Jessica Dorrell Resigns: Bobby Petrino Mess Will Destroy Arkansas Football

Even with Bobby Petrino and Jessica Dorrell away from the University of Arkans, the football program is not going to remain at the level it reached the previous two years with a BCS appearance and a top-five finish for the first time since 1977. 

Surely, Petrino and Dorrell could never have imagined the mess that the whole thing would become. 

But the more information you see, the worse it makes them and the school look. Not only did Petrino have a hand in hiring her, but she got $20,000 to buy a car. Then, after Dorrell resigned from the school earlier this week, she was reportedly given a $14,000 settlement. 

So despite being given an unfair advantage in the hiring process because of her relationship with Petrino, she walks away with $34,000 in bonus cash plus whatever she made in salary during her time as student-athlete development coordinator. 

Think about what happens to the players currently on the Razorbacks team and any future recruit who may have been considering the school because of Petrino. 

Before Petrino was hired, the Razorbacks were a middling SEC program. They would win enough games to qualify for a bowl but were of little threat to any of the top dogs. 

Thanks to Petrino's firing and the mess of a situation which he was forced out, the program is going to have a difficult time getting back to the levels they have reached the previous two years. 

We would like to think that recruits make decisions based on the school instead of the head coach, but we know that is not the case. 

Young players want to do what is in the best interest of getting them to the NFL. Petrino had something special that recruits gravitated towards.

Perhaps Arkansas can find someone else with his recruiting ability, but the apparent lack of control behind the scenes is going to turn a lot of players off. 

Parents are going to have a lot of questions for whoever the new head coach will be, and his answers have to be spot on or else elite players are not going to sign with him. 

The ripple effect of the Petrino situation is going to be felt at Arkansas for a long time. That's too bad, because this program was just starting to hit its stride. 

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