Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

We've been hearing from the haters since late last night. But it's nice to know that, for once, all the haterade is coming from outside the so-called Razorback Nation, which now seems united in its happiness about Bobby Petrino as new UA coach.

But we did want to point to some well-balanced thoughts from a pair of Hog-bloggin' sites we track, which consider what's good, and possibly not-so-good, about the Petrino hire.

The Hog Blogger, admitting that it's "still in shock," says Petrino at Arkansas puts us back in the natonal limelight and, like we said, unites the Arkansas fan base:

We have yet to talk to a single Hog fan who isn’t beyond ecstatic about this hire, and for good reason. Literally every other candidate had at least a few fans playing the role of Debbie Downer, with the exception of Petrino. When his name came up in the coaching search, it was so perfect we dismissed it as a pipe dream, knowing the athletic department would find a way to screw it up even if he did want to come. Finally, we were wrong. Petrino is here, and regardless of how long, it’s going to be fun. Like we said yesterday, this hire has ignited the fanbase, and you can expect 70,000+ at every home game next season.

Now, to the jealous detractors warning Hog fans of Petrino’s indiscretions:

We. Do. Not. Care. Sure, Petrino may leave in 3-4 years. We have reasons to believe he won’t.

Across the way, the Razorback Expats take the Pro and Con approach. Among the Pros:

He wanted the job. That’s not quite as pathetic as it sounds…he actually took pay cut of well over $1 million/year to come to Arkansas. And after a depressing few weeks in which it seemed like every coach in America was using us to get a raise, the fact that a legitimate A-lister got on that Razorback Foundation plane is reason enough to celebrate.

* He wins. Ok, not in Atlanta, but he probably didn’t count on Michael Vick becoming a felon either. Before that, he compiled a 41-9 record with two top 10 finishes in four years at Louisville. ...

* He knows a thing or two about offense. New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin called him “the best play-caller I’ve ever been around” (Petrino was offensive coordinator under Coughlin in Jacksonville) and Steve Spurrier is a noted admirer. He has a distinguished record dating back to the 80s, but really established his reputation as an offensive mastermind (and developer of QBs) at Louisville. Even a detractor like Pat Forde of ESPN.com calls him “the best offensive game-planner and tactician since Steve Spurrier’s heyday at Florida.” Think Casey Dick is feeling pretty good about life right now?

* Everybody else wanted him, we got him. Petrino has been one of the hottest names on the coaching rumor mill over the past few years, having been linked to jobs at Auburn, LSU and the Oakland Raiders, among other places. ...

And now, the cons:

He was not well-liked by the Falcons team. He lost the team early on in the season and never got them back…the Falcons’ locker room has been in open revolt for weeks now. ...