Former WVU Players On Rich Rodriguez, Unvarnished

CFS – One thing you would have changed if you could at WVU.
DS – One thing I would’ve changed was WVU never hiring Belyin.

Well, he's not in and likely won't be in the NBA. How's that karma Schiflino?

then my guess is he forgot to load the gun.  He must not be that angry.

Hold the Rope

Click clack, boom doom. Just saying.

This just goes to show that Coach Rod has been painted in a negative light by the media.  I'm glad that he is our coach.

So it sounds like RR can be a bit tough to deal with initially but he ultimately makes you a better player and prepares you for the NFL.  Sounds fine to me. 

As for the Beilein hate, Beilein is currently employed at another D1 school, took it to its first NCAA tournament game/win in over a decade, and is well-respected amongst his peers.  Drew Schifino is a career Euro/CBA player who last played sparingly for a team in the Czech Republic and who was taken to the mat by outsports.com for posting racial slurs on his facebook page.  Maybe his definition of karma is different than mine, but it looks like Beilein may have won this one.

I was happy to see that this is the first and only post tagged with "white women". 

Quincy Wilson is the son of former Bears LB Otis Wilson, which explains his love for The Super Bowl Shuffle.

Can we discuss how freaking amazing it is that a West Virginia blog is called "Couch Fire Sports?"

I mean, you can't make this stuff up!  This guy totally knows his audience. 

I thought that was pretty funny reading, but mostly interesting. I also am glad to have RR as our coach. Like we have been saying all along, just keep winning.

Now this is what the internet is for

Wiley's comments at the very end of the article really ring true. RRod does have a killer instinct. You get the feeling he's willing to hang 70 points on opposing teams if given the opportunity. We've had talented offensive units in the past but I always felt Moeller and Lloyd would call off the dogs once the game was in hand (not that I'm complaining mind you - I love Lloyd Carr). Once or twice this complacent approach may have even cost us a game. With RRod you get the feeling he'll push the pedal to the metal at all times. It reminds me of all those prolific Spurrier offensive units over at Florida back in the day. I think it's only a matter of time before RRod starts winning big at Michigan. I just hope our fanbase can rally around him. Our patience will be rewarded...

Thinking about how these observations fit with our RR experience at Michigan:

1.  The Grant Wiley liece about being called into RR's office - want to bet that Mr. Plow received a similar talk, and that rather than meeting the challenge, decided to transfer out?  Possibly the same for Ryan Mallett and a few of the other transfers?  (Again, all speculation)

If so, I don't necessarily have a problem with this, but at the same time, it might be a good idea to size up kids and get a sense of how they will react to such a tactic.  Not all kids react to the same motivation.  Again, in the end, this is only an issue during transition periods or with kids who just can't hack it.  2008 would have been a hell of a lot less painful with Mallett, Plow and a few others to keep the offense decent while we were transitioning between seasons.

2.  Wiley: "You can teach technique until your blue in the face but if you don’t have that killer inside come out when you play, you won’t stand a chance. "  Again, purely speculation, but does this quote imply that Stew does more technique / fundamentals work than RR?  If so, then that might explain some of what we are seeing. 

3.  These players really seem to love RR.  I feel that this year's team, as well (made up almost entirely of RR recruits) also strongly supports him.  To me, while most teams support their coaches, those coaches that lose their team quickly lose their job. 

4.  RR is one intense dude.  While many have decried the departure from the more low key LC error as a departure from the Michigan way.  To those people, I would suggest doing some reading on the Bo years.  Bo was as intense as RR, if not more so.

Just my observations, both positive and potentially critical.

Am I the only one who found this sentence incredibly poetic?

"How were NFL practices compared to thoughs of Rich Fraud?"

I wanted to be pissed at the insult, but instead I can only chuckle with glee. ALL YOU'RE COACHES OUR ARES!!

What's striking is how positive the interview responses are, despite the angle that CFS was taking when asking the questions. It was like they were trying to orchestrate an RR hate-fest that just never materializes.

Wow, referring to Rodriguez as "Rich Fraud" was definitely trying to stir the pot, and the interviewer got back... nothing. Cordial responses.

I do business with one of Bo's former players, and he told me before the start of the 2009 season that Rosenberg was really pissed off that he'd lost his status as a reporter with unique, privileged access to the UM HC when RR arrived. LC had special relationships with a small number of reporters, including Rosenberg, but this status disappeared with RR, who played no favorites with the media. Hell hath no fury like a reporter who's lost his special access.

it wouldn't be that difficult to track down players Bo ran off his 1969 team during pre-season drills and get a few choice anti-Bo comments. All highly successful head coaches piss players off, and they lose some of them. Of those who stay, there are plenty who still don't like the coach, but they can realize that they're becoming better players and maybe better men in the process.

One of the most common comments about Bo from his former players is that they hated him while they were playing for him and loved him after they left.

One exception I have to imagine is Nick Saban. I bet all of his current players really loathe him, but I can't believe any of them would ever profess any affection for him after they leave. That guy is the coldest fish of a person I've ever seen. If he'd been a career Communist in the Soviet Union, he would have risen to the top of the heap in short order and left a lot of bodies along the way.

Glad you went through this. I was reading those sites early this morning when the board post went up, and was thinking "Wow!"

It's certainly more direct evidence than we've had yet, but also, not one bit of it surprises me. It was really all one big confirmation of Rich Rod as Bo-like in his demand for and rewarding of hard work over other qualities, as well as his attitude of "if you're not all here, we don't need you" embodied best by the RR unlocked door metaphor.

It's a sports interview written as a push poll.  It's kind of epic in its own way.

The fact that so many of Rich Rod's former players at WVU (particular those that were around when he got there and and when he left) continue to praise him is enough evidence that he's not the guy that the media makes him out to be. When Brian Kelly left Cincinnati, his former players there basically called him a liar and said he can go screw himself. Speaks volumes. 

Probably my favorite quote from this interview

Couch Fire Sports: First impressions of Rich Rod?
Grant Wiley: … Michigan players, fans, and alumni need to stop crying like a bunch of babies and turn on the 2007 Mountaineers so they can see their future.

My response= I have and I'm excited

This says a lot about the players on the current roster or in other words "the ones who are willing to work hard". 12-0 would be great but I like this team more and more everday and I've been yelling Go Blue since birth.

Shocker - never trust a guy from Penn Hills

/ guy from Penn Hills

comments only reaffirm my belief that Michigan is going to be a machine under Coach Rod.  Go Blue, baby!  Go Blue!

The way that Rich Rodriguez is supposed to have "brought shame on WVU" was:

A.  He happened to be at Michigan when Michael Rosenberg hatched a story to get the Michigan football program investigated by the NCAA.

B.  He was the subject of a lot of crazy and quickly disproven allegations from West Virginia writers, about shredded documents, missing player files, etc.

C.  He left.

D.  For two years, WVU continued with the staff assignments and quality control procedures started under Coach Rod, and possibly dating back to Don Nehlen, which the NCAA now questions.

E.  None of the above.