Sources: Petrino out as coach
Bobby Petrino will not return as head football coach at Arkansas, multiples sources have told ESPN.com's Chris Low.
The university has called an 8:15 p.m. ET press conference at which time athletic director Jeff Long will announce Petrino will not be back.
Assistant head coach Taver Johnson had been placed in charge of the program while Petrino was on leave and sources told ESPN.com's Low that Johnson will remain in charge. The sources said that Long has informed the coaching staff that he would like to keep the assistants in place through the rest of spring practice and then open up the coaching search to see what options are available at this point.
The 51-year-old Petrino was put on paid leave last week after he didn't tell his boss right away that a 25-year-old female football program employee was riding with him during an April 1 motorcycle crash. Petrino, who is married with four children, also admitted to an inappropriate relationship.
On Monday, a person familiar with the investigation confirmed to The Associated Press that Petrino's "previous inappropriate relationship" was with Dorrell, the former Arkansas volleyball player with whom Petrino was riding with during his motorcycle crash on a rural two-lane road southeast of Fayetteville.
Petrino was noticeably vague in the wording about the relationship in his statement last Thursday, and the person spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Long said in a late-night news conference Thursday that he didn't hear about the 25-year-old Dorrell until Petrino called him that afternoon, minutes before a police report was released that disclosed her presence at the accident.
Dorrell, who has yet to comment publicly since the accident, was hired March 28 by Petrino as the student-athlete development coordinator after serving as a fundraiser with the Razorback Foundation. She is in charge of organizing the recruiting process for the football team, including initial eligibility for each incoming player.
Petrino signed a new seven-year contract in December 2010 after completing his third regular season at Arkansas. The contract, for an average of $3.53 million annually, had a clause in it that would allow Arkansas to dismiss Petrino for "engaging in conduct, as solely determined by the university, which is clearly contrary to the character and responsibilities of a person occupying the position of head football coach or which negatively or adversely affects the reputation of the (university's) athletics programs in any way."
The police report said Petrino was riding with Dorrell when he lost control of his motorcycle. Dorrell said in the report that she wasn't sure what caused the accident, during which Petrino was unable to maneuver a turn and laid the motorcycle down on its left side while sliding off a rural, two-lane highway about 20 miles southeast of Fayetteville.
Petrino said in the report that wind and sun caused the accident. The police report said Petrino and Dorrell were taken by a passer-by to an intersection in southeast Fayetteville, where Arkansas State Police Capt. Lance King, who was often assigned to protect Petrino, took the coach to the hospital.
The police report said Dorrell wasn't taken to a hospital, and that she was dropped off at her vehicle parked at the intersection. State police spokesman Bill Sadler said Petrino didn't try to hide Dorrell's part in the accident when questioned on Tuesday.
"Coach Petrino was as cooperative as anybody that we could ever hope to encounter following the traffic crash," Sadler said.
Petrino, who wasn't wearing a helmet, was hospitalized and had since returned to practice. The police report said he will not be cited for the accident that occurred near the small town of Crosses on a road popular with motorcyclists. Petrino has said he has been an avid rider since he was 10, and the Helena, Mont., native said several years ago that he owned a Harley-Davidson and four other motorcycles.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
2010 Football season information, news, and more! 
