The University of Arkansas has announced this morning that Jessica Dorrell — the UA employee with whom Bobby Petrino shared an “inappropriate relationship” — has been suspended and placed on paid administrative leave.

Facing a possible sexual harassment suit from Dorrell, you can be sure that UA attorneys have done their homework on this matter before okaying her suspension.  Petrino was suspended immediately after the story became public while Dorrell’s situation remained up in the air until today.

It will be interesting to see if UA has enough goods on Dorrell to sever ties with her permanently or if the school is forced into some sort of payoff to prevent her from filing a lawsuit against the school.  After all, she could claim that Petrino — being in a position of power and representing the University of Arkansas — “forced” her into having a relationship with him. 

Arkansas is swimming in some mighty murky waters on this one. 

Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com isn’t my favorite writer.  I believe he is brash and abrasive for the sake of being brash and abrasive… because that kind of thing is what stands out, grabs pageviews and equals dollars into today’s media world.

Ironically, Doyel writes today that it could be dollars that save Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino.  There’s nothing new in what Doyel opines and — to be honest — it’s a little surprising that he didn’t immediately wonder if Petrino’s value to Arkansas might save his hyde.  Most everyone else did.

That said, here’s part of his take on why the Razorback administration might be dragging its feet on giving Petrino the boot:


“Maybe Petrino won’t remain in his job for long, once Arkansas concludes its review of his motorcycle crash/cover-up, but I’m not hopeful.  Which is to say, I’m not naive and gullible.  Not anymore.  Not as naive and gullible as I was a few days ago, anyway, when the news first broke of Jessica Dorrell’s position under Petrino (ahem) and I fired off a scathing missive that said of course Petrino would be fired.  Because I was under the illusion on Friday that real-world rules applied to the Candyland that is college football.

Don’t I feel dumb.

Over the weekened I did some research, read everything I could read about the marriage in question, and realized Arkansas probably can’t afford to divorce Bobby Petrino.  He is the biggest provider for the Arkansas athletic department, and not because he’s the football coach — but because he’s the best football coach in Arkansas history.  Since Petrino got the Hogs rolling in 2009, accoridng to Forbes magazine, the value of the Arkansas football program has increased more than any football program in the country (59 percent), all the way to $89 million.  That value will skyrocket ever higher once the school completes construction on its 80,000-square-foot football facility, a facility that will cost at least $35 million, a facility helped along by Petrino’s run of success.

A facility that has not been paid for, as yet.

The school has commitments for much of the money, but a commitment is not cash.  And those commitments were made by donors under the impression that Bobby Petrino would be the coach working in that new facility.”


Whether it’s a crime or a college athletic department, always follow the money, folks.  If Petrino were losing games in front of a partially-filled stadium he would already be gone.  That statement should shock no one.  And it works the other way, too.

How many times have we written on this site that the fans — not the ADs and presidents — hold the futures of their favorite schools’ coaches in their hands?  If attendance drops and donations dry up, forget the positive track record, the A+ NCAA compliance, and the positive influence stuff.  None of that matters.  If a coach isn’t putting rumps in seats he’s a goner.

See: Rick Stansbury this season.  He is the winningest coach in Mississippi State history.  But disappointed Bulldog fans stopped coming to games and he “retired” after the season.

Go back to 2008 and the end of Phillip Fulmer’s reign at Tennessee.  He’d won a national title and two SEC crowns in 16 seasons at his alma mater, but when Alabama fans took over Neyland Stadium in 2008, we wrote that the clock was ticking down on his tenure.  Turns out, Fulmer lasted one more game before being forced to announce his resignation.

It’s all about the money.  If a school’s making it, then a coach is hard to touch (Petrino).  If a school’s revenue stream starts to decline, any coach can be given his walking papers.

If Petrino is ousted, it will because there’s so much dirt behind the scenes and on the horizon that the school can’t possibly find a way to save him.  Because they most definitely want to save him.  Doyel’s right on that one.  Petrino’s too valuable not to save.

Harry King has covered a lot of Arkansas sports in his day.  The columnist for ArkansasNews.com posted a few of his views on the Bobby Petrino subject today and they fall right in line with what we wrote yesterday.  A sampling:


“Opinion is all over the place and the two extremes are espoused by those eager to talk.

Behind the scenes, I suspect the views are just as diverse — from fire him to slap him on the wrist — even among members of the UA Board of Trustees.  No doubt, it’s the same with donors who give big bucks to the Razorback Foundation.  There must be those who say they will pull their donations if he is fired and those who say they will pull their donations if he is retained.

Charged with ignoring the morass of outside sentiment is athletic director Jeff Long, who also must disengage himself from a personal disappointment.  After all, he has been over backwards to accommodate Petrino’s every whim and his thank you was a lie…

The gut feeling is that Long wants to keep Petrino, knowing that he has revitalized old fans and brought in new ones.”


Meanwhile, the Bobby Petrino support group that got so much attention yesterday with — as of this morning — 20,000+ Facebook members might not live up to the headlines it received.  ArkansasSports360.com reports that “Team Save Coach Petrino” was “adding members without permission throughout Monday” on the social media site. 

Also, just about 200 pro-Petrino folks showed up at an on-campus rally yesterday.  Signs at the event covered the gamut.  One said, “What’s Wrong With Scoring In The Offseason?”  Another read, “Accept Apology and FORGIVE.  Jesus Saved Bobby… Jeff… You Can Too.”

As we’ve written time and again, if Petrino gets the boot it won’t be because he had an inappropriate relationship.  It will be because he hired the girl with whom he had the relationship — putting the school at risk for a major lawsuit — and because he lied to his bosses in an attempt to cover-up who was with him on his motorcycle.

The organizer of the event — Hog fan Matt Couch — admitted that his support is tied to Petrino’s record, nothing more.  (Which means he’d and the other members of his group had better not make a peep when a coach at another program gets in trouble.  They’ve surrendered the moral high ground.)


“If they won seven games would we be saying the same thing?  Probably not…  There’s probably a chance we wouldn’t even be having this rally because that decision would have already been made (by the university).”


Petrino — for now — remains.  He’s suspended while new assistant Taver Johnson leads the team through spring drills.  Arkansas’ AD clearly wants to keep his coach if he can.

But if he can’t, where might Long turn to replace Petrino?  Kevin Scarbinsky of The Birmingham News thinks new UAB coach Garrick McGee could be a target.  That’s because McGee just arrived in Birmingham after a four-year stint on Petrino’s staff.  The last two years he was the Razorbacks’ offensive coordinator.

The folks at AthlonSports.com have put together a list of 10 potential candidates to replace Petrino should he be ousted, including Gus Malzahn from Arkansas State and Kirby Smart, the defensive coordinator at Alabama.

But what of an in-family move?  McGee took over the reins of the UA offense when Petrino’s brother Paul left to head up Illinois’ offense.  With McGee leaving and Ron Zook out in Champagne, Paul Petrino is back as the Hogs’ offensive coordinator.

Could Long exit one brother and simply promote the other?  Would Paul do that?  Would Bobby want him to?  And why has Paul never gotten a shot at a head coaching job considering his brother’s success?

There will be options aplenty if Long does have to pull the trigger on Petrino.  But for now, it still looks like he’s doing all that he can to keep from doing that.

Atlanta Falcons fans are loving it.  Tommy Tuberville-backers are loving it.  And a lot of Arkansas fans are torn over it.

Bobby Petrino’s admission yesterday that he wrecked his motorcycle while riding with a 25-year-old woman he’d just hired into his football program leaves some fans defending their coach — he’s winning games, after all — and others ready to hurl their Bibles at him.

Below is a quick look at what’s being written about the topic this morning:


1.  As you already know, Petrino has been placed on paid leave.

2.  The coach could be in violation of the university’s policy on sexual harrassment.

3.  Here is Petrino’s two paragraph statement from last night in its entirety.

4.  Assistant head coach and linebackers coach Taver Johnson — the newest member of the Razorback staff — has been put in charge of the program for the time being.

5.  The University of Arkansas has “a public relations nightmare” on its hands.

6.  Here’s the official police report.

7.  Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com says Petrino’s career should not survive because he will no longer be able to recruit.

Complete with a scuffed up face and a neckbrace, Bobby Petrino admitted that he was “very fortunate” and felt “very lucky to be here” during a press conference in Fayetteville yesterday afternoon.

Arkansas’ football coach survived a helmet-less — how unnecessarily stupid! — motorcycle crash on Sunday, but was out of the hospital and back to work yesterday.  He suffered four broken ribs, a cracked vertebrae and a neck sprain.

The neckbrace will be part of his look for the next couple of weeks.





Petrino wasn’t the only returnee to practice yesterday.  Offensive line Jason Peacock was reinstated to the football team on Tuesday following a recent arrest for buying $35.01 worth of gasoline from a debit card reported stolen by a classmate.  (They set those pumps up so that .00 rolls over to .01 more quickly, don’t they?)

Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino has been hospitalized following a motorcycle crash last night.  According to police this morning, Petrino’s cycle veered of a highway and no other vehicles were involved in the wreck.  A police spokesman said Petrino was taken to a hospital in Washington County last night but that he did not know the coach’s condition or whether he is still hospitalized.

Sources told ESPN.com’s Joe Schad that the coach “did not suffer life-threatening injuries and is expected to recover.”  A “source close to Petrino” told Schad that Petrino is “pretty banged up.”

Tom Murphy of The Arkansas Democrat Gazette has tweeted the following:


“Source close to situation said Bobby Petrino had multiple broken ribs, “all kinds of cuts and bruises,” neck sprain, but going to be OK.”


Petrino is “an avid motorcycle enthusiast” according to the AP report.  The crash happened about 7:45pm ET last night about 23 miles southeast of Fayetteville. 

Arkansas’ coach is expected to try to return to practice as soon as possible, but no one knows how long it will take him to recover.

Bobby Petrino is a lucky man.

The SEC commissioner is remaining mum.  Missouri’s football coach says he’s been told permanent rivals haven’t been discussed by the league’s ADs.  Meanwhile, the presidents of South Carolina and Texas A&M say they’re looking forward to a new year-in, year-out rivalry.

And what does Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino say about the potential of picking up Mizzou as a yearly rival?


“It would make sense.  It would makes sense in a lot of areas.  We’re the closest two (SEC) teams on this side of the country. … We’re going to battle in recruiting.  We’ll play in all other sports besides football.  It would only make sense.  Therefore, I hope we do it.”


All-time, Missouri holds a 3-2 advantage over the Arkansas on the gridiron.  The two programs have met twice since 2003 in bowl games.

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino won’t visit wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham at his home on Thursday night.

Petrino inadvertently bumped into Green-Beckham when they were both in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this month. The decision not to visit Green-Beckham is to avoid a potential NCAA violation.

“No violation has occurred and we are taking proactive steps we feel necessary to avoid any risk of one,” Arkansas said in a statement.

The decision to not make an in-home visit shouldn’t have an effect on the decision of Green-Beckham, who took an official visit to Arkansas last weekend.

Green-Beckham, who is also considering Missouri and Texas, is considered by many to be leaning toward signing with Arkansas.

Yesterday, we kicked off the week by showing you Joe Adams’ ridiculous 60-yard punt return for an Arkansas touchdown last weekend.  We weren’t the only ones still wowed by the play.

“It’s an unbelievable play,” Bobby Petrino said yesterday.  “It’s an amazing play.  It reminds you of the one he made early in the year when he took that one back for a touchdown.  So, tremendous athletic ability.  Great toughness and an unbelievable play.”  (You can watch both returns here.)

The Razorbacks are second in the SEC in punt return average, tops in kickoff return average.  They also rank first in the league in punting. 

Those facts aren’t lost on Petrino.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been around (a return game) that’s done as well as we have this year with the big plays, the consistency, making the opponent punt the ball out of bounds or punt it short.  It’s all played into our favor for sure.”

Seventeen Arkansas seniors will play their final game in Fayetteville tomorrow and Bobby Petrino has a special place in his heart for the lot of them:


“It’s a special class for me because we all came in together, we went through some hard times, we stuck together, kept battling.  I always think back on that first year when things weren’t going well, but these guys came to practice eager to learn, eager to work, eager to get better and we did that, and we kept improving as the year went on.  We build it a step further the following year, and then went to a BCS bowl game last year, so this class had done a lot for this football program.”


Petrino’s 2008 class was ranked #36 by Rivals.com at the time with six 4-star players and 10 3-stars.  Since arriving at Arkansas they’ve gone 5-7, 8-5, 10-3 (with a bogus loss to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl), and are now 8-1 and ranked in the BCS Top 10.

Not too shabby for what was considered to be a so-so recruiting class.