Before I begin this diatribe, please note I realize there is a 0.0% chance of Bobby Petrino joining Randy Edsall’s staff at the University of Maryland. With how his tenures have ended at Louisville, the Atlanta Falcons, and now Arkansas; there would be plenty of people who would not want to hire Petrino (with reason), even if Maryland had the financial wherewithal to do so.

With the financial constraints facing the Terps Athletic Department, and the toxicity that would come with bringing his name into the Department; hiring Petrino is not something MD can even realistically entertain.

For discussion purposes only, would you want MD to hire him if they could?

If you told me because of Petrino’s tarnished reputation, the Terps could bring Petrino in as Asst. Head Coach / Offensive Consultant / Recruiter; that is something I could get on-board with. Especially if you told me there would be a clause in his contract effectively preventing him from looking elsewhere for three years. Basically we (Maryland) assume the ‘risk’ of bringing you into the department, for the contractual guarantee that he would be part of the program for multiple years.

He helped make Louisville relevant in football. Despite how things ended with the Falcons, he was an NFL Head Coach (and a NFL Offensive Coordinator with the Jaguars, prior to that). He had success quickly elevating Arkansas.

Locksley is a great recruiter, but Xs and Os are not supposed to be his specialty. You would think Petrino being on the staff, could only help the offense. He also had success as a recruiter with Louisville (http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?ReturnTo=&sid=&script=content.asp&cid=551227&fid=&tid=&mid=&rid=). It is fair to wonder if his current troubles would mitigate his ability to recruit going forward. I think it is also fair to suggest that Petrino could help open up recruiting locales not traditionally in MD’s wheelhouse.

Maryland hired Edsall with the stated goal of going from ‘good to great.’ The University decided that a Top 25 finish, and a lowered-tier Bowl win was not satisfactory. Big time College football has large scale financial implications and numerous elite programs skirt the lines of what is ethical. I would never suggest bending existing NCAA rules, and doing anything that could bring sanctions to the program. I would suggest that if Maryland wants to be among the elite, they might want to hold their noses and hire a guy capable of directly elevating the program.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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