Bobby Petrino agreed to take the helm at Western Kentucky on Monday, just the most recent in the array of coaching moves across the nation. One coach leaves, that job opens, another coach steps in. Rinse and repeat.

This is the same Bobby Petrino that was once upon a time the head coach for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, left midseason to take the Arkansas job, and then witnessed his career come to a screeching halt with the flip of a motorcycle.

Or so we thought. Or maybe just me.

Petrino was fired from Arkansas eight months ago for unfairly hiring his mistress, and misleading his superiors about her relationship with him and the motorcycle accident. He blatantly ignored ethics while in Fayetteville. Left all possible integrity and character at the door from day one.

And yet, he is free to return to coaching with no consequence.

Ultimately, that’s the choice Western Kentucky made. Hundreds of coordinators and other seemingly viable candidates were passed over for Petrino, a guy who can coach football but a guy who has no sense of leadership. Zero.

Would Western Kentucky hire a journalism professor with a resume similar to Petrino’s? No chance. But hey, that’s college football. That’s the coaching carousel.

This feels so dry. These coaches being brought in for a little while — WKU is more or less a stepping stone for Petrino and he’ll only be there for two or three years, and then he’ll leave.

At the current stage, this type of activity isn’t happening at every major program. There are some schools that have a coach with longevity.

Iowa is one of those.

Kirk Ferentz has been the Hawkeyes’ headman for 14 years now and has a contract through 2020. His current buyout is approximately $20 million. As it has been well documented, Iowa football had a down season in 2012: A 4-8 record and no bowl game, which is a first since 2007.

But it’s not the end all, be all. At least not in Iowa City.

That’s because the coach means something here, a theme that used to exist on numerous other college campuses. Why? The head coach of a major Division-I team is the face of the program. He’s at pep rallies, tailgates, on posters, interacts with boosters, persuades recruits.

With Ferentz, there is that reputation. There is character, and there is integrity. Yes, college football has turned into more and more of a business, schools attempting to generate revenue at every opportunity.

But college football is in trouble if your school has to hire Bobby Petrino. “Teams have to win, though!” At what expense? Parading a mistress throughout an SEC program and getting fired to have another job only eight months later?

Iowa’s not in trouble. There is stability with Ferentz, who’s a symbol of many things, most of those in which Petrino will never be.

Sure, a 4-8 record and second-to-last place finish in the Big Ten is disappointing and way below the bar that’s been set.

It could be worse.

The post Don’t Buy Into The Coaching Carousel: It’s Not What You Want appeared first on KRUI Radio.

It’s a long way to the top.

Adding Insult to Injury: The NHL playoffs are underway and as one would expect, there are playoff beards growing and plenty of fighting, bashing and trash-talking are abundant.  In Game 1 of the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators, Preds Defenseman Shea Weber hit Red Wing captain Henrik Zetterberg’s head against the glass and then warned him to be careful the rest of the playoffs.  Really Weber?  Zetterberg is a veteran player who has several awards and a Stanley Cup under his belt so do you honestly think he is going to be careful the rest of the series?  If anything, he is going to just come after you and start racking up points.  In Weber’s defense, the Predators took Game 1 but Detroit even up the series at 1-1 Friday night.  Weber should save the boasting until after the series is one so he does not look like a complete jackass in his remarks.  Yeah you won the first game, but win three more and then your comment will not seem ridiculous.

Drugged Leaf: Former NFL QB Ryan Leaf has been arrested for four felonies of breaking into someone’s house to steal prescription pain killers and then broke into a second person’s home and stole drugs.  If convicted the number 1 NFL draft bust of all-time can face up to 20 years in federal prison.  Leaf has faced drug charges since flopping out of the NFL and has kept vowing that he has “turned the corner.”  While no such statement was made by Leaf following his arrest, it may be better for the former San Diego Charger to go to jail for a long time since he has kept committing felony after felony.  This is not the first drug charge against him, and it probably will not be the last.  The best thing for society is for Leaf to go to jail and people may forget about him, which would probably be a good thing.

Petrino Sacked: This headline has been circling the sports world this past week but my third nomination on this week’s Bottom 5 is former Arkansas football head coach Bobby Petrino.  After the university found out about his mistress, they were forced to fire him on having an affair and violating several NCAA and school regulations.  He hired a woman to be the player development coordinator and that woman, Jessica Dorrell, is his mistress.  This is bad news in every way you look at it.  The text messages have been revealed and the case has been so bad that Petrino is not even appealing his firing.  While I somewhat applaud Petrino for his honesty and not really trying to deny it, he should be considered a hypocrite for his behavior.  How can someone coach young athletes and also teach them to be better men when that person is cheating on their wife and breaking school rules at the same time?

One part the NCAA prides itself on in football is that the coaches not only teach the players aspects about the game, they teach them on how to be better people.  What does Petrino tell his children after this unfolding?  How does he sleep at night?  Actually, after hearing about his mistress affair, I may not want to know the answer to that last question.

No Court for the Kings: The Sacramento Kings have failed to get a deal for a new arena and now the team is in jeopardy of moving out of California’s capital.  This issue came up last year and the Kings were feature in a 2011 edition of my Bottom 5 but the team returns this year as their owners, the Maloofs, are my fourth nomination in my Bottom 5.  While moving the team from Sacramento is not necessarily a bad thing, the NBA wants to bring a third team to L.A.  The Kings are a perfect option to David Stern and co. about it but that sounds awful in all regards.  L.A. already has a Kings team and they are in the NHL.  The Lakers and Clippers are currently dominating headlines in the city so why does a third team need to be added?  Former NBA player and current Sacramento player Kevin Johnson (who once played for the Kings) is doing everything he can to keep the beloved Kings in Sac-town.  Why do the Maloofs want to move their already forgotten franchise to a city that will not even know they exist?

Problems for 2014 World Cup: More World Cup workers have gone on strike in Brazil, where the country is hosting the 2014 World Cup.  This has been an ongoing issue for a while and World Cup country sites in general.  South Africa had similar problems when building a stadium to host the enormous event and moral outcries were spread.  Workers are being forced to work in unethical conditions and long hours to complete the stadium by the time the World Cup starts.  The current strike in the Brazilian city of Salvador is the third city to face issues like this and maybe the World Cup committee can get the idea to stop hosting the World Cup in a third world country.

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