Bobby Petrino: Why Disgraced Arkansas Head Coach Must Step Down Immediately

After a motorcycle crash involving a 25-year-old female employee, the career of Arkansas head football coach Bobby Petrino has come to a screeching halt. Now, it's up to Petrino to end his tenure with the Razorbacks completely.

In what has turned into a very odd series of events, the 51-year-old Petrino was involved in a motorcycle crash on Sunday. It resulted in many bumps, bruises and scrapes, as well as having to wear a neck brace, but it appeared as though Petrino was lucky. The more information that comes out, however, the worse things look for the embattled coach.

According to the Associated Press, Petrino and the university didn't initially disclose that Petrino was riding with a female passenger. That passenger was former Arkansas volleyball player Jessica Dorrell, who was hired by Petrino as a student-athlete development coordinator on March 28.

The full extent of Petrino's involvement with Dorrell has yet to be disclosed, but according to the report, Petrino didn't mention Dorrell following the crash so he could prevent an "inappropriate relationship from becoming public." Inappropriate could mean a lot of things, but one can infer that Petrino, who is married with four children, has been caught in a very bad situation.

If Petrino was unfaithful, then that reflects badly upon him as a person, but it shouldn't be enough to cost him his job. Everything related to Petrino's inappropriate involvement with Dorrell should be, though. When you consider that Petrino himself was responsible for Dorrell's hiring, it calls into question his motives.

Was Dorrell hired because she was right for the job, or was she hired because he was already involved or hoping to be involved in an inappropriate relationship with her? That is certainly the most interesting question that needs answering, and if Petrino is hiring people for important positions within the program for his own personal gain, then that is most definitely disgraceful.

Also, Petrino's failure to mention Dorrell being involved in the crash reflects quite badly on the University of Arkansas. It now looks like Arkansas was trying to cover things up, but the reality is that Petrino only told half the story. He was obviously trying to save his own bacon, but in the process he has just come out looking even worse than had he been upfront about it.

Rather than possibly being fired by the university for his transgressions, Petrino would be best off stepping down. He is currently on paid administrative leave, but he can't stay there forever. Eventually he would have to rejoin the team and at that point he would be bombarded with questions about Dorrell.

Rather than further ruining the University of Arkansas' reputation and putting his family through a difficult ordeal, Petrino would be best off stepping down as soon as possible. It's going to be very tough for him to bounce back from this situation, and Arkansas administrators, players and fans simply wouldn't look at him in the same light ever again.