Rich Rodriguez, newly annointed savior & coach of the Maize & Blue Michigan Wolverines, late of the West Virginia Mountaineers is the newest inductee into the Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute Hall-of-Shame. He is the first Hispanic to win the award.
Unbelievably, Rodriguez left his alma mater to take on the task of bringing Michigan back to respectability in the Big 10 conference and in the national rankings.
According to Coach Rodriguez, "It was a very difficult decision to leave a place where I grew up.....It was going to take a very special opportunity and a very special place and I think that's what this is.....Unless you're a Hatfield or McCoy, Michigan is defintely a better place to be than West Virginia."
Let's hope that there are no home games scheduled against Division 1AA teams in the "Big House" in the foreseeable future.
Apparently Rodriguez was Michigan's third choice after both Les Miles (LSU) and Greg Schiano (Rutgers) turned down the Maize & Blue's attempt to replace the retiring Lloyd Carr. I guess the third time's a charm! Hopefully he won't end up like Ty Willingham at Notre Dame.
"[I] might have been my wife's third choice, too," Rodriguez quipped.
Rodriguez met five of the seven criterions needed for induction into the Male Prostitute Hall-of-Shame notably:
1) Accepting coaching positions that either moves them from Division 1AA or a lesser Division 1A program to successively bigger Division 1A programs, culminating in a job at a traditional BCS power.
2) Significantly improves his financial compensation package.
3) Taking his next job (Michigan) after his former team (West Virginia) made it to a bowl game, but before the bowl game is actually played.
4) State that the school he was at (WVU) was his dream job, or deny rumors that he is looking at other opportunities.
According to West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, Rodriguez, is a native West Virginian "whose only wish was to play football at WVU" and as "a young man whose only wish was to coach at WVU!" So much for loyalty in this day and age!
5) Generate controversy. Rodriguez barely skates in under this criterion, as his only controversy involves the handling of the buyout clause in his West Virginia contract and whether or not he will coach the Mountaineers in the upcoming Fiesta Bowl.
Rodriguez is no stranger to success, having served as Tommy Bowden's offensive coordinator at Tulane, where the Green Wave went 12-0 in 1998 with quarterback Shaun King (who?) running his spread offense. After following Bowden to Clemson, Rodriguez was selected to lead the West Virginia Mountaineers out of obscurity and into the upper echelon of the Big East conference.
His penultimate accomplishment of the 2007 season was leading his then #2 ranked West Virginia team to a devastating & demoralizing loss against an underdog Pittsburgh Panther team (led by a crippled coach) in the backyard brawl. The loss eliminated any possibility that the Mountaineers would play in the national championship game.
Good luck at Michigan Rich! Let's see if you can do any better than Lloyd Carr against Ohio State!
2 tough losses, followed by a bounce back 8 game win streak, then 2 losses to tough teams, an 8-4 record is not respectable? Not the Michigan norm, but 8-4 is definitely respectable.
I don't quite understand your point. If you were to ask 100 college football coaches what their "dream" job would be, Michigan would be mentioned in the top 5 of all. For a coach to have an opportunity to oversee one of the most storied programs in America doesn't mean he prostituted himself for the job.
I really don't get your mentioning that Pitt's Dave Wannstedt was using crutches, or as you put it, "crippled," during the game with WVU. What the hell does that have to do with anything?
MoonDoggie - Prostituted may be a bit too strong of a word in this case, but you'll have had to have read one of my previous posts to understand where I am coming from.
The point is, I don't particularly like it when a head coach jumps from one Div 1A school to another when he really has no reason to. It's especially appalling during this silly-season before the bowl games begin.
While I totally agree that Michigan is one of the top 5 "destination" jobs, it really looked like Rodriguez was going to establish himself by putting WVU on the map much like Joe Pa at Penn State & Bobby Bowden at Florida State have become synonymous with their respective programs. He could have elevated WVU to elite status, or put them a whole lot closer than they are now. Apparently Rodriguez was not getting the commitment to winning from the administration, hence his walking through the open door before it shut.
As for the reference to Dave Wannstedt, that was a metaphorical statement wrapped around the adjective "crippled". In essence, it's like two people fighting each other while one has his arm tied behind his back. You would expect that person to be at a disadvantage, which was the point here; that Rodriguez couldn't even beat a rivalry opponent that they were heavily favored to beat in their biggest game of the year. Is that the type of coach that Michigan is looking for in light of the fact that Jim Tressel of Ohio State has owned Michigan since becoming a buck-nut?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this is a bad hire, but Rodriguez is Michigan's third choice!
Last edited by rjm2179 on December 18th at 5:28 PM.
Yes we should, and we do. You had mentioned that we are trying to return to respectability.
As far as RR being the 3rd choice..... So what? Not everybody can have their first choice. That's why interviews happen. For both sides to decide if it's a good fit. When OSU hired Tressle, alot of Buckeyes raised an eyebrow. Safe to say those eyebrows have been lowered. Was he the Buckeyes' first choice?
I understand your take on the subject better now, although I didn't infer the metaphorical statement regarding Wannstedt when reading the post.
I respect what you're saying about RR, but for a moment let's look at it from his perspective. I'm coaching WV, in the Big East, the most irrelevant of all the BCS Conferences. My best players are graduating this year and I don't have players of that caliber to replace them. I might be competitive next year, but chances are we go 8-4 and end up in the Coconut Bowl.
On the other hand, I have an opportunity to coach Michigan, in the Big 10, with it's own TV network, in a stadium that seats 110,000, and my primary rival is Ohio State, the best rivalry in all of college football. I can play in a BCS game, or perhaps the Rose Bowl, the most prestigious of all the bowls. Hmmm...... I'm going to Michigan!
Well acccording to you he doenst even fill the first criteria:
1) Accepting coaching positions that either moves them from Division 1AA or a lesser Division 1A program to successively bigger Division 1A programs, culminating in a job at a traditional BCS power.
He turned WVU back into prominence, with BCS bowl bids on the regular. He wasnt like Tressel who was coming from lessor known Youngstown St.
And your second point. I disagree, what is wrong with wanting to make more money? Its obvious he earned it by what he was able to accomplish at WVU.
His denial of the rumors that he was actively seeking the job was probably true, Michigan cam knocking at his door. He didnt drive to AnnArbor with his resume in hand...
Last edited by DezzNutz on December 18th at 10:22 PM.
My question is if the Mich job is so great,WHY was rr the 3rd choice,the first 2 turned it down !!!
I am a Wv fan and find it seems easy for those to down the big east and the Mountaineers,but see them coming to us for coaches to show them how sports are played !!!
If indeed the team up north was as hot as THEY have led themselves to believe they wouldnt have to look for a coach!! Hey Mich , Bo is no longer coaching,wake up you can not live today on the PAST !! Like it or not WV is going to a BSC you are not !!!
None of us know what will happen next yr,WE could be number 1 Next yr !! And yes you could be 3-7 !! Yes you are getting a Good coach ,but I guess not the best,or we would be playing for the NC this yr !!!
MOONDOGLEFT what a do.uchebag! If you can't beat the Mountaineers then just hire their coach. Oh sorry that was the lesser Mountaineers. You must watch a lot of football because you said WVU loses their best players for next year, and that is completely the opposite. Not only are White and Slaton returning, only 1 senior on offense is leaving. I will bet you we will be ranked higher than your UM team. Just don't schedule PITT in the future.
ojt59- Why the attack on us? We never said anything about your team. You are going to a BCS bow, yes. You earned it. We are not going to a BCS bowl. We did not earn it. My question is- What did your post have to do with the discussion?
Rich Rodriguez sucks as a coach. He is good at one thing, running a spread offense. Shut his spread offense down and he is utterly clueless. This new conference he will be playing in will crush his smaller lineman that is required to run that spread offense. Michigan didn't pick a proven winner here, they picked a coach who has gotten lucky coaching at WVU. Watch closely how PITT and USF beat WV. As a matter-of-fact USF has done so two years in a row (no good coach would have EVER let that happen), hell the game plans for USF were identical both years. A good coach can change the game plan on the fly and builds his teams to enable him to do so. RR will never be that calliber and will have a short lived, frustrating career at Michigan.
being from west virginia or anywhere else if you give your word that it's your dream job and that you'll stay , i'd say your word and respectability not only for yourself but the people around you isn't worth a d.a.m.n. if you do what this #### did. if his word isn't worth a d.a.m.n. then he isn't either.as soon as he loses his second game against ohio state he will be sent packing.i have no doubt in my mind on that.then, possibly someone will hire him to coach a high school team. no hard feelings.i just hope he doesn't decide to move back to his home state.
At this day and age, peoples word means less and less, thats one reason are country is getting in the shape thats it's in, that and the almighty dollar. There are alot of people here in WV that still honer there word bur RR is not one of them.
When will all the crying stop? What a bunch of girls. The coaching job at Michigan is the true dream job if you dream big. Coaching for WVU would be like getting a bike a cool one then somebody offers you a Harley what would you do?
The fans at WVU are crying and now calling the coach and his wife horrible names and even wishing death on them (read the other blogs) How low rent can you get? Of course if you have ever been there it's ALL low rent.
Stop the whining ya bunch of crybabies! You act like Coach Rod (Who will win a National Championship with Michigan)stole your mom's tater hole. Can you blame the guy after we all see your true colors?
Seems like you had a hard time finding a coach for the dream job at Michigan. Don't see the hype in the job. Michigan football is usually boring and maybe it will take a WVU coach to bring some life to it. Hopefully, RR won't sell Michigan out in a couple of years like he did to WVU. Good luck with him. He can not be trusted.
To all you WV fans if you check the record books Michigan has the most wins with ND second. I'm not sure but I don't believe WV is even in the top 50.so how can you set there and say WV job better than UM. Miles from lsu would have taken the job if the polls hadn't #### OU and put lsu in the title game. OU had just beaten the #### out of the #1 team in the country but yet lsu jump ahead of them in the polls what BS!!! So if you want to blame anyone for this situation blame the polls not
RR.
While dissappointed in his decision!! To say the least!!
I can see where he was thinking this is a chance of a lifetime. Hopefully he will have a team that will play when a national championship is on the line?? We blew our chance against Pitt! We should be number 1 playing for the NCAA Title, but our players failed to show up?
Maybe in Michigan, his players will play every game, every down, every second like the Title is on the line??
Good Luck Rich!!
Beat Ohio State!!
Go MountainEERS!!!!
Last edited by Cloudpounder on December 29th at 3:25 PM.
All i am going to say is if you think he took this job for his legacy as a coach at 1 of the best college programs in the country , thats fine but the sneeking around, lying,steeling of recruits, uprooting of his family,selling out of your personal goals & dreams, leaving your friends & other family members behind,this does nothing but tarnish your legacy with the people who trully do care about you no matter winning or lossing you would have always had a good legacy at WVU. Now he has a poor legacy here and if he does'nt win thier he will have a poor legacy thier. IF YOU DISAPPOINT YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS & YOU SELL YOUR DREAMS FOR (MAYBE) SOMETHING BETTER, YOU ARE A LOOSER EITHER WAY.
I am an avowed "West Coast" college football fan who happens to live between Big 12 and Big 10 country and spends many a late Saturday night watching football from the "conference of champions".
While I am not an SEC-hater, I do believe SEC fans have a tendency to think too highly of their teams, without knowing much about football beyond the confines of dixieland.
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Rich Rodriguez, newly annointed savior & coach of the Maize & Blue Michigan Wolverines, late of the West Virginia Mountaineers is the newest inductee into the Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute Hall-of-Shame. He is the first Hispanic to win the award.
offensive coordinator at Tulane, where the Green Wave went 12-0 in 1998 with quarterback Shaun King (who?) running his spread offense. After following Bowden to Clemson, Rodriguez was selected to lead the West Virginia Mountaineers out of obscurity and into the upper echelon of the Big East conference. 
