Bobby Petrino: Predicting Where Ex-Arkansas Coach Will Work Next

Thanks to his own dishonesty, Bobby Petrino finds himself out of work, looking for both a job and friends.

You may have heard about what happened to Petrino, the now-former head football at the University of Arkansas. He crashed his motorcycle on April 1 and was happy-go-lucky a few days later. Then it was revealed that he lied about having his mistress as a passenger on said motorcycle, and that led to his firing.

If you need to get caught up, I've actually written out a complete timeline of Petrino's career at Arkansas, firing included.

The question now is where Petrino goes next. The fallout from his firing will take some time to go away, but he'll presumably be able to get a job sooner or later.

Let's break down his options.

National Football League

Believe it or not, there's already some buzz about Petrino heading to the NFL.

Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com had the latest news a couple days ago:

"

Unbelievably, I'm hearing there's NFL interest in Petrino as a position coach.

— mike freeman (@realfreemancbs) April 11, 2012"

Unbelievable indeed.

This is unbelievable, of course, because Petrino embarrassed himself in a major way in his one and only season as an NFL head coach. He was hired to be the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 2007, but he couldn't even make it to the end of the season before quitting and jetting to Arkansas.

The worst part was the way he quit, as he informed Falcons players of his departure by leaving them a uniform letter. That's about as gutless as it gets.

Any team that hires Petrino is going to have to put up with a lot of flak. The general train of thought when it comes to the NFL is that winning matters more than morality, but the NFL has sent a different message with its punishment of the New Orleans Saints. Men with questionable character like Petrino will not be greeted kindly.

Does this mean the NFL isn't an option? Of course not. He's a rotten person, but he's a good coach. That's all that matters.

The NFL is most definitely an option.

College

Despite all the controversies that have plagued his career, Petrino has proven himself to be an outstanding college coach. He made a national powerhouse out of Louisville, and he took Arkansas to a BCS bowl in 2010.

And remember, the Razorbacks were looking like a national title contender before Petrino got the ax. The Razorbacks were going to be good in 2012 and still might be.

To my knowledge, there hasn't been any real interest shown in Petrino anywhere in the college ranks, and that doesn't surprise me for two reasons.

1. No college program is going to touch Petrino with a 10-foot pole right now. Later maybe, but not now.

2. This is not hiring season. Petrino got fired at an awkward time, and nobody's going to fire their head coach just to clear the way for him.

But eventually, the whole morality crisis surrounding Petrino will die down, and that's when a program will make a move to hire him. Hiring Petrino will cause a big ruckus, but that too will pass.

Not unlike the NFL, college football likes to pretend it's always doing the right thing. But just like in the NFL, winning matters more than anything else because it's good for business. College football is a business, and the most corrupt characters are often the most successful.

Consider a return to the college ranks an option.

Other Leagues (AFL, UFL, LFL)

There are other options besides college and the NFL for unemployed coaches. Petrino might just have to resort to taking a job in the Arena Football League, the United Football League or the Lingerie Football League.

Let's go ahead and count the last one out. That would be hilarious, but...well, no. Besides, the Houston Chronicle has reported that the league is going away for a little while, much to the dismay of creepers everywhere.

The UFL is intriguing because there are already some big-name coaches running things. Marty Schottenheimer coaches in the UFL, and so do Dennis Green and Jim Fassel.

If Petrino is looking to lie low for a year or two, he should listen if the UFL comes calling.

The Arena League is just as intriguing. Arena football is all about running up the score, so Petrino could have tons of fun in a league like that. Once again, it would be a good place for him to lie low for a year or two.

Prediction

As strange as it may sound, I don't think Petrino is going to stay unemployed for long. He'll likely be off the grid for a few more weeks or maybe even a few more months, but it's not like he's going to turn into a hermit. He'll want to work, and there are people out there who will want him to work.

I can't bring myself to think that Petrino will find a job in the college ranks right away. Like I said above, this is an awkward time for college programs to hire new coaches.

Right now, I see Petrino heading to a place where there's already interest, and that's the NFL. Whoever hires him will catch hell for it, but the negativity will go away as soon as everyone realizes that Petrino will be confined to a booth somewhere during games.

Petrino will leave the NFL to go back to college eventually. Hopefully, he'll know what not to do when he does.