Will Bobby Petrino Go Gator?

I pray that Bobby doesn’t go. Although, I agree with you that if given the offer, he’s probably gone. Can you imagine Petrino in Gainesville? If hired, Foley is on the phone to the NC trophy engravers that same day.

On the other hand, Bobby will get absolutely lambasted in the press. The type of insults that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.

I wonder what Bobby’s thinking about right now?

PWL joined Expats just so he coulddo a gangland style drive by. Well, I’m not worried about CBP leaving really. We do need to reward him for this year and look at moving up his salary a bit. Petrino Haters, please go to the Falcons web site and spew your vile.

If it matters to anyone…99.9% of the Gator fans don’t even have Petrino anywhere in their top 10 of coaching replacements.

Petrino has done everything he could have done in three years at Arkansas, and he’s as good a coach as there is at the college level. Florida would be lucky to have him. And if they do, the Hogs will get Mullen or the TCU coach and we will be fine. The reason? Petrino has taken the program to a new level; and we will be able to attract a great coach.

Razorback fans have absolutely no right to bitch and moan. It’s not like we didn’t know.

Of course, that won’t stop the lunatic fringe from going completely insane.

My gut is telling me that they won’t offer, and if they do, he won’t accept – but that may just be wishful thinking.

He’s made a good amount of progress on repairing his reputation and leaving would put him back behind square one.

He’s well paid, in line for a salary bump and has a facilities upgrade in the works. From all accounts, his family is happy here and more importantly, HE looks happy here.

It seems to me that over the past three years, we’ve watched him settle in and loosen up.

I said when we hired him, and I still believe it to be true, that if he builds the kind of program that we all want, that we have a good chance of keeping him for a good long time.

Consider:

#1: The NFL is closed to him. That ship has sailed. Short of winning a couple of NCs, he won’t ever get that call again and after his disaster in Atlanta, and it seems unlikely that he’d be interested if he did. I think he’s done with the NFL.

#2: If he builds Arkansas into a genuine SEC contender on a consistent basis, there aren’t but a handful of jobs that are a true step up. If he doesn’t, he’ll eventually be forced to take a step down the coaching ladder. And with his success this year, it does look like he is building a beast here. Hell, we were one bought-and-paid-for player away (looking at you AuburnFan) from going to Atlanta this year.

Unfortunately for Arkansas, Florida is one of those jobs that IS a step up, along with Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, USC and maybe a couple of others.

But he has proven that he can win here, can recruit to Arkansas on a national level and has a commitment from the university to keep up with salary and facilities.

#3: I don’t think the timing is right for a move to Florida. To abandon what he has done here on the eve of a BCS bowl – when you consider everything above – just doesn’t ‘feel’ right to me. I think he’s focused on the task at hand – OSU, the Sugar Bowl and recruiting – and won’t be distracted from that.

We won’t likely know if he is offered the job, but we’ll know if there is genuine interest and contact, and no one should begrudge him listening and talking to Florida.

What I would hope to see, if there is contact, is that Petrino comes out with a statement to the effect of “I’ve removed my name from consideration for the Florida job. My family loves Arkansas and are settled in here. I’m happy at Arkansas and hope to be here for a long time. I am committed to building a program that the entire state can be proud of and that the rest of the country will fear. Go Hogs Go.”

Hell, all of that may be fantasy land on my part. He may already be packing his bags for all I know, but my gut tells me he’s staying.

FWIW.

I think if he was offered, he would take it. And I wouldn’t blame him. Don’t get me wrong, I think we have a great program and I hope he stays, but I agree also with SmoovP – it would be a step-up. It certainly wouldn’t be a lateral move.

I think Petrino stays here in Arkansas. I know there would be a lot of factors in making that type of decision, but I think an important one for him (not that I’ve talked to him) is that he isn’t a beach and sun tan kinda guy. He is from Montana, and Northwest Arkansas surely looks more like home than Florida ever would.

if I were in the position is that you NEVER want to be the guy who follows in the footsteps of someone who has had as much success as Meyer.

You’ll never live up.

You want to be the guy who follows the guy that failed who followed the guy that won.

Spurrier —> Zook —> Meyer —> failure —> WIN!

Even if they offer him. My gut feeling is that he will be the head coach at the University of Arkansas for several more years. Probably 6 or 7 years.

As a person who has had to make some hiring/firing choices in the past, I think there are some other considerations when considering Petrino for Florida or any other job right now.

And yes, I am an Arkansas homer who would hate to loose him. Does that color my take on things? Sure!

One of the things I look at in a potential employee is their hiring history. I’m not sure that anyone needs a reminder that Bobby’s history is not one that inspires confidence in a prospective employer that would be looking not only for quality talent, but also for a long term commitment – which I think is definitely a qualification for Florida. Let’s face it, the stars were uniquely aligned to bring Arkansas and Petrino together three years ago. Both the Razorbacks’ and the Falcons’ programs were in a death spiral of personnel issues, bad PR, and general confusion. Both parties could join together and weather the criticism of the hiring choice and the mid-season desertion. Petrino himself should also be concerned for his image as an employee. I KNOW! I KNOW! What about his previous behavior would make anyone think that he cares about that? But what I recall about Petrino’s image prior to leaving the Falcons was one that was VERY similar to the current image possessed by Gus Malzahn. Gus is currently considered an offensive genius and a highly motivated innovator – and he seems to make the short list for every HC job out there – But he hasn’t stayed anywhere for more than three years either – and NO ONE is giving him a hard time about that. Why? Because they were all good moves that were well motivated by his talent and ambition. Petrino was perceived the same way – all the way up until the Falcons debacle. So now Bobby is not only considering whether or not the Florida (or any other) job would be a good vertical move, he is also having to consider that Arkansas is his last chance to save his reputation. Yes; Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, USC, and other institutions would be historically vertical moves for him. But if I were him, I would have to be considering the value of staying at Arkansas and gaining the reputation (And in the process, erasing another reputation) of a guy who decided to lay down roots and build a perennial SEC power. What about Arkansas’ commitment to football – administratively, talent-wise, or fanbase – would lead him to believe he could not do so?

A bit "pie-in-the-sky"? Possibly. But how can he and Florida NOT be considering such a thing should they choose to work together?

Honestly, he’s a better fit for Arkansas than Mississippi State.

is that Jimmy Sexton has yet to float the “Nutt is a candidate at Florida” rumor. At least he hasn’t that I’m aware of.