Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Garrick McGee has strong ties to Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino. They’ve known each other since McGee was a freshman quarterback and Petrino his position coach at Arizona State.

McGee spent four seasons on Petrino’s Razorback staff before leaving for the head coaching position at Alabama-Birmingham. So McGee also feels a connection with the state of Arkansas.

Those ties make seeing the current situation — Petrino on administrative leave following a motorcycle accident on April 1 that included a female member of the football staff — difficult for McGee. McGee told Birmingham media it is hard to watch as his friend and former program are impacted by Petrino's missteps.

“Not just him, but the whole program,” McGee said, following  a recent practice. “I’m a part of that program. I know all those people involved, the kids. I know the leadership, the Razorback Nation. And just to see them go through a tough time right now is tough.”

McGee told media he had visited with Petrino the morning after the accident. They haven’t talked since, said McGee, who noted what a difficult situation Petrino and Arkansas are in at this time.

UA leadership, McGee said, would make “the right decision” regarding Petrino’s fate.

“It is an unfortunate situation for everybody involved,” McGee said. “In these types of situations, crisis like this, true leadership takes charge. I’m convinced that they have really good leadership within the university, from top down, all the way to the locker room with Tyler Wilson, Knile Davis and Cobi Hamilton and those guys. I trust the leadership of the university to make the right and proper decisions to keep the program on top, where they are now.”

Anybody else think that sounds like a guy positioning himself for a phone call just in case?