Will Rich Rodriguez be Michigan’s next coach?
Based on what I’ve read from several news sources it looks like things could be progressing towards Rich Rodriguez becoming the University of Michigan’s next head football coach. Here are the two key pieces of information. The initial report from the Sporting News reported that Rodriguez was meeting with U of M president Mary Sue Coleman and Bill Martin at a law office in Toledo.
As first reported by Sporting News Radio correspondent Michael Bradley, Rodriguez and his agent, Mike Brown, spoke with Michigan officials in Toledo, Ohio, on Friday about the Wolverines’ head coaching job.
The initial response from West Virginia officials can be summed up as “what the f*ck?”. From MLIVE’s coverage:
West Virginia officials apparently did not know of Rodriguez’s trip to Toledo, either. “He has not shared that with me,” West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong told The Associated Press.
The Sporting News article linked above indicates that West Virginia has now granted permission for Michigan to discuss their job opening with Rodriguez. If this is truly a new development since the meeting in Toledo it gives you every reason to think Michigan is pretty far along in negotiations.
It has been reported previously that Bill Martin likes to get the compensation agreed upon first. The fact Rodriguez met with both Coleman and Martin for several hours and reports indicate his wife and agent were with him would lead you to expect an answer - one way or another - pretty quickly.
Greg Schiano took 1-2 days to make his decision. So I think we’ll likely hear something one way or another from Rodriguez by Monday at the latest. If I had to guess I think he’ll accept the job offer. Brian over at MGoBlog looks at the WVU message boards and thinks there’s a good chance he’s coming to Ann Arbor.
Rodriguez is the best of the guys Michigan has talked to thus far. He’s 44 so if he was hired at Michigan he could easily coach for 10-15 years. His offenses have been excellent, whether featuring a dropback passer like Shaun King - throwing for 3,000 yards in a single season at Tulane - or a running QB like Woody Dantzler - throwing for 2,000 yards and rushing for 1,000 yards in a single season at Clemson. Pat White holds the Big East career rushing yards record for quarterbacks.
This season Rodriguez won his fourth Big East championship and had the #4 rushing offense, #11 scoring offense, #4 total defense and #7 scoring defense. The Mountaineers missed out on a shot to play for the BCS Championship when they lost their final game of the season. That loss ironically pushed Les Miles and LSU into the championship game.
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