Kenny Klein, the sports information director at Louisville, said Petrino was leaving for Atlanta after guiding the Cardinals to a 12-1 season, capped off by a 24-13 victory over Wake Forest on Tuesday night in the Orange Bowl.

Petrino met with his Louisville players Sunday night to let them know he was leaving. The Falcons plan a formal announcement Monday afternoon but released a statement from owner Arthur Blank

``This is an exciting day for the Atlanta Falcons franchise. Bobby Petrino is an extremely talented football coach who has done some tremendously innovative things as both an offensive coordinator and head coach, and he brings to us a record of success at the collegiate and professional levels,'' said Blank.

Petrino had a 41-9 record in four years at Louisville, leading the school to the Big East title and its first Bowl Championship Series victory in the Orange. He had just completed the first year of a 10 year, $25 million contract.

The Falcons moved quickly to replace Mora, who was fired just two years after leading Atlanta to the NFC championship game. The Falcons missed the playoffs the past two years, including a 7-9 mark this season.

Petrino's previous NFL experience includes three years with the Jacksonville Jaguars, including two seasons as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in 2001. He then moved back to the college ranks, taking over as Auburn's offensive coordinator in 2002 before heading to Louisville.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)