Bobby Petrino Fired: Jessica Dorrell Scandal Costs Arkansas Head Coach His Job

Bobby Petrino is no longer the head football coach at the University of Arkansas.

Mere days after the university announced that Petrino had been placed on paid administrative leave (via Sports Illustrated), it decided that the best course of action was to part ways with Petrino completely.

ESPN's Joe Schad was the first two report the news:

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Bobby Petrino is out at Arkansas

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) April 10, 2012"

The 51-year-old Petrino landed in hot water last week because he failed to mention that he was riding with a female passenger half his age when he crashed his motorcycle on Sunday, April 1st. It wasn't until the police report was released a few days after the accident that everyone, including Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long, became familiar with the name Jessica Dorrell.

Subsequently, Petrino was forced into admitting that he'd had an "inappropriate relationship" with the 25-year-old Dorrell, a former Arkansas volleyball player. The situation looked even worse considering the fact that Petrino had just hired Dorrell to serve as a student-athlete development coordinator for the football team.

The plot thickened when Long addressed the media at a news conference on Tuesday. Clay Travis of OutkicktheCoverage.com was one of many who was kind enough to collect all the key points.

For starters, Long was quick to point out that Petrino had his chances to be truthful about the accident, and he wasn't:

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Long: Petrino had multiple opportunities over a four day period to be forthcoming. He chose not to.

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravisBGID) April 11, 2012"

Concerning Petrino's hiring of Dorrell, Long says that Petrino violated university policy:

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Long says Dorrell was one of 159 applicants for job and Petrino never disclosed this connection. Violated university policy.

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravisBGID) April 11, 2012"

Worse, Long says that a job wasn't the only thing Petrino gave Dorrell:

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Long says Petrino also gave Dorrell $20k in cash.

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravisBGID) April 11, 2012"

It all boils down to this:

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Long: Coach Petrino abused his authority when he made a staff hire that benefited himself and jeopardized integrity of football program.

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravisBGID) April 11, 2012"

This is not the first controversial exit of Petrino's career. His departure from Louisville in 2007 came less than a year after he signed a 10-year contract with the university, and he departed the Atlanta Falcons in 2007 with three games still left to play in the regular season. He famously informed Falcons players of his resignation by leaving letters in their lockers.

Petrino enjoyed some nice success in his brief time at Arkansas. He took the Razorbacks to the Sugar Bowl following the 2010 season and led them to a win in the Cotton Bowl after an 11-win season in 2011.

For his career, Petrino owns a 75-26 career record in the college ranks.