The Season of the Unmanageable Coach Although it's only April, this may now officially be considered the Year of the Wayward Coach. Because even by the very low standards for decency set by the modern coaching profession, this one has been a doozy already. The Saints" Mr. Bounty, Gregg Williams, and his beneficiary Sean Payton might have accomplished this all on their own, mind you, but they have Bobby Petrino, now Arkansas's former football coach, and Marlins Manager Ozzie Guillen turning their trend into a full-fledged movement. Mike Stone/Reuters Bobby Petrino is now Arkansas's former football coach. That's why it was so fitting that the Arkansas athletic director chose Tuesday to skewer Petrino and barbecue him over a campfire, the same day Guillen held himself over the flames, apologizing in every way he could think of in two languages for having seemingly pledged allegiance to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Petrino apologized too - in the more modern fashion, via statement - for the flambé he made out of Arkansas's football program, not to mention his family, for not only having an affair and hiring his mistress but also lying about every part of it after he crashed his motorcycle with her perched on the back. It was, in other words, a banner day in the coaching profession. Perhaps the most depressing thing about L'Affaire Petrino is that Athletic Director Jeff Long's decision to fire him came as any kind of a surprise, which pretty much tells you all you need to know about the priorities in college sports these days, writes Geoff Calkins in The Commercial Appeal of Memphis. Long decided integrity was more important than Petrino's winning record, which is such a rare stance these days it will probably cost Long his job at some point, writes Tony Barnhart on CBSSports.com. In any other walk of life, this decision was no decision at all, writes Tim Keown on ESPN.com, and winning at all costs was the only argument for keeping Petrino. The affair, as it turns out, was the least of Petrino's sins in the eyes of his employer, as Andy Staples writes on SI.com, and even lying about it after the motorcycle crash might have gotten a pass had he not just hired his paramour for a job in the football department that had 158 other applicants who presumably were not having an affair with Petrino. That Petrino still had his supporters among Arkansas fans is depressing, but it's those people who are Arkansas's biggest embarrassment, writes Thayer Evans on Foxsports.com. For Arkansas, though, like the Marlins, you could feel only so much sympathy for the institution because both had fair warning their hires wouldn't turn out so well. The folks at Louisville and the Atlanta Falcons weren't exactly serving as character references for Petrino after shady exits from both jobs. And it's not like the Marlins didn't notice that White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams had to follow Guillen around with a fire extinguisher for much of his seven seasons there. As Michael Rosenberg writes on SI.com, the Marlins and Razorbacks didn't get what they deserved, they got what they hired. This was the ironic twist in the Marlins" situation. They actually thought the unfiltered nature of Guillen was one of his charms, that it would endear him to South Florida's famously fickle fans. On Tuesday, they were staging an hour-long combination of apology and self-flagellation by Guillen, all well deserved, that is only the start of the amends Guillen will have to make, writes Jon Heyman on CBSSports.com. Guillen not only offended Cuban-Americans, writes Israel Gutierrez on ESPN.com, but pretty much all decent human beings, and now we'll find out what everybody has actually learned from this, writes Howard Bryant on ESPN.com. Greg Cote writes in The Miami Herald that it's now time for Miami to be bigger and actually forgive Guillen, but Greg Couch of Foxsports.com finds enough disturbing twists in how Guillen talked himself in circles explaining how this all happened that he doubts Guillen will survive this with his job. For now, a five-game suspension in a 162-game season feels a bit like Guillen has been sent to time-out. So, the Marlins and Razorbacks now join the Saints in their unhappy little club, with the Saints still trying to figure out who is going to coach the team during Payton's purgatory. Bill Parcells is officially out, and even filling the job internally is complicated by the six-game suspension for the assistant Joe Vitt. You might have also noticed that the Saints haven't yet signed quarterback Drew Brees, although he made that sound like a formality in professing belief in the franchise Tuesday when speaking at his charity golf tournament in San Diego. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the N.H.L. these days - where no coaches have gotten fired in the last five minutes, perhaps setting a league record - is that even though the regular season is over, the Columbus Blue Jackets are still finding a way to lose. They lost the top pick in the draft when the Oilers won the lottery for the third straight year. The league now would like you to turn your attention to the playoffs, which, it is happy to report, will include a healthy and appreciative Sidney Crosby, A.J. Perez writes on Foxsports.com. Still, though, you might want to keep an eye on those coaches. It appears to be their year.