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Bobby Petrino to the Falcons

By Mike Rutherford

ESPN's Chris Mortensen and Pat Forde have confirmed that Bobby Petrino has accepted a 5-year $24 million deal to become the next head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Petrino is telling his players of the news right now (9 p.m.).

Maybe I'll feel differently in a day, but right now this feels like a complete betrayal. True character comes out in these situations and perhaps the guy who has snuck around behind our backs multiple times like a soulless business man using his success to leverage a deal with a better comapany is who Bobby Petrino truly is.

I feel like a fool.

"I also wanted to make sure that everyone understood, I know I've said it, that this is where my family wants to be. This is where I want to be. I want everyone to really believe it." --Bobby Petrino

UPDATE (9:07): This damn near breaks your heart:

"I'm in shock right now," Louisville kicker Arthur Carmody told ESPN's Joe Schad Sunday night. "I'm about to walk into a team meeting right now. We're coming off a great Orange Bowl win and we were all thinking national championship. I didn't think this would happen. He said he enjoyed college football. He's a great coach and we're going to miss him."

UPDATE (9:43): Jurich confirms and speaks:

"Bobby Petrino did a great job here at Louisville. I'm proud of what he accomplished. I just wish we could have kept him longer. He will do a great job for the Falcons."

UPDATE (10:33): Oscar Brohm speaks about how this affects his son's future:

"It’s a variable that we weren’t really counting on," the player’s father told The Courier-Journal last night. "It’s something we weren’t anticipating, but obviously something that will need to be taken into consideration."

"We have been talking about it this weekend but no decision was made," his father said last night. "We were hoping to make a decision early this week. But I’m just not sure now. I don’t know really what to expect about anything anymore."

Oscar Brohm, who also played quarterback at U of L, said it would be nice to know who the U of L coach was going to be before making a decision.

"Obviously, that is of great interest," he said. "It’s going to make for an interesting, probably stressful week for everybody."

UPDATE (11:30): Jurich says, "We're going to move quickly in hiring our next coach to keep our momentum going."

It's going to be Kragthorpe.

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