Why Isn't Petrino at Auburn?

While the Bobby Petrino news in itself is a huge story, it also served to get me to think about another way this whole situation could have turned out, and allowed me to draw some conclusions about Petrino's head coaching career.

One of Arkansas' first targets was Tommy Tuberville, which also would have been an excellent hire. However, he later signed an extension with Auburn, and withdrew his name from consideration...not "withdrew" like Les Miles has done with Michigan. However, for all the success that Tuberville has had at Auburn, the school has not necessarily been as loyal. Who can forget the secret meetings in 2003 between Auburn and a certain Conference USA coach who was a former assistant. Of course, that coach was Bobby Petrino.

Petrino has made a habit of consistently looking ahead to his next job, and he usually makes his decision at the end of game 13. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell him that NFL regular seasons generally have 16 games. Besides the flirtation with Auburn, Petrino was mentioned in connection to the LSU and Oakland Raider jobs, before finally leaving for the Atlanta Falcons this past offseason. At this point, does anyone really believe that Petrino will be at Arkansas for the considerable future?

I think that things have turned out more logically if Tuberville had left Auburn for Arkansas, leaving the Auburn job open for Petrino. Tuberville would be able to continue his conquest of the SEC West and not have to look behind his back constantly, at least for the first year. Petrino would be "back home" at Auburn - and the two entities could have a battle over who is the first to turn on the other. My guess? Petrino will be the next coach at the University of Michigan. I say that only somewhat in jest.