Bobby Petrino lied to his boss and had an inappropriate relationship with a 25-year-old woman that he had recently hired over 158 other applicants.
Just like that, in a week's time, the Arkansas Razorbacks -- and especially AD Jeff Long -- are in a tricky spot. They need a head football coach. And they're looking for one in April.
Long has said he will immediately begin a search. If he does not find a long-term solution in the coming weeks, he added that he is not afraid to have an interim coach lead the Razorbacks in 2012. Linebackers coach Taver Johnson, a former Ohio State assistant who was hired in the offseason, will serve as the interim coach for at least the remainder of the spring.
While Long's task is challenging, it's important to point out that this job isn't like, say, North Carolina or Ohio State -- or USC -- where sanctions, and potentially hefty ones, were imminent at the times new hires were being made. No coach is walking in the door with the expectation of the NCAA's hammer coming down.
No, this is a relevant national job with big possibilities, which Petrino had started to mine (a BCS appearance two seasons ago and an 11-2 campaign last season).
Here are some potential candidates to replace Petrino (listed in alphabetical order):
Butch Davis
Current position: Free agentAge: 60
Davis, a 1973 Arkansas graduate, has internal support from some prominent players in the university's machine, but he is a complicated candidate.
To see the rest of the list of potential replacement candidates for Bobby Petrino at Arkansas, become an ESPN Insider today.
Travis Haney
ESPN Insider• Joined ESPN as Insider's national college football writer in April 2012
• Previously wrote for The Oklahoman and The Post and Courier
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Travis HaneyTravis Haney joined ESPN in April 2012 as Insider's national college football writer. He previously covered the University of Oklahoma Sooners for The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman for one season, and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier for four. Additionally, Haney has contributed since 2003 to ESPN publications and projects, including ESPN The Magazine.
A native of Cleveland, Tenn., Haney's initial introduction to a college football cathedral was Neyland Stadium. He later graduated from the University of Tennessee, in 2003, and has spent time covering the Volunteers, the University of Georgia, Clemson University, and other schools. Safe to say, football, and football in the South, was injected into his bloodstream at a young age.
Haney is the author of three books -- Gamecock Glory and Gamecock Encore, which chronicled the South Carolina baseball team's run to the 2010 and 2011 national championships, and State of Disunion, a historical look at the Clemson-South Carolina football rivalry that he co-wrote with Larry Williams.
Haney resides in Charlotte, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter here.
