FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - Bobby Petrino's flirtation with the NFL did not even last one full season.
Petrino on Tuesday resigned as coach of the Atlanta Falcons just 13 games into his inaugural rocky season with the franchise.
The Falcons announced Petrino's resignation on their web site and said the club would have no further comment until a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
The former Louisville coach is leaving the Falcons to take the head coaching job at Arkansas, according to a report by ESPN.
Citing sources close to the negotiations, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported on its web site that Petrino could be paid close to US$3 million per season to replace Houston Nutt at Arkansas.
The stunning departure comes one day after Falcons owner Arthur Blank told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he was assured by Petrino that he would be back for his second season with the team.
"I feel real fortunate that we have a terrific guy leading our football team," Blank said on Monday. "Our CEO, our coach Bobby Petrino, has done a terrific job dealing with adversity this year. He's proven to me that he's a better head coach than I ever thought he was going to be, dealing with the set of cards that unfolded this year."
At Arkansas, Petrino will inherit a team that went 8-4, including a stunning 50-48 upset of then-No. 1 Louisiana State in triple-overtime in the Southeastern Conference championship game on November 24.
Nutt resigned two days later and accepted the coaching position at Mississippi the very next day. In 10 seasons at Arkansas, Nutt guided the Razorbacks to a 75-48 record and seven bowl appearances.
Petrino had a nightmarish season in Atlanta, which started in disastrous fashion when starting quarterback Michael Vick was indicted on federal dogfighting charges on July 17 and subsequently ordered to stay away from training camp by commissioner Roger Goodell.
Vick, who eventually reached a plea deal on the charges, on Monday received a 23-month sentence for his role in the illegal actions. He is under indefinite suspension by the NFL.
Without Vick, who was expected to be the centerpiece of Petrino's retooled offence, the Falcons have staggered to a 3-10 record, including Monday night's 34-14 home loss to the New Orleans Saints on national television.
That forced Petrino to go into the season with journeyman Joey Harrington as his starter before signing Byron Leftwich and eventually handing the reins to Chris Redman, who had been out of football the previous three seasons.
Petrino was hired on January 7 to replace Jim Mora Jr., who was 26-22 in three seasons with Atlanta. Petrino signed a five-year contract worth a reported US$24 million.
Just six months before joining the Falcons, Petrino had signed a 10-year contract extension worth US$25.5 million with Louisville.
In 2006, Louisville won the Big East Conference, beat Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl and finished with a 12-1 record.
In his four years at Louisville, Petrino compiled a 41-9 record. He arrived in Atlanta with a reputation for his innovative passing game, which featured quarterbacks Brian Brohm and Stefan LeFors.
Louisville's offence finished in the top 10 nationally in each of Petrino's four campaigns.
The opportunity to work with Vick, who became the first NFL quarterback to rush for more than 1,000 yards in 2006, was expected to rejuvenate both the offence and the franchise.
Instead, Petrino is headed back to the college game while Vick will spend most of the next two years in a jail cell.
