Sometimes, the best thing you can do in an bad situation is to admit that things aren't working out, and that one or more parties are in over their heads. Time for everyone to move on. Sometimes, it's less than convenient to do it with class. Former NFL coaches Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino found that out the hard way when they took disastrous turns at the pro game. Saban, who coached the Dolphins in 2005 and 2006, leaving the 1-15 disaster that Bill Parcells must now fix, alienated pretty much everyone he interacted with in Miami. Saban recently told the Miami Herald [1]that his time with the Fins was "a difficult situation for the Sabans," and that "we love college coaching."
As for current Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, who managed to last a full 13 regular-season games with the Falcons last year, "love of college football" was his reason for tunneling out of Atlanta with very little notice. Petrino told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution [2] that Michael Vick's suspension and eventual sentencing took much of the allure away from the Falcons job. From there, it was inevitable that he would leave. "The whole situation, the timing was bad, no question. With the Falcons, and with Arkansas, it was really the only way it could play out."
Right.
The next time NFL teams want to draw from the pool of college coaching talent, let's hope that the vetting process is a bit more exhaustive. There's no reason to assume that other college coaches can't be successful in the NFL, but there are specific traits and qualities that any successful NFL coach must have.
You will see none of them in the two articles linked above.
Links:
[1] http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/colleges/story/617343.html
[2] http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2008/07/25/sec_petrino_falcons_arkansas.html