Letter to the editor: Alumnus says no to Petrino

I read an article by Kevin Scarbinsky this weekend that stated, "One Auburn booster said a quiet movement has begun behind the scenes to gauge and enlist support for Bobby Petrino as the next coach."

Setting aside the more difficult question of whether or not Gene Chizik should be given another season to try to rectify the current situation, I am writing today to implore you: please do NOT hire Bobby Petrino to be Auburn's next head coach (or offensive coordinator). While I believe in forgiveness and second chances, Petrino has a very long track record of being extremely deceitful (his interviewing with Auburn back in 2003, even when Tommy Tuberville was still the coach, among several other instances), and I am convinced that whoever hires him again will eventually wish they hadn't.

Former Atlanta Falcons defensive back Lawyer Milloy said it best when Petrino left the Falcons for Arkansas in the middle of the 2007 season without informing the team in person: "This (the NFL) is a league of men, and he realized he didn't belong in it."

My wife and I welcomed into this world twins earlier this year, one boy and one girl, and we named our son Jackson after a certain Auburn football star from the 1980's. As much as I would love to take Jackson to Auburn football games throughout his childhood, my desire for him to grow up as a man of integrity is far greater. If Bobby Petrino is the Auburn head coach, it would be very difficult to justify taking Jackson to Auburn games while at the same time preaching to him the importance of character and honesty above all else.

As an Auburn season ticket holder since I enrolled as a student in 1995, my trips to Jordan-Hare Stadium would likely dwindle to few, if any, if Bobby Petrino is our head coach. Please do not put me and the rest of the Auburn family in that situation! Thank you in advance.

Tony Borelli

Alumnus