College vs. NFL Coaches

Greensboro, NC -- Last week, Bobby Petrino quit on his team, the Atlanta Falcons, and ran off to accept the University of Arkansas's head coach position. I've noticed an increasing trend among hot-shot college coaches testing their skills in the NFL, then departing after a season or two, only to run back to college.

Recently, the list of failed college coaches includes:

• Bobby Petrino: Louisville, Falcons, Arkansas
• Nick Saban: LSU, Dolphins, Alabama
• Steve Spurrier: Florida, Redskins, South Carolina
• Butch Davis: Miami, Browns, North Carolina
• Dennis Erickson: Washington, Seahawks, 49ers, Arizona State

Look, not only have these coaches had zero experience in the NFL prior to their first gig, but each of them if offensively minded. And, as Spurrier confirmed in Washington, the Fun' n' Gun doesn't work at the professional level. Defenses are too quick and more intelligent than your average college football team. As we've seen across the board with the successful teams, they have hired a defensively minded coach. Most of the coaches that I'm referring to here were defensive coordinators in the NFL at some point.

• Bill Belichek, NE
• Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville
• Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh
• Lovie Smith, Chicago
• Wade Phillips, Dallas
• John Fox, Carolina
• Jeff Fisher, Tennessee
• Romeo Crennel, Cleveland
• Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati

When Petrino took over the Falcons during training camp, he placed a list of 5 inspirational quotes outside the locker room that were supposed to rejuvenate players as they left for the field. The fourth quote read, "Always Finish." That's advice that Petrino didn't take.

Playing devil's advocate: The NFL is a "business," right? Employees leave jobs all of the time for a better paying job. Isn't that what Petrino did in this case? He left because he was unhappy at his old job. Can we fault him for that?