Remember When Bobby Petrino Gave The Falcons a Season To Forget?

The note would read, "Out of my respect for you, I am letting you know that, with a heavy heart, I resigned today as the Head Coach of the Atlanta Falcons . This decision was not easy, but it was made in the best interest of me and my family. While my desire would have been to finish out what has been a difficult season for us all, circumstances did not allow me to do that. I appreciate your hard work and wish you the best." "Sincerely, Bobby Petrino."

Sitting at 3-10 on the year, players would feel relieved that he was gone. Former Falcons running back Warrick Dunn would say, "We kept hearing rumors and stuff like that. It got to the point where guys really didn't care if he left or not. But the way he decided to leave, to me, was just not right."

Falcons owner Arthur Blank received a call later that previous week from Dallas owner Jerry Jones, an Arkansas alumnus, to say the school was interested in talking to Petrino about its coaching vacancy. Blank and the Falcons' general manager, Rich McKay, stated that they did not intend to let Petrino speak to Arkansas. 

Blank would say that he and Petrino would meet to line out some issues that Petrino wanted to address, and afterwards, Blank thought it was all hashed out. "He stood up, we shook hands, and he said, 'You have a head coach," Blank said. Then, 24 hours later, he was gone and had accepted the job to be the Razorbacks' head coach. 

It is said that a few Falcons players would hang the letter Petrino wrote to the team in the locker room with a red 'x' through it. That year was one of the darkest times the Atlanta Falcons had ever experienced, and when it started to rain, it poured.