The House of Blue

There's a few in either camp that lash out but for the most part i think the fan base is just being supportive of their particular choice. Me personally, I want immediate gratification and I believe there are only a couple of the candidates that offer that. On the other hand I also want long term success as a whole so i don't think any candidate should be eliminated with out consultation.

Because the UK football program is in need of a proven, can't lose, type of coach if we ever want to compete at a higher level, and Petrino is the only viable candidate that fits the bill. We not only need a mastermind of a coach, but one who can either recruit 4 and 5 stars to UK, or win in the SEC with 3 stars. Petrino has proven he can do that!

For the first time in my lifetime, we had the type of sucess under Brooks that primed us to hire a big time coach that could build on his sucess and take us to the next level. We failed to do so, and instead, destroyed the program, regressing, and returning to a curry like status.

As bad as that was, and as great of an opportunity missed, the football Gods have given us an opportunity to redeem ourselves by hiring a caalibre of coach that would normally not even consider a program like UK. This is a once in a lifetime chacnce to get the kind of coach that we normally cannot. We let the Bear go, and we let UL's dying program be resurected by Schnelly, our own former player, rather than hire him ourselves. Will we pass a third time on the opportunity to make ourselves a viable football program? Probably, cause when it comes to UK football, that's just what we do.

UK fans have been moving on from such discussions for as long as I can remember. The results are undeniable. I'm glad posters aren't letting this go and are finally holding the UKAA and hopefully the BOT accountable. Regardless of whether you want Petrino or not, the push down economics and cavalier attitude of the administration and specifically MB toward the fan base is beyond disturbing. MB isn't going to consider Petrino, so we should just all move on and let it go? To me it is not an exercise in futility but rather painting the picture, so to say.

On that note, MB is going to assume culpability with this hire, for better or worse. He's obviously annointed himself an army of one and is refusing to seriously consider any serious suggestions or wishes from other alumni and boosters. Maybe he hits a homerun, but I wouldn't bet on it. And removing coaches like Petrino immediately from consideration more than likely mean the consequences are obvious...

Bobby Petrino is no more a guaranteed success at UK than many other candidates. Nothing in his history has shown he can take a poor program to greatness. Add this in to the valid reasons that administrators may have for not hiring him and he doesn't look all that attractive.

The legend of Bobby Petrino since his firing from Arkansas has grown to epic proportions, but the actual facts do not back up the legend.

In the five years prior to BP, the University of Louisville was 41-21 (25-9) and went to 5 straight bowl games. In the four years BP was there, Louisville was 41-9 (24-6) and went to 4 bowl games, including the Orange Bowl. Bear in mind that a BCS bowl was not an option for the John L. Smith era due to conference affiliation, despite the 2001 Cardinals going 11-2 (6-1). So BP did not take over a team that was mediocre in any realistic sense of the word, he took over a team that was having success and improved on that success marginally. He went to a BCS bowl game due to conference affiliation changes, not his immense coaching improvement over Smith.

In the 10 years prior to BP, Arkansas was 75-46 (42-36) under Houston Nutt, going to 8 bowl games in the process. Arkansas won the SEC West twice outright, and shared the West title two other times in that period. The bowl games included the Cotton Bowl three times and the Citrus (now Capital One) Bowl twice. BP at Arkansas was 34-17 (17-15) and went to two major bowl games (Cotton and Sugar) along with an additional Liberty bowl game. BP never won or tied for the division title.

There is absolutely zero evidence that Petrino can turn around a program, despite the vehement conviction of those who feel he is the only one who can. He has never taken a program that was bad, or even mediocre, and done anything special with it. He has taken two programs that were enjoying success and improved on that success to varying degrees.

By the same criteria, Butch Jones has much the same resume as Petrino, absent a stint in the SEC. There are several other coaches being mentioned in the search that have a much stronger resume when it comes to improving a program from the bottom. Jones and the other coaches mentioned in the search also have the benefit of not having left their prior employer due to legal concerns.

I'm not "scolding" the person who started the thread. I just know exactly where this thread will go, which is the same place 100 other threads have gone in the past two weeks. I'm know that wasn't the original poster's intention, and he clearly wasn't advocating Petrino, but that's where it'll end up, good intentions or not.

IMO, the conversation should be shifting to realistic candidates at this point. Bobby Petrino isn't a realistic candidate.

The cruel irony is that Petrino is the coach with the least amount of risk ON the football field. But like Howard years ago, the UKAA is choosing to focus on the risk associated with his personal past. It is deja vu and just once, I wish UK would throw some caution to the wind with football and play to win, or at least seriously entertain the idea...

The UKAA still won't listen to Howard, who has forgotten more about football and building programs than our brass will ever know. Way to treat your own expert.

It will be more of the same and you can just see the train coming from miles away.

Great post.

I really don't think anybody wants Petrino--they want Calipari on Pitino on the football field. They want one guy to come along and make it all better. That's extremely rare in football and it's pretty rare in basketball, too, unless you have the support, facilities, money, tradition, etc. that you find only at one of the handful of premiere programs in the country.

Matt, when you say Petrino isn't going to happen - Does this mean UK is not interested in Petrino or Petrino is not interested in UK? Is this your opinion or something you have heard Barnhart or someone in the know say? Just curious.

Who would be your pick out of a list of realistic choices for the UK job? Thanks in advance. GO CATS!!!

Did anyone ever think that quite possibly, Petrino would not have any desire to come here? What if Mitch did offer him the job and he said thanks, but, no thanks? Would MB still get hammered by all the BP lovers who felt he was the only choice we could make and had to make it or Mitch is a failure? IMO, I think BP and Auburn have already struck up a deal, behind closed doors and they're just waiting for the season to end to make it known, so, I don't feel BP was ever really a player with UK..I could be wrong, but, that's what I think..

History tells you the future? What a unique talent.

So there is no evidence Petrino can build a program, so where is the evidence that he can't? He is the best name out there. MB should have went all in from the get go if he was serious about taking UK football to the next level.

It is obvious he isn't, no matter what any media or website editors will tell you, until MB makes a serious move to upgrade the football program there is no evidence it is on his priority list.

Bobby Petrino is the best in the business at the following:

Putting together a game plan
Finding and exposing a teams weakness
Play calling.

That is why he is so good with average talent. His hard nose coaching and discipline added in puts his teams in posittion to compete in almost every game.

Not to mention he would change the loser mentality around the football program immediatley.

That is the bottom line.

None of that can be argued.