the school to its first Bowl Championship Series bowl game in the 2010 season, a Sugar Bowl loss to Ohio State. This season the Razorbacks were Cotton Bowl winners.
He came to Arkansas with a shaky reputation in some quarters, after quitting on the Atlanta Falcons 13 games into the 2007 NFL season.
That reputation no doubt will take a far greater hit now.
“He negatively and adversely affected the reputation of our football program and the university,” Long said. Search for new coach
Long said Arkansas would begin a search for a coach Tuesday night but that he was not certain one could be found who meets the standards that he wants with staffs already set for the 2012 season.
“It’s a difficult time of the year to be searching for a football coach, no question,” Long said. But he assured the Razorbacks program “can command a highlevel football coach, and we’re not going to compromise on that.”
Assistant head coach Taver Johnson was named interim coach, and Long left open the possibility he would lead the Razorbacks in 2012.
Long added that he anticipated Paul Petrino, Bobby’s younger brother, would stay on as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Petrino leaves with no buyout money, Long said, and apparently no severance of any kind.
“Coach Petrino was terminated with cause, and no, there were no negotiations about ways that he could remain our football coach,” Long said.
He said Petrino was informed in person by Long on Tuesday morning that the school thought it had cause for termination and that the coach was later informed by letter that he was fired, as per the terms of Petrino’s contract.
That contract also included language that gave Arkansas great leeway on dismissing Petrino for questionable conduct.
It says, in part, that he could be dismissed for: “Otherwise engaging in conduct, as solely determined by the university, which is clearly contrary to the character and responsibilities of a person occupying the position of head football coach, or which negatively or adversely affects the reputation of the university or (Arkansas’) athletic programs in any way.”
Hours before his dismissal, several Razorbacks fans had told USA TODAY Sports they ardently supported retaining Petrino.
“I hope he stays. He’s a winner,” said Judy Grisso, 72. “I don’t want to judge his indiscretions. We’ve seen so much of this lately, everywhere. Who are we to judge?”
Said Shod Neely, an industrial engineering major at Arkansas, “I honestly don’t care who he has sex with. It’s irrelevant to me. . . . I’m more worried about going back to losing than anything.”
“Obviously, he was stupid, but I’m more concerned about winning,” said Mark Thompsen, a 33-year-old former Army sergeant who served in Iraq and is pursuing a criminal justice degree at Arkansas. “All I care about is beating Alabama and LSU. If we beat them, I’m OK with it, short of him stringing someone up.”