In a move somewhat reminiscent of that by Nick Saban, Bobby Petrino resigned yesterday from his position as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons to become the head coach at the University of Arkansas.
His departure was apparently sudden, first rumored last week, and seemingly discussed Monday between him and Falcons leadership, where he assured the Falcons that he was not leaving, only to resign the following morning.
Petrino's leadership style clearly did not sit well with the Falcons players, especially the older players in the team. When a new coach arrives in an under-achieving franchise, there is always an element of "will he be tough when he needs to be" in the air, the "Big Question" that the coach is expected to answer in the affirmative at some point. Typically, the question needs to be addressed, because under-achieving teams have discipline and committment issues. Players may have grown used to giving less than 100%. Bill Parcells famously began his Cowboys coaching career by catching a player lying about his weight; after asking the player his weight, Parcells put him on the scales and found he was 35 pounds heavier than he claimed. The resulting discussion began with "you sure gained a lot of weight on the walk over to the scales..." but probably became a good deal more pointed real fast...
It seems lthat Petrino tried too hard to be a hard-ass. That approach can work, but it helps immensely if you have a track record of success to back up the tough-guy approach. Bill Parcells, for example, was able to shake up the Dallas Cowboys because (a) they were clearly not succeeding, and (b) he had a track record of success in the NFL. With the Falcons, it is not clear that (a) was necessarily true; the team had expected Michael Vick to be the quarterback, and their plans for 2007 were thrown up in the air by his convictions for dog-fighting. Petrino, with a reputation for developing quarterbacks in college, arrived to find his number one asset gone, with no quality backup available, for the Falcons had traded Matt Schaub to the Houston Texans.
But the biggest issue for Petrino was that he had no NFL track record to buttress his words and deeds. As a result, we witnessed the classic scenario of an inexperienced coach trying too hard to impose his will on the team by being a hard-ass. In this case, Petrino first made an example of DeAngelo Hall, fining him and suspending him after a row, and then he (at the very least) supported the cutting of Grady Jackson, a respected veteran on the team. Jackson is no shrinking violet on the field; I once watched a Green Bay Packers game where Jackson, playing at nose tackle for the Packers, gave as close to an impersonation of an immovable object as I have ever seen in an NFL game. From comments made at the time, the cutting of Jackson was deeply upsetting and demotivating for the other players, and it was never properly explained in any statement I read, which convinces me that it was a power play.
Petrino's disciplinary and player-cutting actions, which might have been tolerated if they came from a Bill Parcells, were in his case almost certainly seen as an abuse of power, and probably convinced his team that he was out of his depth. Certainly on Monday night, the team seemed listless and demotivated in the game against the Saints. Sure, they turned up and played, but they did not play with enough passion and committment.
Much like Bill Parcells towards the end of his last season with the Cowboys, Petrino's body language on Monday night alternated between exasperation and resignation. He probably knew that he had lost the team. Players notably stood around talking among themselves, and there was little interchange with the coach of any sort. In teams where there is a productive relationship between the coach and players, players can be seen talking to the coach, sometimes arguing over tactics and execution - in other words, the passion is there to improve the way the team is playing. I saw none of that interaction last night. Warwick Dunn, a veteran leader in every sense, spent all of his time talking to team-mates, and seemed to be disengaged from events on the field.
In a situation like that, all of the soothing words to Petrino from Falcons management earlier in the day would have fallen on deaf ears. He was emotionally ready to move on. It seems from today's comments that the team agreed. Part of it was due to his preremptory dismissal of the team via a terse departure note, and his equally terse non-communication to his assistants. It seems that Petrino essentially left in a hissy-fit.
The bigger issue for the Falcons going forward is that they need to hire a proven head coach. At this critical time in the history of the franchise, a coach who can talk and lead with authority and experience is essential. A coach of the experience of Bill Cowher or Marty Schottenheimer is required. (Not that I am suggesting that they should be the new coach, but you get the idea). No taking a punt on a co-ordinator or (heaven forbid) another college football heavyweight.
The failure of Bobby Petrino may close the door on college coaches becoming NFL head coaches any time soon. In the past 5 years Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban and Petrino have all tried to jump from college head coaching positions to head coaching positions in the NFL. Only Spurrier lasted more than one season. There are massive differences in the required skill sets, in both directions. The recent sackings of Bill Callahan and Chan Gailey from college head coaching positions show that jumping from the NFL to the college ranks may be equally risky.