The highly publicized case of former head coach Rich Rodriguez and his departure from WVU, especially before the Fiesta Bowl, is not an easy one to decipher.

The list of ways that Rodriguez felt WVU did not honor the terms of their newest contract extension is well known. WVU's response complicates things, because they say that Rodriguez violated his contract by not "putting in writing" the way that they had erred. Interestingly, it does not discuss whether or not he verbally complained about things.

The matter continues to be acrimonious as Rodriguez is looking to reduce the $4 million buyout fine he'll have to pay for early termination of his contract, while WVU's administration is not budging.

If you think that the decision by Rodriguez to leave WVU and go to Michigan was easy, then you don't know his past and his ties as a WVU alumnus. Does Michigan have a more illustrious football history than WVU? Of course. But coaches like to win, and WVU will be returning many of their top players next season, while Michigan will be in more of a transition phase. Rodriguez knew this. 

It would be easy to look at Bobby Petrino and say, "Rodriguez bailed on his team just like Petrino." It might also be easy to say that the players were angry at Rodriguez for leaving and played to show him that he was wrong to leave.

But here are other alternative scenarios. He left WVU before the Fiesta Bowl, because WVU officials told him to get out immediately. He left in order to give his Assistant Coach Bill Stewart the chance to have a live audition for the job. We all know that no matter how consistent a Division I football coach's overall record is, if he doesn't beat the main rivals and win the big bowl games, then he'll be changing addresses sooner than later.

We just don't know the truth. But I would guess that the WVU players know.

If Rodriguez's plan was to let Stewart use the game as an audition for the WVU head coaching job, guess what? It worked spectacularly. WVU went up against the mighty Oklahoma sooners and whalloped them 48-28. For a really nice blog on this, go read Dwindy1's post titled "WVU: Rodriguez was the Problem?"

Everyone talks about the importance of continuity in a successful football program, so it would be extremely unpopular not to give the job permanently to Bill Stewart. Maybe only three coaches would be able to take over WVU without fear of the students demolishing the campus in protest. Those three are Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, and Jimmy Johnson (not the NASCAR driver).

As for the players? Instead of believing that they played their hearts out to show Rodriguez that he was wrong to leave, what if they played exceptionally for him and also to make a statement that Bill Stewart should continue what Rodriguez has installed?  Only the players know.

But the lack of negative comments about Rodriguez from the WVU players is a telling statement. When you look at the list of ways that the WVU Administration broke the terms of the contract, almost all of them involved ways that Rodriguez was trying to help his assistant coaches and players. High school and college players are not only highly emotional but also extremely loyal, and they become even more loyal if the coach does things to show that he/she really cares about their well-being.

I'd like to think that WVU could have won the game in the same manner if Rodriguez was still their head coach, but sometimes adversity inspires and pushes individuals and teams to surpass even their own expectations.

My guess is that the only time we'll hear WVU players comment freely about this is after they graduate. I'm sure that WVU like many other institutions have sternly warned them not to comment. Until that time occurs, only the players and the coaches there really know what happened. My guess is that the WVU football team played to honor Rodriguez and what he's created rather than to trash the man.