Forde-Yard Dash: Where it all went wrong for Bobby Petrino at Louisville

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FIRST QUARTER

WHEN GOOD COACHES LOSE IT

Vince Tyra is a career businessman and relative newcomer to college athletics administration, and it showed Sunday when he discussed his firing of Louisville football coach Bobby Petrino (1). It showed because Tyra almost completely skipped the standard, over-the-top rhetorical posturing that comes with such occasions. Hirings and firings bring out the phony in college sports like nothing else (well, except maybe NCAA investigations). Tyra wasn’t here for the phony.

He didn’t disingenuously laud the guy he just canned at great expense — the guy who went 2-8 in 2018, whose team has lost seven straight, whose offense was terrible early in the year and defense was worse at the end. Whose team committed 18 penalties and had four first-half turnovers Friday night against Syracuse. Whose team had, in the last few weeks, quit.

If most of the same guys who played in bowl games in recent years give up 54 to Syracuse, 56 to Wake Forest, 66 to Georgia Tech and 77 to Clemson, they aren’t trying.

After Tyra pulled a Michael Corleone and settled all family business — he whacked not only Petrino but his son, quarterback coach Nick Petrino, his two sons-in-law on staff, and his right-hand stooge Andy Wagner — the AD called it like he saw it.

Quote: “If you want to say culture equals effort, something screwy was going on.”

Quote: “The players aren’t responding, I think that’s clear. At some point it does come back on leadership.”

Quote: “We’ve got to teach them to play their ass off in a Cardinal uniform.”

Thus here is the epitaph on Bobby Petrino, a onetime offensive savant whose talent allowed him more chances than most: When the pretty plays and schemes started to become outdated, and the Heisman Trophy-winning star quarterback moved on to the NFL, and the defensive coaching became a mockery, there was nothing left. That’s how it could implode as quickly and completely as it did at Louisville.

There wasn’t enough talent, because recruiting was spotty. There wasn’t a quality staff to coach up the players and bridge the gap between the Cardinals and elite opponents. And since the players clearly felt zero inspiration to play for their coach — he was a tactician, never a motivator — even the equal or lesser competition began crushing the Cards.

You could find toll booth operators with more enthusiasm than Louisville football in recent weeks. No wonder Tyra mentioned “energy” and an “ability to relate to kids” among the important attributes he’s looking for in the next coach.

Purdue’s Jeff Brohm (2), a former Petrino assistant, has the energy and the ability to relate. He also has the offensive acumen — you could say he’s an updated Petrino, in terms of play-calling and quarterback acumen. And he has every conceivable tie to the University of Louisville — his dad played there, he played there, brothers Greg and Brian played there, he coached there, and so forth.

Tyra didn’t dodge that topic either.

“I hear [the Brohm speculation],” he said. “I know all the tie-ins Jeff has. I’ve heard it all. … I don’t even know if he wants to be here.”

Rest assured, Vince Tyra will find out. And if he comes home, the Louisville fans who cheered Petrino’s prodigal return in 2014 will feel less conflicted about Brohm.

In recent weeks, it was telling how few people were sticking up for Petrino — there were no mixed feelings, no ambivalence, just a unified belief that Bobby Must Go. The fans checked out on him as abruptly as he checked out on them in 2006, heading to the Atlanta Falcons after kicking the tires on many other jobs. This was purely a transactional relationship, then and now.

By the end, Bobby Petrino had no one left in his corner.

OTHER COACHES LOSING IT

Larry Fedora (3), North Carolina. In 2015, when Fedora took an 11-1, eighth-ranked Tar Heels team into the ACC championship game and gave Clemson a run for its money, there was speculation that the offensive-minded Fedora was destined to leave a basketball blueblood for a football powerhouse at the upper echelon of the profession. That didn’t happen, and the fall from that point has been precipitous. Fedora’s record since the end of the ’15 regular season: 12-25, just 4-17 the past two seasons. He had an injury excuse during the 3-9 debacle of 2017, but nobody felt sorry for Fedora when a number of players were suspended to start the ’18 season for selling their Jordan Brand gear in violation of NCAA rules. North Carolina has won just one game this season. Seven seasons on the job in Chapel Hill seems like more than enough at this point.

Clay Helton (4), USC. There is a clear demarcation in Helton’s career record. With Sam Darnold as his starting quarterback: 20-4. Without Sam Darnold as his starting quarterback: 10-9. Helton was a classic USC insular hire — a promoted assistant who did just well enough with the interim gig in 2015, after Steve Sarkisian imploded, to get the full-time job. This season has been a near-total flop: The Trojans are 5-5 overall and 4-4 in the Pac-12, coming off a debacle at home against California Saturday night. USC led 14-0 at halftime and then produced 41 yards on 31 plays in the second half, losing 15-14. The Trojans are among the sloppiest teams in the nation — 120th in turnover margin and 121st in penalty yards — and the good-natured Helton doesn’t appear to wield the hammer of authority (though he did fire his offensive line coach a few weeks ago). His favorable contract may give him another year in 2019, but that would not play well with most USC fans.

Bill Snyder (5), Kansas State. The Wildcats are 4-6 overall, 2-5 in the Big 12, and likely underdogs in their last two games against Texas Tech and Iowa State. If they lose them both it would be Snyder’s worst season since his first season at K-State, when he went 1-10 and 0-7 in the Big Eight in 1989. The 79-year-old has had a legendary career, winning regularly in a job that once had a decent claim to being the worst in America. But it’s time — really time — to move on. And not only to move on, but to move on without holding the university hostage in an attempt to make sure son Sean is elevated to head coach. Kansas State’s charge: Make it graceful, make it gracious, but make it end.

Bud Foster (6), Virginia Tech. He’s been one of the greatest defensive coordinators in college football history and a fixture at Virginia Tech, bridging the Frank Beamer and Justin Fuente eras. But this is the worst Hokies defense Foster has coached in his 24 seasons, by a wide margin. Tech is giving up 31 points (88th nationally) and 447 yards (105th) per game. Pittsburgh’s 492 rushing yards Saturday was the most allowed by the Hokies this century, at the very least. This was an inexperienced defense in several areas, so greatness was not expected — but it’s the most porous one Foster has coordinated in Blacksburg.

FOUR FOR THE PLAYOFF

If today were Selection Sunday, the matchups would be:

Cotton Bowl: top seed Alabama (7) vs. fourth seed Michigan (8).

The Crimson Tide (10-0) were held to a season-low 24 points by the stout defense of Mississippi State, but a steadily improving defense has now recorded consecutive shutouts of SEC opponents for the first time since 1980. In other words, this is steadily looking more like a classic Nick Saban team. The question mark continues to be quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s knee. ‘Bama certainly doesn’t need him Saturday against The Citadel, so expect backup Jalen Hurts to go (if he, too, is healthy after ankle surgery a few weeks ago).

The Wolverines (9-1) started slowly against Rutgers but then did what everyone does to the Scarlet Knights, beating them into submission. Michigan now has its home finale against Indiana, which hasn’t beaten the Wolverines since 1987. Subdue the Hoosiers and then it is full speed ahead toward Columbus on Nov. 24.

Orange Bowl: second seed Clemson (9) vs. third seed Notre Dame (10).

The Tigers (10-0) laughed off the cold weather at Boston College, knocked out the Eagles’ starting quarterback, rode the arm of freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence and cruised to a 27-7 victory. Brent Venables’ defense allowed just 113 total yards, nine of them rushing, against BC. Clemson hasn’t been challenged since September and that shouldn’t change Saturday, when Duke comes to Death Valley.

The Fighting Irish (10-0) beat Florida State by 29 points starting backup quarterback Brandon Wimbush, which is both a good sign and an indication of how far the Seminoles have fallen this season. Running back Dexter Williams celebrated Senior Night with a career-high 202 rushing yards, and a repeat of that performance next week against Syracuse in Yankee Stadium certainly would be welcomed. That game could be the biggest remaining regular-season challenge not just for Notre Dame, but for any of the four teams currently in the bracket.

Also considered: Georgia, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Washington State, Ohio State, Central Florida.

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