Arkansas Football: The Players Are the Real Losers in This Bobby Petrino Mess

Bobby Petrino lost his job. Jeff Long lost his head coach. Arkansas Razorbacks fans lost the guy they thought could lead them to the promised land. There's is a lot lost in this Arkansas ordeal, yet their is one clear loser in all of this. Outside of Petrino's family, there is one group of people with more tied to this on a personal level than anyone.

The Arkansas Razorbacks football team.

Those guys on that roster that are going through spring ball. Those incoming freshman who bought into winning an SEC Championship. Those young men are the ones who are going to have the toughest time in the immediate future.

Coaching transitions suck. They're awkward moves that really turn a program on its ear from the players' perspective. An interim coach might maintain a similar culture, but he is not the same guy that they signed up to play for when they elected to come to the school. A new coach is not going to be Bobby Petrino, regardless of how highly touted he is when he walks through the door.

Going into year five, these were all Petrino kids. Each one of them chose to play for Coach Petrino. Each one of their families sent them to Fayetteville, Arkansas with the idea that Petrino would be part of their growing process.

Now, that coach is gone. Don't cry for Jeff Long, he did what he had to do. He pulled the trigger like a boss is supposed to do in this situation. Right now, he's paying the cost to be the boss. Don't cry for Razorback fans. They will get a new coach, he'll win some ball games and they will all move on.

If you're going to get upset and be sad, aim that in the direction of the players. They're the guys who should draw your sympathy. Everyone from the Tyler Wilson and Knile Davis that everyone knows to the last walk-on on that roster has just had their lives turned upside down by the selfish actions of their coach.

It is clear that Petrino wasn't exactly thinking about his family when he got involved with  . It is also clear he wasn't thinking about anyone but himself when he built this fantastic lie to conceal his actions. He might have been thinking, "I don't want my wife to find out." He might have been thinking, "I don't want the media to find out." But, in the end, everyone found out.

Now Petrino is out of a job. His players, the guys who trusted not just their football careers but their futures to his care, are out of a coach. The Arkansas Razorbacks' players are left to look within as they try to pick up the pieces and rally to finish the spring.

Watching Arkansas in 2012 will be interesting to see. In 2011 we saw both the Ohio State Buckeyes and the North Carolina Tar Heels operate without their expected head coaches. Arkansas might just be the best squad asked to perform this lofty task without the man who assembled them. We'll also get a chance to see how Jeff Long approaches the next task on his plate. No, not finding a new head coach. The next task is what to do with the 24 kids in the 2012 recruiting class that signed on to play with Bobby Petrino.