Lawyer Milloy would write the word “coward” in red sharpie on the note and showed it to reporters. Grady Jackson: “For him to quit like that shows his true colors, like a coward with a yellow stripe down his back.” QB Joey Harrington: “To have him talk about family, about team, about commitment, then come in here and have a form letter at your locker, that’s not a man’s act. Sincerely, Bobby PetrinoĪrthur Blank said: “The best way to describe the way we feel is betrayal.” I appreciate your hard work and wish you the best. While my desire would have been to finish out what has been a difficult season for us all, circumstances did not allow me to do so. This decision was not easy, but it was made in the best interest of me and my family. Out of my respect for you, I am letting you know that, with a heavy heart, I resigned today as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Instead, he would leave a 78-word laminated note in each player’s locker: In the ultimate act of cowardice, Petrino wouldn’t say this to any of his players, the way you would expect a leader to do. I certainly don’t want to get into any speculation and rumors and having to deal with that. ![]() Only two weeks earlier, Petrino dismissed any reports of him looking to leave the Falcons: “I haven’t given it one bit of thought. There are so many more layers to this than just a resignation. Because the team had an off day the next day, they didn’t even know about this until that Wednesday. ![]() He would resign following a 34-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, and he would accept the head coaching job at the University of Arkansas just a few hours later. Thirteen games into the season, sitting on a record of 3-10, Petrino would deliver a blindside hit to the franchise of his own. The team was blindsided after losing their best player and the face of the franchise so suddenly and unexpectedly. Vick’s days with the Falcons were over.Ītlanta had to hand the keys to a QB triumvirate of Joey Harrington, Byron Leftwich and Chris Redman, and the results were as expected. He would end up serving 21 months in federal prison and would miss the 20 seasons. Prior to the start of the 2007 season, Vick was arrested and plead guilty for his involvement in a dogfighting ring. The Falcons’ brass was so convinced of this that they gave him a five-year, $24 million contract. Petrino was a gifted offensive mind, and he was going to wreck havoc on the NFL with Vick at his disposal. Just six months earlier, Petrino signed a 10-year contract extension to remain the coach of the Cardinals indefinitely, but he slipped away (a sign of things to come) for a chance to coach the explosive Vick in Atlanta. Owner Arthur Blank and GM Rich McKay turned to the college ranks, where they poached Bobby Petrino from the University of Louisville. ![]() This was Atlanta’s window under star QB Michael Vick, after all, and they needed a new head coach who would get the team over the hump. 500 either year, the birds decided to go in a different direction than Jim Mora Jr. ![]() Well, not all of them were going to be good moments.įollowing a two-year run in 20 where the Atlanta Falcons went a combined 15-17, without finishing above. You can find last week’s Throwback Thursday article, about Deion Sanders, here. Each week, we’ll re-live and discuss a certain moment in this franchise’s 52-year history. That idea has given rise to a new series of “Throwback Thursday” articles I’m planning on writing throughout the dead period. I figured this would be a good time to look back on some moments in Falcons history and maybe re-live them while we wait for football to come back. We’re in the dead period of football (you can read about how much I hate this period here ), and with it, we don’t have much to talk about except for some speculation here and there.
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