The 51-year-old Petrino, a married father of four, had maintained an inappropriate relationship with 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell for a "significant" amount of time and at one point had given her $20,000, Long said. Dorrell, a former Razorbacks volleyball player, worked for the Razorbacks Foundation before she was hired by Petrino on March 28, four days before their accident on a winding rural road. In a press conference to announce the firing Tuesday, Long said he learned that Petrino paid Dorrell $20,000 at one point, but did not elaborate on the reason for the payment. "Coach Petrino abused his authority when over the past few weeks he made a staff decision and personal choices that benefited himself and jeopardized the integrity of the football program," Long said. Long said Petrino was fired "with cause" _ meaning he will not receive the $18 million buyout his contract called for _ and there were no discussions about ways to keep Petrino at Arkansas. Long declined comment when asked about Dorrell's job status. Once the coach of the Atlanta Falcons, Petrino finishes with a 34-17 record in four seasons, 21-5 over his final two in Fayetteville. Instead, he and Dorrell went for a ride and skidded off the road in an accident left him with four broken ribs, a cracked vertebra in his neck and numerous abrasions on his face. The police report said Petrino and Dorrell were taken by a passer-by to an intersection in southeast Fayetteville, where Arkansas State Police Capt. His departure was so sudden that Petrino left farewell notes in the lockers of the Atlanta players rather than telling them of his resignation in person.
– Arkansas Razorbacks football coach Bobby Petrino has been canned after the married dad of four confessed to having a volleyball-playing lover half his age whom he put on the college payroll. Petrino's secret life came to light following a motorcycle accident earlier this month while he was riding with lover Jessica Dorrell, 25. Petrino, 51, suffered broken ribs, abrasions, and a cracked vertebrae in his neck. He didn't tell his bosses that Dorrell was with him at the time, but they quickly found out—and connected him to her hiring and a $20,000 payment to her. Athletic director Jeff Long slammed the coach, hired four years ago, for misleading his superiors and the public, and damaging the reputation of the football program. "Coach Petrino abused his authority when he made a staff hire that benefited himself and jeopardized the integrity of the football program,” said Long. Petrino, a former coach of the Atlanta Falcons, hired Dorrell, who used to play volleyball for the Razorbacks, as a student-athlete development coordinator last year, reports the New York Daily News. He apologized after his firing, and said he is now trying to "heal" his family, according to AP. "All I have been able to think about is the number of people I've let down by making selfish decisions," he said. "I chose to engage in an improper relationship. I also made several poor decisions following the end of that relationship and in the aftermath of the accident."