Oh no. They are pissed because he has been preaching to them about no quitting on the season and then he walks out on them with 3 weeks left to go.

Huh?

John Clayton said today on the 5:00 SportsCenter that Blank has known about this for "about three weeks." Blank gave him his blessing according to Clayton.

AJC is reporting otherwise. :shrug:

Blank may have known about the college/Arkansas rumors for 3 weeks, but the story from the AJC is that Blank asked Petrino twice, point blank (pardon the pun), including Monday afternoon, about the rumors and that Petrino flat-out denied them, said he had no interest and that he was staying.

That maybe true because according to PFT the Falcons had strict language in his contract forbidding him from taking a college job. So they only way he could get out was with the blessing of the Falcons.

With that being said the assistant coaches and the players had no idea this was coming

From this evening:

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...cons_1212.html

Before the Falcons' 34-14 loss to New Orleans Monday, Blank said that he had heard rumors that Arkansas had targeted Petrino to replace Houston Nutt as head coach. So he said he asked Petrino if he was considering that job.

Petrino, who was signed from the University of Louisville to a five-year, $24.5 million contract Jan. 8, told him Monday afternoon that he definitely would be back to coach the Falcons in 2008.

It was the second time Blank had asked Petrino about his commitment to the team and the second time Petrino told him he would be back next season.

Hell, maybe Blank's lying to the AJC.

Damn.

All sorts of conflicting reports.

There's a lot of this story not being told, IMO.

The guy is taking a paycut to WILLINGLY go back to the college ranks. It's not like he was fired and couldn't get another job in the pros, so college was the only option.

Something forced him to make this decision. It obviously wasn't money.

I still think what I posted back in # 92 has a lot more to do with this than the organization is leading on.

Can you really blame the guy...that Atlanta job sounds awful.

Isnt Atlanta a pretty racial type city anyways?

Yeah I can. He is a hypocrite. He could have at least stayed through the end of the season.

I didn't realize he signed a 10yr contract with Louisville and then he bailed on them after 1 yr? Is that true? If it is why would any college or pro team want anything to do with that guy?

http://profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm




POSTED 11:13 p.m. EST, December 11, 2007

SINGLETARY EMERGES AS EARLY FAVORITE TO REPLACE PETRINO

An industry source tells us that 49ers assistant head coach Mike Singletary is the guy whose name has initially popped up in discussions regarding the potential successor to former Falcons coach Bobby Petrino.

Per the source, Blank wants Singletary; Petrino was hired at the behest of G.M. Rich McKay.

There are multiple potential benefits that would flow from such a move. First, Singletary will be (in our view ) a great NFL head coach. Second, the thinking is that he'll straighten out a dysfunctional locker room. Third, the Falcons have the highest concentration of African-American season-ticket holders at 52 percent; in the wake of the Mike Vick fiasco the hiring of an African-American coach could go a long way toward reconnecting with an important segment of the Atlanta fan base.

In our view, however, skin color shouldn't be a factor in any hiring decision. The best person should get the job. But it would be naive to think that Blank isn't thinking about the potential impact of hiring a coach who is of the same race as a majority of the season-ticket holders, especially as the franchise moves forward without a player who is still beloved by many Falcons fans, whether white, black, purple, green, yellow, or red.

Stay tuned.

Atlanta has a huge black population..

So he took an NFL job, then decided he didn't like it....Nick Saban pulled the same shit.

Petrino is actually taking less money to go to Arkansas.