Arkansas Sports 360.com - July 2008 - (Page 12) Bobby Petrino Doesn’t Care What You Call Him Winning and Family Are What Matter To New Razorback Football Coach By Chris Bahn MiCHAel PirNiQUe HOME: Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, seen here at Donald W. reynolds razorback Stadium, is known for brushing criticisms aside. C ALL BoBBY PETRINo A coward. Characterize him as a genius. Depending on who’s asked, both could fit. Egotistical, innovative and/or ambitious might be other descriptions. Say what you want about the new university of Arkansas football coach. Petrino will simply shrug his shoulders. He is as uncomfortable with praise as he is outwardly unfazed by criticism. “To each his own,” Petrino says. opinions — good or bad — don’t win football games. until they do, Petrino seems unmoved by what people have to say about him. Scoreboards speak the loudest as far as Petrino is concerned. Petrino’s tunnel vision has helped win a lot of games, including a 41-9 mark in four years (2003-06) at Louisville. It also has cost him a lot of fans. National media revile Petrino. He has critics in college and the NFL. His reputation as an opportunistic job-hopper precedes him and was only furthered when Petrino left the Atlanta Falcons for Arkansas with three games remaining in the 2007 season. Little from Petrino’s side of things has been revealed about his Atlanta departure. Falcons players and national media referred to Petrino as a “coward” and “liar.” The Falcons, who were 3-10 at the time of Petrino’s resignation hours before he showed up in Fayetteville, were ArkansasSports360.com July 2008 also showing solidarity for Michael Vick, their suspended quarterback convicted of running a dog-fighting operation. All Petrino will say in response: “I’m looking forward to the future. I’m really happy being [at Arkansas]. I’m real excited about the challenges and putting our football team together.” Arkansas fans are excited for the future as well. Petrino was hired to replace Houston Nutt, whose personality and calling the plays. “The defense won’t even know what hit them,” tailback Michael Smith said. “If we get it together, we’ll be all right.” Early Start Petrino’s system has been in the making for a while. Though he burst on the national scene with Louisville, Petrino essentially has been piecing together his philosophy since elementary school. “i knew my entire life that i remember that i was going to be a coach. i certainly spent a lot of time working on that.” — Coach Bobby Petrino perceived lack of offensive acumen had begun to wear on folks in his home state after 10 years. Petrino, 47, no doubt has baggage, but he brings the Razorbacks’ rabid fan base the promise of a fresh offense. Even after ranking 17th nationally in total yardage behind the strength of two running backs selected in the first round of the NFL draft, players have bought into the idea that the offense can do more with Petrino When Petrino was a second-grader in Helena, Mont., he learned the importance of breaking down game film from his father, Bob Sr., who built Carroll College into a NAIA power. A couple of years later Bobby Petrino figured out how to chart plays on the sidelines, and it wasn’t long before he could tell his father what all 22 players on the field were assigned to do. “He was always around,” Bob Sr. said. “He was charting plays, helping me break down film when he was very, very young. He tried to learn all he could about the game. He had a great ability to comprehend.” Football was a way of life for the Petrino family, which includes five siblings, three of them girls. Bobby Petrino was accompanying his father to practices shortly after learning to walk. Paul Petrino, Bobby’s younger brother by six years, is now the offensive coordinator at Arkansas. Both brothers played and served as assistant coaches for their father. While at Carroll College, Petrino earned degrees in math and physical education, but his major might as well have been football coaching. Petrino stayed busy as a basketball point guard as well as quarterback and devoted whatever free time he had to studying football. “I knew my entire life that I remember that I was going to be a coach,” Petrino said. “I certainly spent a lot of time working on that. Even when you go to school and are in college, you study and had to get a degree, but I spent the majority of my time studying football.” Bob Sr. half-heartedly tried to dissuade his two sons from pursuing coaching. There were easier careers, more lucrative opportunities for them, he explained. No sense in enduring a public job evaluation 10-plus Saturdays in the fall, he argued. “I used to kid them, but I knew from the start they were going to be coaches,” 12 http://ArkansasSports360.com
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