Bitter Falcons Feel Betrayed After Petrino Bolts For Arkansas

Associated Press
Published: December 13, 2007
Updated: December 13, 2007

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) - The Atlanta Falcons have a few choice words for their former coach: Coward. Quitter. Hypocrite. And those were some of the nicer things the Falcons had to say about Bobby Petrino yesterday.

With his sudden resignation to take the job at Arkansas, Petrino left behind a bitter team and a boss who felt betrayed. Petrino used to be a the offensive coordinator at Auburn.

The Falcons watched him on television Tuesday night -- at a giddy, late-night news conference in Arkansas. They showed up at their lockers yesterday to find a 78-word
letter from their ex-coach addressed to "Atlanta Falcons Players."

The aloof Petrino had few friends in the locker room, and there was actually a sense of relief he was gone. But the team still felt totally abandoned in a season where so
much already has gone wrong.