Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Bobby Petrino took a beating nationally when he chose to take over at Arkansas three years ago. His departure from the Atlanta Falcons conjured up all sorts of columns and commentary, little of it flattering. Few expected the Razorbacks-Petrino marriage to last long.

What’s the reaction now that Petrino appears to be committed to Fayetteville for at least seven more seasons? He signed a letter agreeing to a new contract last week that will pay him an average of $3.56 million per year and includes $18 million buyouts in 2011/2012 all the way “down” to $3.95 million in 2017.

Below we round up some of the (limited) national reaction to what appears to be a long-term commitment between Petrino and Arkansas.

Stewart Mandel, SI.com
When reports first surfaced that Petrino and Arkansas were in the midst of negotiating a new, sever-year contract Mandel — like a lot of folks — was skeptical. To his credit, when word surfaced that Petrino had in fact reached an agreement, Mandel responded via Twitter:

Egg on my face. Petrino’s new contract includes an $18 million (!!!) buyout. He’s not going anywhere for a while.

Chris Low, ESPN.com

Fairly or unfairly, Arkansas' Bobby Petrino has the reputation of being a coaching nomad.

He's also one of the best offensive minds in the game, which is one of the reasons his name comes up every time a marquee job opens.

But with the new deal he just agreed to at Arkansas, it reinforces more than ever that Petrino is serious when he says he plans to be coaching the Hogs for a long time to come.

College Football Talk

Bobby Petrino‘s penchant for possessing a wandering eye for other jobs caused some to chuckle when Arkansas announced they had reached an agreement with the head coach on a new seven-year contract.

Based on the details that are leaking out, said chuckling can officially cease.

AOL FanHouse