FAYETTEVILLE, AR - New Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino was "blown away" by the massive congratulatory gift sent to him by LSU coach Les Miles today after it was announced that Petrino was leaving the NFL's Atlanta Falcons in midseason to take the vacant Razorbacks head coaching job.
"I mean, I could barely open the door to my office because there were so many gifts waiting for me from Coach Miles," Petrino said. "Candies, flowers, gift baskets, even one of those Vermont Teddy Bears in Arkansas red and white. I guess being part of the SEC coaching fraternity really does mean something."
Miles said that his enthusiasm for Petrino's return to the college coaching ranks had nothing to do with the recent scrutiny he has faced. Miles has been linked repeatedly to the vacant Michigan coaching job - even after stating he was staying at LSU and inking a contract extension.
"No one should read anything into it at all," Miles said. "It's just such an honor to have another NFL coach come to the SEC - the greatest conference in the country, by the way, and one that I will never, ever leave - that I thought it was only right on welcome him to the club. Obviously, he should be ready for a lot of media coverage. If I was in the media, I'd be writing about this non-stop instead of talking about other coaching vacancies - this is huge news!"
