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Ray Easterling, 62, of 1970s Atlanta Falcons’ Grits Blitz

The Richmond, Va., police captain Yvonne Crowder.com on Saturday that Easterling died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Richmond. His wife, Mary Ann Easterling, said that after he left football, Easterling experienced depression, insomnia and then dementia that she attributed to years of bruising hits.

Easterling played for the Falcons from 1972 to 1979 and was part of the team’s Grits Blitz defense in 1977 that set the N.F.L. record at the time for the fewest points allowed in a season, 129.

He was part of a group of seven former players who sued the league in Philadelphia in August, contending that it had failed to properly treat players for concussions and for decades had tried to conceal any links between football and brain injuries. The N.F.L. has said that any allegation that it intentionally sought to mislead players is without merit.

Ms. Easterly said she would continue to pursue the lawsuit and urge the league to establish a fund for players with traumatic brain injuries related to their playing days.

“Half the time the player puts themselves back in the game, and they don’t know what kind of impact it has,” she said. “Somehow this has got to be stopped.”

Easterling was born on Sept. 3, 1949, and played football at the University of Richmond. He was drafted by the Falcons as a ninth-round pick in 1972 and played for four years as a starter. He was a leader of the secondary that established a team record in 1977 with 26 interceptions.

After his playing days ended, he returned to Richmond, where he ran a financial services company and started a youth football camp. His wife and friends said that he started showing signs of brain damage about 20 years ago.

“He just wasn’t thinking right,” said Greg Brezina, a former Falcons teammate. “You could tell that 20 years ago. He’d start talking to you about one topic, and then he’d end up in another topic and he wouldn’t know how he got there.”

Arkansas Scrambles as Petrino Scandal Goes Beyond X’s and O’s

Nobody is questioning his coaching acumen, but the Arkansas program has been thrown into turmoil because of his judgment. On Sunday, Petrino, 51, was driving his Harley-Davidson motorcycle on a two-lane road about 20 miles southeast of Fayetteville when he lost control, slid through a ditch and struck tree limbs and a pile of dirt.

Petrino, who was not wearing a helmet, sustained four broken ribs and a cracked vertebra. He told Jeff Long, the Arkansas athletic director, that he was alone at the time of the accident. But on Thursday, shortly before the police report was made public, Petrino told Long he had been driving a passenger, the former Arkansas volleyball player Jessica Dorrell. Dorrell, 25, was recently hired by Petrino as the program’s student-athlete development coordinator.

“In hindsight, I showed a serious mistake in judgment when I chose not to be more specific about those details,” Petrino said in a statement.

Petrino, who is married with four children and two grandchildren, acknowledged an “inappropriate relationship” with Dorrell, and on Thursday night, he was put on paid administrative leave pending review of the circumstances surrounding the crash.

“That’s karma,” the former N.F.L. safety Lawyer Milloy, who played for Petrino in Atlanta, said Friday. Milloy added, “Just because he knows X’s and O’s doesn’t mean he’s a nice person.”

That sentiment has followed Petrino for much of his career.

In 2003, he was hired at Louisville after spending the previous season as Auburn’s offensive coordinator. During his first season with the Cardinals, he secretly met with Auburn officials about replacing Tommy Tuberville, his former boss. Petrino stayed in Louisville and compiled a 41-9 record over four seasons, including a 12-1 mark in 2006.

Louis Dover, who coaches at Seneca High School in Louisville, perhaps best summed up the feelings many people in football have about Petrino. “As a coach, he’s a genius, he’s one of the elite minds,” Dover said. “Personally, well, he’s a good coach.”

Dover said some of his distaste for Petrino stemmed from his treatment of D. J. Kamer, who played for Petrino at Louisville and for Dover at a previous employer, Waggener High School. Kamer told Dover that Petrino tried to persuade him not to attend a friend’s funeral in which he was a pallbearer.

“He was very disappointed D. J. was going to miss practice to go,” Dover said. “He didn’t say, ‘You can’t go.’ He said, ‘I guess you don’t want to play football here.’ ”

Despite his personal feelings, Dover said he knew of people who swore by Petrino once they got to know him. “If he walked to the door to recruit one of my kids, I’d open it,” Dover said, “because he’s a great football coach.”

In 2007, Petrino was hired to coach the Atlanta Falcons. But when the team was 3-10 and the stigma from the Michael Vick case still hung over the franchise, Petrino accepted the Arkansas job. His sudden departure and abrasive coaching style rankled the Falcons. Petrino notified his players that he was leaving with a four-sentence letter placed in each locker.

Arthur Blank, the Falcons’ owner, said at a news conference in 2007, “I do feel a sense of betrayal, a sense of trust lost, that was just not right given the circumstances.”

Bobby Petrino attended Carroll College in Helena, Mont., where he played football for his father, Bobby Petrino Sr. He played quarterback and also starred in basketball, earning a spot in the college’s athletic hall of fame.

Evin Demirel contributed reporting.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: April 6, 2012

An earlier version of this article contained a photo caption that misidentified the man pictured wearing a black shirt. The man is Taver Johnson, the Arkansas assistant head coach, not Jeff Long, the athletic director.

Falcons Place Franchise Tag on Cornerback Grimes

Grimes, who led the team with 17 passes defensed in 2011, is one of the most important names in an unusually large class of 17 unrestricted free agents. He had a combined 11 interceptions in 2009 and 2010 and was an alternate Pro Bowl pick in 2010.

Grimes’ agent, Ben Dogra, said the decision by Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff was expected.

“We anticipated receiving the franchise tag,” Dogra told The Associated Press. “Brent Grimes is certainly viewed as one of the elite cornerbacks in the NFL, and getting franchised is not a surprise to any of us. We look forward to continuing to speak with Thomas Dimitroff over the next few days.”

Dimitroff announced the move on the team’s radio partner, Atlanta’s WQXI AM-790. He said he plans to continue talks on a long-term deal with Grimes.

“Our feeling is, Brent Grimes is an excellent athlete with the ability to move, cover, break on the ball with some of the top corners in this league,” Dimitroff said. “We feel comfortable with his abilities, the way that he’s picked up our system and settled in nicely in the few years since we have been here.”

“We feel like, as we all know, you’re always looking for corners that can settle into your system and cover and stay in phase, as what we call it often, and make big plays on the ball. I think Brent Grimes does that, obviously, against big, small, fast or slow receivers in this league. We’re encouraged about having him back.”

Dogra said Grimes hopes “to explore all options with the Falcons, including signing a long-term deal.”

Dimitroff was scouting players in California on Friday and could not be reached for additional comment.

Grimes (5-10, 183) was an undrafted free agent from Shippensburg who emerged after joining the team’s practice squad in 2007.

Other top Atlanta free agents include linebacker Curtis Lofton, who led the team in tackles, safety Thomas DeCoud, who topped the Falcons with four interceptions, defensive end John Abraham, who led with 9 ½ sacks, and center Todd McClure. Other free agents include backup running back Jason Snelling, backup quarterback Chris Redman and receivers Harry Douglas and Eric Weems.

Dimitroff said after the season it might be difficult for the team to keep more than eight free agents.