How does Petrino find work?

By Jeff

New Western Kentucky head coach Bobby Petrino "is slime".

There is no better or simple way to put it. The man makes promises and breaks them to players, athletic directors, his family and just about everyone else.

Yet he continues to be hired. And not just hired, he is making big bucks at Western Kentucky ($850,000/year). That's almost $1 million a year for a man who quit on a college football team; quit on a pro football and didn't even have the heart to speak to his players (left notes in their lockers like a middle school break-up); and most recently hired an unqualified woman for a position at Arkansas, had an affair with said woman, got into a motorcycle crash with said woman, and lied to the athletic director about said motorcycle crash.

The Western Kentucky press release brings up how great Petrino is at "developing student athletes. Yes, he has been a successful coach on the field. Off the field is another story. The Razorbacks were near the bottom of the SEC for graduation rates every season Petrino was there (55 percent, 53 percent, 52 percent, 52 percent). So maybe Western Kentucky should just say he is great at developing athletes, and would receive a failing grade for the student part.

This move just shows how college athletics have too much influence within universities. Imagine if a professor applied for a job at a college and the administration knew he had lied to his past employer, had an affair with a previous coworker, and quit in the middle of his obligation for two other previous jobs. Oh, and only a little over half of those taking his classes graduate. I've never hired a professor, but I imagine all those red flags would lead to a big rejection.

I guess that analogy is a little off because Western Kentucky saught Petrino out. That's right, they went out and said this is the guy we need for our school. This lying, quitting, cheating man is the one we want to be a mentor to our student athletes.

Of course, that statement isn't true. The school clearly did not care about their student athletes. They cared about the school's reputation and winning football games. Integrity and responsibility to graduating players be damned!

At least this move is pretty much guaranteed to bite Western Kentucky in the ass. If Petrino succeeds, there is no way he is still there in two years. A big-name school with little intregrity will come courting him with more money, which the sleazeball will take in a heartbeat. The other outcome is Petrino and Western Kentucky football will fail, and in that case, both the athletic department and Petrino will lose.

Alice Cooper - School's Out