Rich Rod Faces Make or Break Season

When a college football program announces the hiring of a high profile coach there is much fanfare and the coach is welcomed to the campus by students, fans and alumni.  This wasn't exactly the case for Rich Rodriguez when he came to the University of Michigan to take over as Head Football Coach and it hasn't gotten any easier for him since.

It all began with the selection of Rodriguez to succeed Lloyd Carr.  It was no secret that Michigan wanted Les Miles (a former Michigan player) and many of the alumni blame Athletic Director Bill Martin for 'fumbling' the hire of Miles--forcing the university to seek other candidates.  Martin reached out to Greg Schiano, but finally offered the job to Rodriguez.  Martin couldn't get the hiring of Rodriguez right either.  Not only is he the second premier coach that Michigan has hired away from the Mountaineers (the WVU basketball coach, John Beilein had been hired away by U of M the previous year) but Michigan botched the negotiation of Rodriguez's buyout with West Virginia forcing legal action before it was all settled.  So, the hiring of Rodriguez left a terrible taste it the collective mouth of the Michigan faithful, but never fear, winning cures all ills, so . . .

This is where the wheels came off the bus for Rich Rodriguez.  His staff came into Ann Arbor, completely reconfigured the weight and fitness facilities and installed their new offense and defense.  The result was player transfers and a steep learning curve for the remaining players that resulted in the worst season in the history of Michigan football.  That bears repeating.  Michigan has been playing football since the 19^th century.  It is the winningest program in college football history (total wins and winning percentage) and has one of the richest traditions in all of sports.  Rich Rodriguez's first year as the head coach was the worst season in the history of Michigan football.  Rodriguez had all of the wrong firsts.  First season in 34 years with no bowl appearance (longest streak in the nation), first ever loss to a MAC team, first time losing to all of Michigan's key rivals in one season (Notre Dame, Michigan State, Ohio State-as well as Penn State), first season with 8+ losses and it goes on.  For Michigan fans, this was the first year in history that their holiday plans weren't influenced by what day their team was playing in a bowl game.

 So, with the alumni upset with the Athletic Director (and by association, Rodriguez), player transfers and then the worst season in school history, Rodriguez really needed everything to go well in the offseason.  And it has to be said that, essentially, it did.  Michigan welcomed a good recruiting class including two quality quarterbacks whose skills fit the spread offense very well.  After a full year with the program, the returning players had made significant progress in their fitness and their understanding of the new systems.  Tate Forcier, the top quarterback recruit had a great spring game and it looked like Michigan football was back on track.  Then controversy hit during the week before the first game of the year.  The Michigan coaching staff was accused of violating NCAA rules regarding organized practice time for the players and now, the University's administration is investigating the allegations themselves.  It appears that Michigan probably did nothing wrong or at least nothing different from every other program in the country, but Rodriguez must feel as if he can't get a break.  So, what can he do?  He has to do what John Beilein did in his second season, win.

Rich Rodriguez is in a position where anything less than a winning season will probably result in his getting fired.  The influential alumni have been disappointed with his hiring from the start and their frustration with Bill Martin means that they aren't eager for Rodriguez to succeed.  The typical fan is tired of the losing streak with Ohio State and wants to see the program return to national prominence.  The key to remember is that Rodriguez didn't take over a losing program with little talent.  He took over a program well stocked with talent with a long winning tradition.  It was his changes that resulted in a 3 - 9 season last year-not that the season would have been spectacular otherwise. 

There are a few key things that Rodriguez has to do to keep his job this year and prevent the alumni from pressing Bill Martin to go hire coach Jim Harbaugh away from Stanford.   First, it has to be a winning season.  Fans have been patient watching the transformation of the football team into a spread offense and 3-3-5 defense.  Like Beilein's change with the basketball team, the football change has to show progress by turning in a winning season and a bowl game (any bowl game).  Second, he cannot lose to opponents they are expected to beat.  In other words, when Western Michigan and Delaware State come to Ann Arbor, they better leave defeated.  Third, he cannot go 0-for against his rivals.  Rodriguez probably won't be expected to defeat Ohio State, but losses against Michigan State and Notre Dame will probably do him in, even if he has a winning season otherwise.  So, he needs to beat at least one of the 3 schools if not 2.  Finally, since Michigan is likely to go to a lower tier bowl game, they better win.  Doing these things, showing significant progress with the program, should save his job.  Failing to make big leaps forward, probably means he and his staff are updating their resumes.