Needs

November 21st, 2011 at 11:31 PM ^

As AD, not head coach (as a side note, he basically created the golden age of athletics at Iowa, hiring Hayden Frye, Dan Gable, Lute Olson and Tom Davis, Vivian Stringer, and getting their basketball arena built).

I believe the answer is Tad Wieman, who was coach for a couple of years before Kipke, in the 1920s.

treetown

November 21st, 2011 at 11:06 PM ^

Good for Coach RR!

I wish him well. While he didn't bring us what many had hoped, he did bring in some great players - such as Denard Robinson and many of the younger players who look pretty good right now (with the benefit of great coaching). The two ND victories and that crazy game with Illinois sort of summed his time with us for me. Amazing offense, no defense.

A lot of future post material....

1. Possible UM versus ASU matchups (Rose Bowl and elsewhere)

2. ASU versus Big Ten.

3. Following his progress out there and his relationships with the media, alumni and university.

4. The type of staff he assembles. It will be interesting to see who he gets for DC and what type of defense he runs. Will his defense be better than what he took over?

5. Will his ASU teams reflect his experiences here?

6. There are now two more teams to follow - Ron English and Mike Hart at EMU and RR at ASU.

NateVolk

November 21st, 2011 at 11:48 PM ^

Can he transition to coach a winner in a great conference? He failed once. The PAC 12 is a far better league then the Big East top to bottom and they have a 9-game league schedule.  

This is still a big if in his career.  The images of the Fiesta Bowl throttling of Oklahoma are indelible and show what the guy can build on a national scale. People also forget that he was already ex-coach of West Virginia at that point.

Mike Stoops got off to a bad start this year, but had taken them to 3 straight bowl games. It will be interesting to see the level of patience down there if Rich goes the scorched earth route like he did at Michigan.  

 

jdberkley

November 22nd, 2011 at 1:06 AM ^

USC is facing scholarship limitations, UCLA is mired in mediocrity, Colorado is a mess, Utah is adjusting to life in the PAC-12, and Arizona State has underachieved since Erickson's first season(and Erickson is rumored to be on his way out). Arizona has better talent than they've shown, and Rodriguez will get a pass if the defense is terrible for a year or two, as it's been hideous at times this year. I didn't think Rodriguez would get a job this good after his starcrossed time at Michigan. I'm glad to be wrong, and I wish him the best. Bear Down, Rich.

uminks

November 22nd, 2011 at 3:23 AM ^

It will be interesting to see how long it will take for him to get UA to be competitive with USC for the southern division of the PAC. UA will probably give RR several years to rebuild the program. Hopefully he will find a good DC!

Wistert_Bros

November 22nd, 2011 at 5:37 AM ^

Congrats!!  Agreed, I now have a second team to follow.  I am visiting family in Arizona for Christmas and will be stocking up on Wildcats gear.

Very happy for Rich!