Larry Brown Sports

Bobby Petrino did an impressive job revitalizing the Arkansas football program and was on his way to making the Razorbacks a force in the SEC until he was busted for his motorcycle scandal in April 2012. The school fired him for his inappropriate relationship with a co-worker, lying about it to cover it up, and much more. Arkansas was coming off back-to-back double-digit win seasons, a BCS bowl game appearance, and a Cotton Bowl win, so you know Petrino’s actions were awfully bad for the school to deem them worthy enough to fire him. Combining the Arkansas scandal with the unprofessional way he left the Atlanta Falcons, it was conceivable that Petrino wouldn’t get another head coaching gig.

While Petrino did not coach the 2012 football season, Western Kentucky hired him in December as the replacement for Willie Taggart, who left for South Florida. During an interview with AL.com’s Tommy Hicks, Petrino said he did have some concern that he would not get an opportunity to coach again following the scandal.

Q: Was there a concern that the opportunity to get back in coaching wouldn’t be there for you?

A: Certainly, there was always that concern. I just worked hard and tried to fix things with my family and see what opportunities were going to come about. This one came about really quickly. I appreciated how direct and how aggressively Todd Stewart went about it.

Petrino is gearing up for the 2013 season. Arkansas stumbled to 4-8 under John L. Smith and replaced him with Bret Bielema, who went 68-24 over seven seasons at Wisconsin. I’m guessing it won’t take long for Petrino to dominate the Atlantic Sun Conference.

If there’s one thing we can take away here, it’s that as long as you’re a great football coach, there will probably always be a job for you. What else is new?

Bobby Petrino is out of work and interested in the coaching vacancy at Kentucky, the Courier-Journal reports.

Kentucky announced on Sunday that Joker Phillips would not return as head coach of the football team next season after a 1-9 start to this season. The Wildcats are in the market for a new head coach, and Petrino reportedly is interested in the job.

Petrino has been out of work since being fired by Arkansas in April for his affair with co-worker Jessica Dorrell and attempted coverup of the relationship. Columnist Adam Himmelsbach spoke with Petrino’s father, who says that his son is itching to coach again and that he would love to return to the SEC.

“I know he wants a job; he needs a job … He just misses coaching so much,” Petrino Sr. told the Courier-Journal.

“I just know this, that he’s interested in Kentucky,” the father said. “He wants to stay in the SEC. That was his life’s goal was to go to the SEC.”

It seems like the interest from Kentucky fans is mutual. A poll on WDRB has eight potential head coach replacements listed, and 29% of voters say they want Petrino as the team’s next head coach — more than any other candidate. Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart is second on the poll with 18% of votes.

Though the fans seem to want Petrino, the school may not. Yahoo! Sports’ Pat Forde reported on Sunday that Kentucky is not considering Petrino for the job. But between this report and the fans’ desire, they may reconsider.

Photo credit: Beth Hall-US PRESSWIRE

Arkansas fans are missing Bobby Petrino now that the football team is 3-4 without him as the head coach, but at least they’re able to have some laughs about the scandal that cost him his job. Above is a picture of an Arkansas couple who dressed up as Bobby Petrino and his motorcycle mistress, Jessica Dorrell, for a recent Halloween party.

The lady in the picture is Bridgette Walter, and she says she and her husband, Joey, dressed up as Petrino and Dorrell for what is sure to be a Halloween costume trend in Arkansas. They really nailed it perfectly, too.

Bridgette is rocking the blond wig to resemble Dorrell, and Joey has the neck brace, Arkansas hat with a curved bill, and Arkansas pullover like Petrino. The bruised and scraped face just completes the look perfectly.

Walter tells us her husband also dressed up as Petrino last Halloween, and she dressed as a referee to complement him. She says they decided to follow up on the Petrino costume this year.

Here’s what the real Petrino and Dorrell look like for comparison:

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After being fired last month, Bobby Petrino has seemingly dropped off the face of the earth and for all we know gone into hiding with Sarah Phillips and Gregg Williams. But that’s not stopping an integral part of the Petrino scandal from momentarily returning to the spotlight.

The 2007 “Hawg Wild” Harley Davidson that the philandering former Arkansas coach was riding when he and alleged mistress Jessica Dorrell crashed off the side of a highway last month has been put up for auction and could be yours for less than its value. Granted, there are a few repairs you’ll need to make to the mutilated bike. And by “a few repairs,” we mean $18,000 worth.

The current bid is at $4,600 with the auction ending May 30. According to Copart.com, where you can wager on the bike, the Harley’s estimated value is $16,000.

It doesn’t take a math expert to see that, with the $18 grand you’ll need to make in repairs, you’ll be overpaying for the motorcycle. But this is a bike that has history! Memorabilia collectors who specialize in items shrouded in shame and regret should be all over this one. This is like the Lewinsky dress of college football scandals.

H/T Off the Bench
Photo credit: Beth Hall-US PRESSWIRE

A timeline of the relationship between Jessica Dorrell and Bobby Petrino indicates that the relationship between the two became physical when they kissed last October, and ended when they decided to remain just friends in February.

The timeline became public thanks to notes compiled by Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long that were released to The Associated Press via the Freedom of Information Act. According to Long’s notes, phone records show the two began exchanging and text messages last April or May. They exchanged over 2,000 texts in both September and October, which is when the relationship became physical, according to what was told to Long.

According to Long’s notes, the coach and employee shared their first kiss at Dorrell’s urging. Petrino and Dorrell reportedly were sitting in a car, eating lunch and talking and “she said are you going to kiss me.”

Below is a chart detailing the phone contact between Petrino and Dorrell (via Chris Bahn):

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Bobby Petrino is the gift that keeps on giving. On Wednesday, Deadspin posted records of the former Arkansas football coach’s cell phone activity since September. On Thursday, they posted that Petrino was in regular contact with Alison Melder, a winner of the 2008 Miss Bikini USA and Miss Motorcycle Mania competitions. Deadspin says Petrino traded at least 200 texts with Melder, who is now a senate assistant for the Republican Party of Arkansas, from September-November, though to the best of their research, no calls were exchanged. Oh yeah, and Melder sent Petrino seven picture messages. We’re guessing those pictures weren’t of sample voting ballots.

I only have a few things to say. One, at 51, Petrino was impressively pulling more 20-year-olds than most college guys. Two, how did this guy even find time to coach with all the texting he was doing? And lastly, how dumb could this guy be to do all of his pimping from a university-issued phone knowing the records were available to the public? It’s obvious he thought he could do anything he pleased, but that’s just pure stupidity. You always have separate phones for your mistresses — that’s just common pimp knowledge.

Photo Credit: Beth Hall-US PRESSWIRE

The public is still in the process of learning more about disgraced former Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino‘s relationship with 25-year-old alleged mistress Jessica Dorrell. But on Wednesday, phone records revealed the two had been in contact since at least last September.

The records for Petrino’s university-issued phone were obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (you can see them at Deadspin), and one of the first calls Petrino made back in September was to Dorrell. Since then, countless calls, texts and pictures were shared around the clock between the two on a regular basis. The Associated Press reports Petrino exchanged over 4300 texts and 300 calls with Dorrell since September. Dorrell, a former all-SEC volleyball player for the Razorbacks, was hired to the football program last month.

Last week, Petrino attempted to cover up what he later described as an “inappropriate relationship” with Dorrell, who was a passenger on the coach’s motorcycle when he crashed it April 1.

Records indicate that Petrino and Dorrell spoke for a total of 16 minutes around 3:30 p.m. the day of the accident. Petrino also apparently sent a few text messages during their ride, though it’s unclear if he sent them while driving. After the accident, which occurred approximately at 6:32 p.m., the coach made a handful of calls, including at least one to the off-duty police captain who serves as his security guard during the season and brought Petrino to the hospital alone.

On April 5, the day the police report of the crash was made public, revealing Dorrell’s involvement in the accident and relationship with Petrino, the two shared (by our count) 11 brief phone calls.

As mentioned, these records show just the previous seven months of contact, so it’s unclear how much longer Petrino was making regular contact with Dorrell.

Photo credit: Beth Hall-US PRESSWIRE