OPINION

By Dave Goldberg

updated 2:07 p.m. ET Jan. 2, 2008

Bobby Petrino's departure from Atlanta to Arkansas isn't exactly unexpected. Petrino wouldn't have gone to the Falcons if he'd known his quarterback would be suspended and then go to jail for his dogfighting activities.

But Michael Vick's problems notwithstanding, Petrino's quick exit is another example that coaching in the colleges and coaching in the NFL are very different things.

Make Jimmy Johnson the exception and then look at the rest of the high-profile coaches who have failed to come close to their college success in the NFL: Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Dennis Erickson, Butch Davis, Rich Brooks and Mike Riley to name six. All are back in college again, although Saban, Davis and Spurrier haven't won as much as they did in the past.

Another example of a college coach unsuited for the NFL: Barry Switzer, who won a Super Bowl with the Cowboys after the 1995 season, but did it with talent acquired by Johnson, and earned the nickname "Bozo the Coach'' for some questionable strategic decisions. Switzer is now teaming with Johnson in a TV studio.

Petrino wasn't the main reason the Falcons were 3-10 when he left. Blame Vick for that, although even with him, Atlanta probably wouldn't be more than a .500 team.

But there were enough episodes in Petrino's rookie year in the NFL to demonstrate his aloof demeanor that worked with 18-to-21-year-olds didn't fit with highly paid pros, most of whom were outraged at his precipitous departure - he said goodbye with a form letter attached to all their lockers.

"The motivational speeches he gives during the game, it's like, 'Where's this going?' He doesn't motivate you,'' said defensive tackle Grady Jackson, now with Jacksonville after being cut by Petrino in a move that shocked and alienated many of the Falcons.

"He was accustomed to dealing with kids in college. Now, he's dealing with grown men. That was the big thing right there.''

The remaining Falcons also disliked Petrino's style. Tight end Alge Crumpler and cornerback DeAngelo Hall, two of his best players, were openly critical of major decisions, some made without consulting the players involved.

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That included benching QB Joey Harrington after two straight wins, and starting newly signed Byron Leftwich, who didn't know the system and wasn't healthy. Harrington found out about his benching from the media.

"When we saw him doing his press conference at Arkansas, that's what I think brought up the anger, to have him talk about family, about team and about commitment and then to come in here and have a form letter at your locker,'' Harrington said after Petrino left. "That's not how a man acts. That's how a coward acts.''

Maybe Petrino would have adjusted to the NFL. But maybe not, because one very big adjustment is getting used to losing.

Coaches hired from college are, by definition, the most successful. One, two or three losses per season is the norm.

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In the NFL, a successful season can be five or six losses. Many new coaches usually are hired by bad teams and lose twice as many in their first year. Petrino, for example, was 41-9 in four years at Louisville, but lost 10 in less than a full season with the Falcons.

Spurrier had that experience after he was became one of Dan "The Fan'' Snyder's revolving stable of big-name coaches in Washington. After going 12-20 in two seasons with Snyder acting as general manager and overpaying for average talent, Spurrier went back to college.

One reason Johnson succeeded is that he was able to tolerate losing and enjoyed rebuilding; as good as he was as a coach, he was better as a talent evaluator.

He took over a Dallas team that had been 3-13 in 1988 and his adjustment period was compounded because of fan resentment at Jerry Jones, who had just bought the team and fired Tom Landry, the only coach the Cowboys had ever had.

Johnson ran a revolving-door tryout camp during the 1989 season, bringing in new players weekly and disposing of all but a handful of Landry's players. The Cowboys went 1-15 with rookie Troy Aikman at quarterback, were 7-9 the next season, then 11-5 in 1991.

The next two years, they won the Super Bowl, making Johnson the first coach to win both a college national championship and an NFL title, a feat later accomplished by Switzer with Johnson's players on the 1995 Cowboys.

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