Bobby Petrino to...

Doesn't matter. For two years they'll get top notch low qualifying athletes that will raise their program for the next three years. WIN - WIN for WKU!

wesfau2 · « **Reply #7 on:** December 10, 2012, 03:09:28 PM »

He's not taking over a dumpster fire of a program. Taggart left him in good shape.

Bobby will win quickly. Good for him.

AUTailgatingRules · « **Reply #8 on:** December 10, 2012, 03:34:09 PM »

I was wrong (if this is true) and Bobby got a job. Good luck WKU

Buzz Killington · « **Reply #9 on:** December 10, 2012, 06:51:58 PM »

I'm too lazy to look it up...where did Willie Taggart go?

Townhallsavoy · « **Reply #10 on:** December 10, 2012, 06:52:46 PM »

Quote from: AUChizad on December 10, 2012, 01:14:20 PM

I predict they will win lots of football games.

And celebrate. And be happy. And never once mention his scandalous past.

The Six · « **Reply #11 on:** December 10, 2012, 07:34:41 PM »

Quote from: Buzz Killington on December 10, 2012, 06:51:58 PM

I'm too lazy to look it up...where did Willie Taggart go?

University of South Florida

Tiger Wench · « **Reply #12 on:** December 11, 2012, 12:18:14 AM »

Yeah, well these are the SI.com headlines - Stewart Mandel is a tool but he gets readers -- so there but for the grace of God goes Auburn.

Quote

Bobby Petrino's hire at WKU shows emphasis on winning above all else

Story Highlights

Ex-Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino has been hired to take over Western Kentucky
The move is the latest reminder of programs' emphasis on winning over integrity
WKU will receive backlash, but move will bring newfound media attention to team

It's no surprise that Bobby Petrino is returning to a college sideline less than a year after his scandalous ouster at Arkansas. Petrino may be a complete sleazeball, but he wins football games, which takes precedence over almost everything else on most campuses.

The surprise to me is that so many desperate, higher-profile programs showed such restraint. If you'd asked me in October about Petrino's most likely 2013 destination, I'd have said Kentucky. It almost made too much sense, with Petrino's SEC experience and his ties to the state as a former coach at Louisville. But Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart never seriously considered the disgraced 51 year old. Nor did SEC counterparts Tennessee and Auburn.

Quote

If all of this makes you want to vomit, then you're living under the fantasy notion that winning with integrity is still a priority in college sports. It is in a few places, but one needs to only follow the recent conference realignment wars to know that ego and/or desperation drives most decisions these days. And it's not like anyone in power is stepping in to stop it.

AUownsU · « **Reply #13 on:** December 11, 2012, 09:15:48 AM »

So much for the media outrage and smearing of WKU's name...

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/12/scarbinsky_honestly_western_ke.html

Quote

During the question-and-answer session Monday, Stewart cut to the chase about why he was sitting next to Petrino when so many other ADs wouldn't even walk into the same room with him.

"We hired him because he's an outstanding football coach," Stewart said. "That's why we hired him."

For those two sentences alone, Stewart may be the most honest AD in America. And for hiring Petrino, for making the best hire possible for the right reasons, Western Kentucky may be the most honest football program in the country.

They had an opportunity to hire the best unemployed college football coach in the country, and they took it.

And why not? If his wife has given Petrino a second chance, why shouldn't a college football program?

Stewart and Western Kentucky did what Auburn, Tennessee and Kentucky wouldn't when they searched for coaches in recent weeks. Instead of insulting Petrino in a 22-minute phone conversation, as the Auburn search committee did last Monday, when it ignored his offer to fly him and his wife at their expense to meet with the committee, Stewart said he had numerous phone conversations with Petrino throughout the day Saturday.

"He was candid in ways he didn't have to be," Stewart said. "He volunteered some information before I had a chance to ask."

Stewart said, after those conversations and others with people that know Petrino, "I'm convinced he's a better man and a better coach today."

For his part, Petrino seemed uncomfortable at first, back in the spotlight, anticipating the difficult questions to come. He folded and unfolded his hands and fiddled with his notes while Stewart sang his praises, but as the questions rolled on, he warmed up.

He mentioned his wife, Becky, more than once and said taking the Western Kentucky job was "a family decision." He said he's spent the last eight months "working with my family, trying to make things right with my wife." That work, he said, has included counseling.

As for his ability to recruit given his personal mistakes, Petrino talked about giving his players second chances. He cited one example with an unnamed Arkansas player who stayed on the team and went on to graduate.

That player, Petrino said, "showed that you're defined by what you do after you make a mistake, not by the mistake."

Right now, Petrino is a better coach than Strong, a better coach than Jones, a better coach than Malzahn. To be blunt, Auburn hired a coach it believes can deliver the kind of results that Petrino's already produced.

He's going to win at Western Kentucky. Don't be surprised if he wins his way back into the SEC in three years because SEC programs care more about winning than anything else, too. They're just not always as honest about it as Western Kentucky was Monday

Btw, the 22 minute conversation should be reason alone to get JJ's ass fired. WTF, was the point besides to burn another bridge like he did with Muschamp?

CCTAU · « **Reply #14 on:** December 11, 2012, 11:08:06 AM »

Quote from: AUownsU on December 11, 2012, 09:15:48 AM

So much for the media outrage and smearing of WKU's name...

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/12/scarbinsky_honestly_western_ke.html

Btw, the 22 minute conversation should be reason alone to get JJ's ass fired. WTF, was the point besides to burn another bridge like he did with Muschamp?

OK. This goes at the bottom of the list. Mark this exhibit #2123!

I wonder how many reasons we'll have listed BEFORE this guy goes?

AWK · « **Reply #15 on:** December 11, 2012, 11:59:06 AM »

He will never get a job...ever... Read the creed, etc...

JR4AU · « **Reply #16 on:** December 11, 2012, 12:29:39 PM »

Quote from: AWK on December 11, 2012, 11:59:06 AM

He will never get a job...ever... Read the creed, etc...

WiregrassTiger · « **Reply #17 on:** December 11, 2012, 04:41:51 PM »

Quote from: AWK on December 11, 2012, 11:59:06 AM

He will never get a job...ever... Read the creed, etc...

Is WKU considered a job or is it on a volunteer basis?

GH2001 · « **Reply #18 on:** December 11, 2012, 09:01:04 PM »

Quote from: WiregrassTiger on December 11, 2012, 04:41:51 PM

Is WKU considered a job or is it on a volunteer basis?

They have about a .600 all time winning percentage, 1 fcs national title and 11 conf titles. Not exactly notre dame or bama but it's a pretty good program.

JR4AU · « **Reply #19 on:** December 11, 2012, 09:26:19 PM »

Quote from: WiregrassTiger on December 11, 2012, 04:41:51 PM

Is WKU considered a job or is it on a volunteer basis?

It's a start. If he wins, and keeps his dick in his pants, he'll be back in the BCS in less than 4 years.