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Vince Tyra’s comments lack vote of confidence to Bobby Petrino

By Presley Meyer

LOUISVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 05: Head coach Bobby Petrino of the Louisville Cardinals talks to Jawon Pass #4 in the first half of the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Cardinal Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 05: Head coach Bobby Petrino of the Louisville Cardinals talks to Jawon Pass #4 in the first half of the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Cardinal Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Vince Tyra’s first public comments on Louisville football head coach Bobby Petrino don’t bode well for the future of the head coach.

Louisville Athletic Director Vince Tyra made his first public comments on the future of football coach Bobby Petrino on Thursday, and they seem to have a rather unpropitious undertone.

“Most times in the past- you get the dreaded vote of confidence from the athletic director,” said the Athletic’s Matt Fortuna on The Drive with Mark Ennis, speaking about his experience interviewing athletic directors under similar circumstances.  “Vince took a more rational approach by saying ‘we will evaluate at the end of the season.'”

In speaking with Fortuna, Tyra was very up front and open, stating clearly that nobody expected Louisville’s situation to be this dire this quickly, but that they were going to handle it when the timing is right.

“I’ve been clear with our media that once the season wraps up, we’ll do a full assessment of the year, and like we do every other sport (with) the head coaches that I’ve been doing since I’ve been in this role,” Tyra said. “I had that opportunity last year at the end of last year with Bobby and will have it again this year. So, I don’t have any preconceived notions today that I’m trying to decide the outcome of Bobby. I don’t think that’s fair to him or anyone in the program, to do that today.”

Fortuna mentioned on The Drive that Tyra cited his business background as a big reason why he is handling the situation the way he has. Tyra said you have to be even-keeled and not let the public make decisions based on emotions and fan opinion.

More from Louisville Cardinals News

Tyra was very up front about his displeasure for this season, but he also approaches the situation with logically and thoughtfully.

“I’m pretty thoughtful about when we need to look at things, and I think that we’re going to run this season out and we’ve still got five games left to make some improvements and hopefully we’ll see that. But we’re not meeting the coaches’, the players’ or anyone’s expectations today on where we thought we’d be. Certainly, I don’t think when we started the season that the staff, the players, the administration thought we’d be 2-5.”

If you want to read the full article, as well as an interesting quote from a former Louisville assistant, you can find it here.

Tyra’s approach to any controversy at Louisville is much different than that of a typical athletic director. Most AD’s in this sort of situation are trained to be hyper-aware that everyone is watching and reading, and give a vanilla answer in complete support of the struggling coach- regardless of the actual circumstances.

There is no beating around the bush in Tyra’s approach. He makes it very clear that there is a problem, and it is going to be addressed.

This has to be the most concerning part, too, if you are Bobby Petrino. There is no real “I have your back” corniness to be found in Tyra’s comments- and why should there be? Petrino has been unable to execute at his job, but what is troubling is his lack of trust from coaches and players. Petrino’s staff has had a higher turnover rate the last five years than the McDonald’s on Floyd Street. Almost anyone who is a good coordinator or positions coach doesn’t want to get within 100 miles of Louisville football right now- history speaks for itself.

Petrino’s recruiting classes continue to bring in less talent, the talent Louisville does have remains undeveloped, and the product on the field is beginning to reflect what he has built since 2014. Guys like Lamar Jackson and Jaire Alexander were band aids on past teams that helped cover up the poor discipline Petrino and his staff have instilled (or failed to instill) in his second stint.

Now, the only option seems to be a clean slate for the Cards. Petrino’s most notable staff members consist of his son, his son-in-law, his other son-in-law, a defensive coordinator who couldn’t find a job anywhere else (which Matt Fortuna pointed out multiple times), and former players. Moral is low, and this staff couldn’t fire up a group of teenage girls with Taylor Swift tickets.

UK’s success makes losing season that much harder. dark. Next

It’s time for a change at Louisville, and Vince Tyra knows it. The writing is on the wall, and a new tenure is on the horizon for Louisville football. It will be a very expensive decision to make, as we are all aware of the $14+ million buyout that will be owed to Bobby Petrino if a decision to move on is made. But with the future of the program on the line, I believe we can all trust that Vince Tyra will make the right decision.

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