I’ve been hard on Rich Rodriguez in recent weeks. I’ll just come right out and say it: I don’t like him. I lump Rich Rodriguez in the same dubious group with other notorious, two-faced, ego beasts like Bobby Petrino and even His Royal Highness Nick Saban. I don’t like how he handled his departure from West Virginia, I don’t like the lack of respect he showed to Michigan football when he arrived in Ann Arbor, and I have reveled in each and everyone one of their struggles this season; such as the struggle I expect Michigan to have this weekend in Happy Valley.
But, one thing should be clear: I absolutely think that Rich Rodriguez will win games, and plenty of them, at Michigan. That is why I was not surprised to read this article on ESPN.com regarding Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin voicing full support for Rich Rodriguez despite a 2-4 record and a home loss last weekend to Toledo.
(Note: in an effort to be fair to Rich Rodriguez considering the posts I’ve written the past few days, this article from mgoblog.com gives a good overview of Rich Rodriguez’s history at West Virginia and how it likely portends good things for the on-field success of Michigan in the future.)
Now, obviously Bill Martin will express support because Rich Rodriguez was his hire. And we’re only halfway through the first season of what Bill Martin and the Michigan faithful hope will be a long and glorious Rich Rodriguez era in Ann Arbor. Furthermore, the style that Rich Rodriguez plays will compel him to recruit the kind of speed and up-tempo athletes that the Big Ten has been lacking in recent years. With a couple of years to get his spread offense properly installed, and to acquire the right talent to run it, Michigan will again be a legitimate contender with Ohio State for Big Ten supremacy
All this being said, I still think Michigan has made a deal with the devil; and being an Indiana basketball fan, and enduring the short and destructive Kelvin Sampson era, I think it is necessary for Michigan fans to at least be cautious. I have found nothing online about Rich Rodriguez being involved in specific recruiting violations, as Kelvin Sampson was before IU foolishly hired him. But Rodriguez and Sampson do seem to have the common trait of not minding playing guys who are prone to getting in trouble. Rich Rodriguez has proven that he will recruit and play unsavory characters (Pacman Jones, Chris Henry) in the name of winning. As a lifelong Big Ten fan, that seems to me to be in contrast to what Michigan has stood for over the years.
So I think it is great and absolutely expected that Bill Martin is supporting Rich Rodriguez. It’s only Year One of the Rich Rodriguez Era, so there is no need to panic about the product on the field. Michigan will be good; maybe not by the end of this year, but soon enough. The dilemma for Michigan fans, and perhaps down the road for Bill Martin, is will the wins come at the cost of the integrity and traditional values of Michigan football and the university itself.
Rich Rodriguez is a devil of a coach, a damn good one who has a proven track record of success. For Bill Martin and Michigan, they just have to hope that their deal with this devil does not end up burning them in the end; or that the actual price of success was the soul of a program.
[tags]michigan wolverines, rich rodriguez, college football, big ten, ncaa[/tags]
About Jerod Morris
