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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Falcons Owner and CEO Arthur Blank used a visual aid when he spoke with the media Wednesday afternoon about Bobby Petrino's abrupt resignation as the team's head coach after just 13 games on the sideline.

The owner, speaking in the team meeting room with President and General Manager Rich McKay, pointed to a list of values hanging on the wall to his right. Petrino had the board installed at the beginning of his tenure. It includes motivational words linked directly to football -- four points for four quarters tied together by a one key word at the bottom.

"Finish."

Thumping his hand on the podium with each point, Blank made it clear that Petrino did not "finish" what he started with the Falcons. The owner said the coach showed poor timing in the move and that he assured him as late as Monday afternoon that he would be the coach of the Falcons heading into next season.

"I think the best way to describe it is that we feel betrayed and let down," Blank said in front of 16 cameras from various news sources and more than two dozen reporters.

Blank said he understands the unique situation of his team, which includes a quarterback suspended and sentenced to 23 months in jail on federal dogfighting charges. But, to him, that doesn't excuse the curious timing of Petrino's move, which featured a resignation on Tuesday evening and a press conference announcing him as the new head coach at the University of Arkansas on Tuesday night.

"The record the team has is not a reflection of what I believe his ability as a coach to be," Blank said. "No one internally in our organization held him responsible for the results this season.

"In my opinion, (13) games is not a reasonable commitment. Had there been a reasonable period of time that had transpired before this conversation had taken place I may have been more open to him interviewing for another position. I think the timing of Bobby's decision was wrong."

Blank said the coach approached him last Friday requesting some changes. Blank and McKay did not go into detail about the requests but both said they were minor and, in most cases, easily executed. Over the weekend, however, rumors of the Arkansas move began to take shape and McKay, who was traveling, made it back into town and into conversation.

"I would say he wanted more control of certain things which were not a problem for us or for Rich," Blank said.

Blank and McKay both met with Petrino over the weekend to discuss issues and his interest in heading back to college. Both said family and a "frustration" with the pro game were major concerns raised by the former Falcons coach. The last meeting came Monday afternoon -- six hours before Atlanta played New Orleans on Monday Night Football. Blank said he asked Petrino about the rumors during that meeting and said the coach left his office after shaking his hand and saying "you have a head coach."

By Tuesday night the team was without a head coach.

"Today was a day of decisions," Petrino said in his introductory press conference in Arkansas. "It was difficult on one side and very easy on the other. It was difficult to leave Atlanta and what we had started there. It was difficult to leave the staff, the players and the fans. The timing of it was probably the thing that made it the most difficult. I certainly would have liked to stay and finish the season and had that all work. But circumstances presented that this is what we had to do today and I couldn't be more happy about it.

"I knew I wanted to come back and coach college football. I'm very excited to get back and bring a young man in who's 17 (or) 18 years old and be able help him reach his goal."

Blank made it clear that he doesn't question Petrino's desire to coach at the college level. The biggest issue is timing and how Petrino left the team. Players learned of the departure on the news and via a letter left in their lockers. Blank also expressed frustration at how the coaching staff was left with little warning, many of them having moved to Atlanta with families.

"I don't like the fact they had to hear about it on the television," McKay said. "I don't think that's right but, based on the timing, there wasn't much we could do. We made sure we called all the players."

"I got a letter from him," added veteran running back Warrick Dunn. "To me, that shows no sign of respect. That's no class... To lie to Mr. Blank the way he did and the next day after the game the way he did. He short-changed us."

Most players interviewed had the same type of reaction, which took tones of anger and sadness.

"It's kind of messed up," safety Lawyer Milloy said. "If he doesn't want to put the hard work into it then I don't want him being my coach... He allowed us to be embarrassed on national television (Monday night), while he's cutting a deal (with Arkansas).

"We didn't realize we had a cancer on our team in the form of a head coach."

An interim head coach took over Wednesday morning in the form of veteran assistant and Hall of Fame candidate Emmitt Thomas. Thomas, 64, has coached both sides of the ball during stops with six NFL teams. He is a member of the Kansas City Chiefs Ring of Honor and is a Veterans' Committee nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2008.

Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg will stay in their current roles.

"I'm excited, I'm nervous and I'm happy to have the opportunity," Thomas said after a brief practice. "It will be an opportunity for myself, the other coordinators and the rest of the coaching staff to try to rally these guys and get them to play competitive football for the rest of the season."

Thomas takes the Falcons on the first leg of a new beginning.

No. 1 on Petrino's board was the word "grinder." Under that were values of hard work, sacrifice and courage.

All words describe the process that began Wednesday evening as McKay convened the first meeting of the team's search committee, which less than a year ago decided on Petrino. McKay is confident this search will yield quality candidates, despite the well-documented struggles that have fallen on the franchise.

"This is the National Football League," McKay said when asked if he expected difficulties in the search. "This is something coaches strive all their lives to be able to coach in... Coaches want to coach in the National Football League."

Blank reaffirmed his commitment to the fan base and to finishing the job he started.

"It's not about me," he said. "It's about Atlanta. It's about our fans, community and the players, coaches and staff in this building committed to playing football for all the right reasons."

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