[stextbox id=”custom”]The observer is not about to knee jerk Rick Bozich’s analysis that Bobby Petrino had much to do with the rapid decline of Louisville football. Writers like Bozich have a great deal of access to the program. They also recognize the bounds of personal restraint within the athletic department and the tremendous challenges of privacy laws.

Common sense tells you that an individual who is contantly looking for other jobs doesn’t have your best interests in mind. The short-sighted Petrino failed to recognize he was sitting on a potential gold mine in Louisville.

Don’t even try to turn this into a defense of Steve Kragthorpe. Just another deserved jab at old steely face in Fayetteville.
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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.

16 thoughts on “You Go, Bozich”
  1. You think UofL fans trust Bozich? I’ve got some swamp land to sell you. You should hear what some of UofL’s coaches say about him, off the record. I trust one thing about Bozich…his ability to get under the skin of UofL fans with his commentary. That’s what they pay him to do, over at the C-J. I’d love to see a UofL fan poll about their level of trust concerning Bozich. Petrino would rank higher in UofL fan trust…

  2. An omission: when I say “the players and coaches,” I am referring specifically to the most successful group of Cardinals in the history of Louisville football. I think a lot of the fallout over the column is related to that frustration, of having their names constantly drug through the mud.

  3. Charlie, you know that I’m a big fan of your posts, evidenced by the frequency with which I link them to cardinal-laws.com. And I agree with you: this negativity 24 hours before Louisville-Kentucky is unwarranted. But the question I keep coming back to is, why did Bozich decide to needlessly start this argument with his provocative column in the first place? I disagree with the previous comment that Bozich is some sort of “shock jock.” I think he’s trusted among Louisville fans, which makes the column, which I believe weren’t sufficiently supported by facts, all the more dastardly. Look, I don’t think anyone should be surprised when Cards fans react defensively when it feels like the players and coaches — yes, even THAT coach – are being drug through the mud as some sort of explanation for the shortcomings of the program today. Look forward to your future posts. Go Cards!

  4. The athletic department at UofL has invented 2 new flavors of Kool-Ade:

    1. The “Steve knows what he is doing and after 20 or so years of disasters he will lead us to the promised land (7 wins)” flavor.
    2. The “Everything bad in the football program is Bobby’s fault” flavor which is similar to the sour grape variety.

  5. I can’t believe we are still blaming the guy. I guess Krags inability to coach fundamentals, avoid penalties, and not recruit a decent kicker are all Petrino’s fault too? Or maybe its the firing of all those coordinators, yeah that makes since, because they just weren’t winners right? Kragthorpe is a joke of a coach, might be a nice guy but his coaching is extremely subpar. Krags record is his record, if life gives you oranges, make orange juice. John L smith took a bunch of nothings to a bowl game his first year. Didn’t here any complaining about Ron Cooper sucking after that.

  6. I have a mutual friend of Becky Petrino’s. When they were here in Louisville…Becky had one primary goal. The care, nurturing and raising of her children. Sometimes, the spouses of the successful are actually the biggest heroes.

  7. I agree with Crockett.Petrino is self destructive. His burning desire to be known as the greatest football coach of all time will eventually be his demise. It’s all about Bobby…always was…always will be. I feel sorry for his family.

  8. Petrino was and is a total lying jerk. But he is a 1,000% better recruiter and coach than Kragthorpe who can’t beat Syracuse, UK or UConn and can bearly beat ISU.

    Don’t for a minute equate all of Petrino’s faults, and he has many, into believing what has happened at UofL is his fault. He is an a***ole but could beat SK year after year by 77-10, and that’s in a good Kragthorpe year.

  9. Bobby Petrino has been gone a long time now. He obviously never had Louisville in his long term goals and all we can do is just remember that he did have some pretty good football teams while he was here and dumped us like a blind date at the corner.

    Not our fault Kragthorpe isn’t as a successful coach in terms of wind and losses. Any program that has dumped as many assistants, staff and players as we have over the 20+ months as UofL has…what, you think we’re going to still be major bowl bound?

    Jurich will act when he’s good and ready. Until then, support the kids on the field.

    Bozich gets paid to write controversy.

  10. Petrino is a powder keg that is going to explode on himself someday. His old man had as much to do with the wandering eye as the younger Petrino. Glad somebody finally took Petrino on in the mainstream media. What a jackal he is.

    1. “Glad somebody finally took Petrino on in the mainstream media. What a jackal he is.”

      Are you joking? The media has done nothing but blast Petrino since the day he left. Even today, 3 seasons later, we still hear about how it’s Petrino’s fault that Krag can’t field even a mediocre football team.

      Petrino may have been an a**, but he was one hell of a football coach and doesn’t deserve to be bashed like he has been. He is an extremely driven and motivated individual, which is probably why he had such a wandering eye while here. Like the athletes he coaches, he has a desire to compete with the best in the business. The SEC is where it’s at. Why people feel the need to tear him down to build up Krag and can’t just appreciate him for what he did for U of L football, I will never know. Is it any coincidence that one of our teams strongest positions, WR, is led by Long, Chichester, Guy and Pascley, all who were brought in by Petrino. (No offense to Beaumont, who is a great player)

      All I know is that if given the choice, I’d gladly take a coach that everyone wants versus a coach that no one wants.

      1. I think everybody wants a coach who wins games, whether that be Petrino or Kragthorpe. Petrino left a pile of crap in his wake and you refuse to admit it. Tom Jurich saw the mess and knew how long it would take to clean up after it. I don’t feel any need to build up Kragthorpe but you sure have done a lot of rationalizing for Petrino who didn’t want to have anything to do with your sorry Cardinal ass.

        1. Petrino left how many starters off of the Orange Bowl winning team? 17? Yeah that is some pile of crap. Or maybe you are referencing the many so called “thugs” that Kragthorpe supposedly had to deal with. Please tell that to Brohm, Douglas, Wood and the many other class act players that gave their blood and sweat to this program. You say he left a huge mess but you ignore the fact that our strongest skill position is composed almost entirely of his recruits? What point are you trying to make?

          If there truly were rules being broken during Petrino’s tenure here, Jurich should have reported them to the NCAA the minute he found out. Something tells me these “excuses” are the real pile of crap. Where did I get that idea? From Jurich’s own mouth:

          http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/030404aaa.html

          “I’m very pleased where Bobby has taken this program and the direction he is headed,” said U of L Director of Athletics Tom Jurich. “To be able to land the top high school football player in the state the last three years and to mold a shorthanded and inexperienced team into nine-win bowl team in his first year are phenominal accomplishments. He has laid the groundwork to move our program forward through his exceptional organizational skills, recruiting and on-field coaching. I appreciate Bobby’s commitment and genuine interest in our program and we look forward to the dramatically improved opportunities that lie ahead of us with the Big East Conference’s status in the Bowl Championship Series.”

          And again…

          http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/071306aaa.html

          “Bobby Petrino is one of the finest football coaches in the nation and we feel the future is so bright for this program,” said Vice President and Director of Athletics Tom Jurich. ” I felt it was important to get him near the top nationally in terms of compensation with some of the top coaches in the country. The job that Bobby has done is second to none. I love stability and puts him in position to be here for a very long time.”

          I also liked this little tidbit:

          In the classroom, the Cardinals had 37 student-athlete’s record a grade point average of 3.0 or higher in 2005 and the Cardinals had 10 players named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team. Petrino has also guided the program to its highest team GPA ever during the 2005 spring semester.

          Bottom line is that these excuses didn’t surface until after the Syracuse game in 07. Prior to that, I do believe our fearless leader was speaking of making a run at the National Championship. Funny how quickly things changed huh?

          You may need a coach that tells you he loves you and keeps you warm at night, but all I need for him to do is win football games and play by the rules. It’s not like Petrino is the only one who’s ever broken a contract to take another job. Ole’ honest Krag did the same thing to come here.

          One final word of advice, you really should leave the name calling out of your rebuttal. It makes you look even less intelligent than the logic in your post.

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