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Three Reasons Why Bobby Petrino’s Seat Could Be Getting Warm

By Presley Meyer

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Bobby Petrino’s second Louisville tenure has not lived up to expectations. What his team’s performance in 2018 could mean for the coach’s future.

After a lackluster 2017 season, Louisville football supporters are left with a lot of questions about what is to come for the program.

Louisville loses it’s best player of all time (Lamar Jackson), two senior running backs (Reggie Bonnafon and Malik Williams), a top 20 draft pick at corner (Jaire Alexander), and a slew of late round draft picks and free agent signees on both sides of the ball. Additionally, Louisville will be operating under its third defensive coordinator in 3 years when well-traveled DC Brian VanGorder takes the helm. For any team that could mean a rebuilding year is coming, and many around the program expect just that from the Cards in 2018.

At least one thing Louisville faithful can rest assured about is the fact that head coach Bobby Petrino will be at the helm once again. Right?

Traditionally, Petrino’s return would bring a sigh of relief to the fan base. In his first tenure at Louisville, Petrino was the epitome of consistency, going 41-9 in 4 seasons of coaching. Additionally, Petrino was known for his high flying passing and hard-hitting rushing attack, often genius-like offensive prowess, and knack for having the right game plan against quality or ranked opponents. Petrino capped off his two best seasons at Louisville with bowl victories against undefeated Boise State in the 2004 Liberty Bowl, and ACC Champions Wake Forest in the 2007 Orange Bowl. Petrino went on to have similar success at Arkansas, (finishing ranked 12th in 2010, and 5th in 2011) and catapulting Western Kentucky to immediate success.

Petrino’s return to Louisville was met with mixed reviews. On one hand, Petrino’s life was filled with questionable (at best) personal decisions. Not to mention that he had a tendency to flirt with other programs no matter what level he coached on.

On the other hand, it was Bobby (*freaking*) Petrino: the coach who helped solidify Louisville as a national contender. The guy who made Louisville football must-see TV. The man who blacked out West Virginia, ran it up against Cincinnati, gave Kentucky “what they wanted,” stiff-armed Miami into irrelevancy. BCS Bob. The best offensive mastermind of the early 2000’s. Did I mention he hates UK?

Of course people wanted him back. Questionable past be damned, Bobby Petrino is a hero to many in Louisville, Kentucky. And rightfully so. He made Louisville football cool in his first tenure.

Bobby Petrino in his second tenure, however, has been a different story. Let’s not mince words here, there are still flashes of brilliance. There are still plays that make you think “now THAT is ‘Bobby Ball.'” There are times when a tight end inexplicably gets wide open in the back of the end zone, a running back has an 8 yard space to run through, or just the right decision is made at just the right time, and it takes you back to the days of old.

But, those moments have been few, and far between. If The University of Louisville wants their football program to take the next step towards becoming an elite program, things need to change. And, if they ever want to bring the program to the level of Florida State and Clemson, and compete for national titles, they have to set the bar higher for their leadership.

When September arrives and football is here once again, here are three reasons why Bobby Petrino should be on the hot seat:

Petrino Has a Rough Record vs Ranked Teams

Against lesser competition under Petrino, for the most part his second tenure teams have gotten the job done. However, against ranked teams, Petrino has not risen to the occasion. In his four seasons since returning to Louisville, his teams are a combined 1-10 against ranked opponents. They are 0-7 in competition against ranked opponents on the road. Not only this, but Petrino’s teams have not come close in most contests.

Petrino’s best wins in his second tenure at Louisville are the opening game of his first season vs Miami, a win at Notre Dame, and the memorable beat down of then-No. 2 Florida State. When pressed, though, to find the fourth best win in Petrino’s second stint, it would be a pretty average win. Maybe his lone bowl victory since his return against a fading Texas A&M team? At Florida State in 2017 against a team that won 7 games? It is hard to put your finger on, but it becomes a problem when one of your top-5 wins in a four year span is against a team that had to add a game mid-season to make a bowl.

Louisville’s best win, hands down, under Petrino (part 2) was that 63-20 beat-down of an extremely talented FSU team. But, if you remove that outlier and average the other 10 games (all losses) against ranked opponents, Louisville lost by an average score of 35.9-24.6. Louisville is losing to ranked opponents by more than a touchdown and a field goal in Petrino’s second tenure. Not only that but, in losses, good teams have Petrino’s offense figured out. They have barely been able to muster 3 touchdowns against ranked foes, even when you include the five TD’s they put up against Clemson in 2016.

Louisville Still Struggled with the Best Player in the Country

When you consider the 1-10 record against teams that are ranked, it can also not be discounted that the Cards have dropped some games that good teams and elite coaches should never lose. When considering this, also remember that Louisville has let lesser teams hang around, or even lead well into the second half of games.

In 2016, Louisville got off to a blazing start, destroying Syracuse, No. 2 FSU, and going toe-to-toe with the eventual national champion Clemson Tigers in a game that came down to the last play. The Cardinals rose to No. 3 in the country and looked like they belonged. Since October of 2016 though, Louisville has never really looked great. And, to be honest, they don’t have much of an excuse. After the loss to Clemson, they barely got past an average Duke team at home, trailed in the fourth quarter against an abysmal Wake Forest team, got destroyed by Houston, embarrassed at home by a bad Kentucky team, and held touchdownless by LSU. Moving to 2017, Louisville was still never the same team. They escaped with a win over Purdue, were handled easily by Clemson, never lead against NC State, gave up 45 points at home to a bad Boston College team in a loss, allowed 42 in a loss to Wake Forest, and lost to Mississippi State.

All told, Louisville has lost 8 out of it’s last 16 games (half of which were to unranked teams), and Lamar Jackson played in all of them.

Lamar Jackson is a transcendent player. He is a talent that is once in a generation in college football. Even if he never has success in the NFL, he broke dozens of college football and university records. Yet, while he was at Louisville, Petrino’s teams were average.

This, of course, is not a complete indictment of Petrino. There were two different defensive coordinators over that time span (Todd Grantham and Peter Sirmon) who were responsible for a lot of touchdowns given up. That being said, for a guy that is the 21st highest-paid coach in college football at $3.5 million (with $1.5 million in potential bonuses), going 8-8 over any span is something that is going to put you on the hot seat.

Petrino May Not Have the Backing He Once Had

Perhaps the most supportive- and instrumental- person in helping bring Petrino back to Louisville was Tom Jurich. The former AD ensured Coach Petrino’s loyalty would remain with Louisville by adding an $8.5 million buyout clause to his contract. The unprecedented move, however, was made less effective when Jurich left and Petrino’s buyout was cut in half. This means that it would be not only more enticing for Petrino to leave, if he wished, but also makes it more enticing for the school to part ways with him as his contract comes closer to expiring.

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Petrino was welcomed back without much hesitation by many who are close to the program. However, as the feeling that comes with the winning and success fades, the blemishes of Petrino’s past begin to weigh heavier on a university already on it’s last legs. The issues at the University of Louisville are no secret: a former president inundated in multiple scandals, an unorganized state government, a sloppily thrown together board of trustees, a basketball program surrounded by violations, and FBI investigations. The last thing the school needs is another blemish on it’s record. The university is doing a better job of not only saving face and generating positive PR, but it is also making the right hires: President Neeli Bendapudi, Athletic Director Vince Tyra, and Men’s Basketball Coach Chris Mack join an already great group of people in the athletic department.

And then there’s Petrino.

Voted by multiple publications as the no.1 most disliked coach in college football, Petrino’s past is full of mistakes. Labeled as untrustworthy, because of his decisions to always move elsewhere, a cheater because of personal infidelities, and a bad person in general due to his unpleasant demeanor with fans, players, and media alike, Petrino has tried to help his image as best as possible during his second tenure. He is much more “jovial” with the media (if you want to call it that), seems to be more family oriented while helping raise his grandchildren and family- who still live in Louisville- and, most of all, seems to go easier on his players on the sideline.

However, as much as Petrino has his life turned around, he is still the one obvious weak link for a university and athletic department in need of a serious PR face lift. With his top backer, Tom Jurich, gone, and a new regime taking over at the university, it may be now or never for Petrino.

As much as it feels like Bobby Petrino is the right coach at the University of Louisville, his recent record would indicate that he is on the decline. With a poor record since returning- even while having the best player in school history- and a poor reputation, Petrino might not have time for a rebuilding year.

Believe it or not, Petrino needs to right the ship now for the Cardinals football program, or he may be on the coaching job market once again. Only, this time, it won’t be by choice.

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