per ESPN. No link yet but it's official.

1/7/2007 9:03:47 PM

aww damn


hops out of one nest and into the other


LOL

[Edited on January 7, 2007 at 9:05 PM. Reason : d]

1/7/2007 9:05:08 PM

whoa

1/7/2007 9:08:10 PM

Quote :

"Louisville coach Bobby Petrino has accepted a five-year, $24 million offer from the Atlanta Falcons to become their new coach, according to a Louisville source. The Cardinals have a previously scheduled 9 p.m. ET team meeting at which Petrino will tell his players, the source said. ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reported that an NFL source also confirmed the hiring. "I'm in shock right now," Louisville kicker Arthur Carmody told ESPN's Joe Schad Sunday night. "I'm about to walk into a team meeting right now. We're coming off a great Orange Bowl win and we were all thinking national championship. I didn't think this would happen. He said he enjoyed college football. He's a great coach and we're going to miss him." An announcement from the Falcons could come Monday. Before the season, Petrino signed a 10-year, $25 million contract with Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich. Petrino had previously interviewed with Auburn, LSU, Notre Dame and the Oakland Raiders for other jobs, but announced in August that he would be at Louisville for the long haul. "I can't tell you how happy I am with the commitment and the confidence that Tom Jurich has in me and the university has in me," Petrino said after signing the contract. "I also wanted to make sure that everyone understood, I know I've said it, that this is where my family wants to be. This is where I want to be. I want everyone to really believe it." Louisville had just completed a 12-1 season climaxed by their first BCS bowl victory, over Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl. Petrino's record was 41-9 at Louisville, as he elevated the program into an annual national contender. The leading candidate to replace Petrino figures to be Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe, who has taken the Golden Hurricane to three bowl games in four years after taking over one of the worst programs in the country. "

1/7/2007 9:08:43 PM

This was unexpected

I guess Brohm's in the draft now

1/7/2007 9:09:54 PM

did not see that one comming

1/7/2007 9:12:44 PM

so is petrino going to send vick to the raiders and go with schaub / brohm?

1/7/2007 9:12:53 PM

you bet your sweet aspercreme

1/7/2007 9:19:09 PM

damn they certainly didn't waste any time

blank had probably had discussions with him before they shitcanned mora

1/7/2007 9:21:38 PM

hmm...so our chance of winning the louisville game this season just went from 0% to 1%.

1/7/2007 9:23:45 PM

CTC TO L'VILLE

1/7/2007 9:26:11 PM

Quote :

"hmm...so our chance of winning the louisville game this season just went from 0% to 1%. "

Ahah, that's exactly what I was thinking.

1/7/2007 9:33:58 PM

it went up a hell of a lot more than that

1/7/2007 9:38:19 PM

no it didn't, it's not like they don't have good players

1/7/2007 10:13:15 PM

If Bush and Brohm go pro we will have a much better chance.

And plus who knows how much talent Chuck was really wasting?

1/7/2007 10:40:36 PM

are no successful coaches even coming close to honoring their contracts? jesus.

1/7/2007 10:47:52 PM

^ If a coach is unsuccessful, do the programs honor their contracts?

1/7/2007 10:50:08 PM

What the hell really is the point of contracts? There are always ways around the damn things.

1/7/2007 11:21:54 PM

Dumb hire.


College coaches rarely work in the NBA and NFL.


Theres probably 50 ast coaches in the NFL right now who were better prepared for the job. I woulda kept Mora over this guy... talk about unproven...

1/7/2007 11:22:54 PM

Yeah looks like the NFL would learn from Erickson, Spurrier, Carroll, Saban, etc. that the NFL is a different beast from college.

1/7/2007 11:29:40 PM

jimmy johnson bucked that trend, and i'm sure there are others, but it doesn't happen often apparently

1/7/2007 11:39:34 PM

motherfucker said "per"

1/7/2007 11:43:47 PM

1/7/2007 11:48:29 PM

Quote :

"jimmy johnson bucked that trend, and i'm sure there are others, but it doesn't happen often apparently"

Barry Switzer....although he did what he did with Jimmy Johnson's team IIRC

1/7/2007 11:50:35 PM

^ yeah Barry Switzer was a pretty bad coach. He ended up running Dallas into the ground a few years later.

He won a Super Bowl and theres something to be said for that, but he had a pretty loaded roster that had already won 2 super bowls before he got there...


I just dont understand why people keep going after college coaches... it rarely ever works

1/8/2007 1:16:15 AM

BIG LEAST

1/8/2007 8:10:48 AM

On Mike & Mike this morning, Chris Mortensen stated that Schaub would fit Petrino's offense better than Michael Vick. That would be a good side-plot.

1/8/2007 8:25:09 AM

oh i think something big happens with Vick this offseason

1/8/2007 8:29:07 AM

in the year 2007, the atlanta falcons will hire a college football coach who has fallen short against rutgers university

(laughter)

1/8/2007 8:46:49 AM

If I'm a Falcons fan I'm wanting to see Vick to the Raiders for the #1 overall pick and then take Calvin Johnson.

As a Chiefs fan this would be perfect because the Raiders would only get worse!

1/8/2007 8:53:32 AM

Quote :

"Theres probably 50 ast coaches in the NFL right now who were better prepared for the job. I woulda kept Mora over this guy... talk about unproven..."

the only, and i mean ONLY, advantage that Petrino has over the 6-12 ast coaches in the nfl who should have been considered first is name recognition...

name recognition pacifies idiot fanbases and can help put butts in the seats...

other than that, this probably wasn't a good hire... sure, give him 2-3 years to see if he can acclimate to the pro game, but don't be surprised if after 2 years he goes running back to college... actually, from his perspective it's not bad... nearly double his yearly salary for a few years, then go back when some big-market school is looking for a savior and still be making more than he was a louisville...

1/8/2007 9:04:11 AM

so he was holding out for a pro job? i wonder if all the colleges he turned down knew that?

1/8/2007 9:14:19 AM

Terrell Owens to the falcons.

1/8/2007 9:35:23 AM

it will be the all-drop team

1/8/2007 9:36:39 AM

hes been an offensive coordinator in the nfl so he knows the nfl better then just some college coach

1/8/2007 10:26:19 AM

Quote :

"still be making more than he was a louisville..."

Petrino was in the Top 10 as far as coaches salaries in college after his 10 year deal. Still peanuts compared to the $5M/yr he is getting now but he was making $2.5M annually there. Though with all the ridiculous contracts being given to coaches (yes I'm looking right at you, you inbred hicks at Alabama), you are probably right. Louisville must have TONS of money in their athletic budget what with a new arena opening soon, expansion to 65,000 in the football stadium, and two of the highest paid coaches in the country (Petrino/Pitino).

It's a risk from Atlanta but a complete no-brainer for Petrino.

-----

As far as Louisville... they will be fine. They have what many people think is the best AD in the country, tons of money being spent on facilities, and very solid talent holdover. People also thought they were done when John L. Smith moved on...

http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/9915692

[Edited on January 8, 2007 at 11:43 AM. Reason : it's Kragthorpe.]

1/8/2007 11:32:44 AM

HELL YEAH.....WVU IS GOING TO DESTROY THEM NEXT YEAR WITHOUT PETRINO!!!

1/8/2007 11:47:20 AM

^^ Their AD must be awesome, lose a coach one day and two days later have another...Lee Fowler takes 4 weeks to get new coaches...

1/8/2007 11:50:40 AM

Tom Zurich, Louisville's AD, is a golden god

1/8/2007 2:23:58 PM

Quote :

"hmm...so our chance of winning the louisville game this season just went from 0% to 1%"

I was gonna say

hmmm...so now the Panthers chances of sweeping the Falcons next season just went from 25% to 90%

1/8/2007 3:19:41 PM