Q&A with RR
Found this on yahoo this morning, he is asked about a series of topics including his tenure at michigan, the Bill Stewart situation, current state of affairs of college football, and whether or not he is glad he didn't sign TP. Thought it was an interesting read.
Ehh.. He's a good guy. Too bad it didn't work out, but we just have to move on.
This isn't a slam on the OP at all, because it's an article about Michigan football so it's gonna be posted here, but nothing good can come of continually talking about him. That dead horse is getting the shit beat out of him.
Rodriguez interviews come off so much better in print. He's honest and fair-minded in these. He ducks a couple of questions but in a way that makes you feel like he was trying to answer them.
I just find it funny that the Rodriguez family moved from Saline to Naples, Florida, given the large Michigan ex-pat crowd down in Naples due to the GM connection. Also, this makes him the second major thing from Ann Arbor to move to Naples in the last decade, following Ave Maria School of Law down there.
Well you pretty much have to duck the defensive questions in his shoes so it is understandable. He'll be coaching next year I'm assuming and with the right D-Coord he'll have great success.
I prefer to think of Ave Maria as having been deported to Florida. I used to live next to a house full of their students, creepy people. One of them, a 20 something guy, collected My Little Ponies. He kept them in the box but removed the plastic covering so they could "breathe". I feel sorry for whoever ends up with that guy as a lawyer.
I've been storing mine in a big plastic bag, hopefully they don't all suffocate before I get back to Ann Arbor!
I used to live next to a house full of their students, creepy people. One of them, a 20 something guy, collected My Little Ponies. He kept them in the box but removed the plastic covering so they could "breathe"
I've got to call BS on this one. How would you know this? I mean, I don't know about you, but if there's creepy people next door, I'm not going in there and investigating their collections.
that creepy people LOVE to show off their collections.
Regarding the recent meltdown of THE Ohio State University:
"I know some of it because we were close to the situation when I was at Michigan and part of the rivalry, the recruitment of Terrelle Pryor and all of that."So our coaches had at least an ear to what was going on down there. Probably knew what OSU was offering that we could not? Hard to speculate. Wonder what Hoke knows that the rest of the public doesn't?
And, as he couched it in terms of "the recruitment of Terrelle Pryor and all of that", Rich sniffed out the cesspool within his first couple months on the job over 3 years ago! It's amazing it took as long as it did for the NCAA to be shocked, SHOCKED that anything was going on.
He also hints that there are more "answers" that may be out there. Cue the popcorn/kitty pics.
The High School Prom photo of TP leaning on the corvette.
Foot ball players sign stuff all the time, the fact that a tattoo artist was trading tattoos for these items only came out during an arrest/investigation.
In general I don't like the impression that all football programs are cheating, and are doing so in plain site of everyone and it's just the weak will of the NCAA that let's it continue. The downside to freedom is that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Tressel wasn't proven guilty until the emails were uncovered. And that is when the NCAA acted.
I guess because the NCAA relies rather heavily on self-reporting, I was a little harsh on their investigative work. So that leaves media, which make a good amount of money from covering sports and in turn have a watch-dog role. It seems they came pretty late to the party. If all Rich had that made him wonder was the Vette photo, they get a pass. But, if my between-lines reading is correct and there was more than that he was hearing (implying there are more issues that may arise, for example), reporters should've heard it prior to the Tress-Cicero stuff and asked a few questions.
I love RR and will cheer for the guy where ever he goes. It's too bad it didn't work out at UM. I have always thought he was a great coach and while at UM I got to see that he was just as great a person as well. Good luck Rich!
I just can't read that stuff anymore. Just makes me wonder what could have been...
But it's a new era now, and things are looking up for Michigan football, and that's what really matters (in the context of Michigan football... not, like, life or anything).
Hoke uber alles!
Just makes me wonder what could have been...
You really wonder "what could have been"? I don't even want to think about that ugly picture. Imagine that RR is still the coach. We likely have 3 or 4 commits with average (2-3*) rankings. Any OSU defections skip A2 and instead look to ND, PSU, WISC and MSU. A couple of 4-star recruits express interest in Michigan, but state "I want to wait to see how things play out on the field before I make a decision".
The season starts and we gain a ton of yards but don't score as many points as one would expect for the gaudy yardage stats. Our defense is terrible (although possibly not as terrible as 2010). ND watches our tapes from the second half of last season and dominates us in our bumble bee jerseys. We land in a mid-to-low level bowl game and are destroyed by South Florida.
Thankfully, we don't have to worry about that. There is no more unease within the Michigan program. We are building a beast and accountability has returned to A2.
"We are building a beast and accountability has returned to A2."
I remember these same words (almost verbatim) from lots of people when RR took over. I love Hoke, but let's see how things go before declaring we are building a beast.
That's a fair comment. Time will indeed tell, and I'll be the first one disappointed if Hoke has troubles and places the blame on others. I was surprised to see that Rich is still pushing the "I would have had a coaching job this year but they didn't fire me until after the bowl game" line. If we fired him before the bowl game, my crystal ball sees him saying, "If they just gave me a chance to coach my kids in the bowl game, it would have been clear that we were turning the corner." I know that he's relevant (as a former coach), but can't wait for him to stop peddling excuses.
The only job I can think of that opened up after the Gator Bowl was Pitt (on a fluke I might add), and while I would like to see RR's offense at my other school, he's not taking a job there. It would be a little like Cooper taking the Michigan job in 2008.
Of course, he did not have to wait to get fired before he sought out another job, if he wanted one. He obviously did not do so in 2007. I don't think it would have mattered when he was fired. A guy that just lost his job is not likely to immediately land another of comparable prestige. Maybe after a year - but even that's not certain.
As when he left FOR Michigan, and had Maryland pay for the majority of it.
The difference being wanted out vs. fired. I just don't see where the logic is in him resigning.
Truthfully, this topic is beat to death, I just didn't think what DahBlue was originally saying was correct.
I just thought you were saying he couldn't leave because of the buyout; and jmblue said he could have left if a new job was his main concern. The not enough time/not let go early enough dichotomy is frustrating.
The short version of what I'm saying is that Rich is full of it. He complains that he wasn't given a chance to prove himself AND that he got fired too late in the process for him to pick up another coaching job. If he wants to complain about one or the other, so be it. But you can't say that you were given both too much and not enough time. You really disagree with that?
I'm thinking he meant another year to prove himself, not the Gator Bowl. As for complaining about being ousted in January, there is some debate as to whether that was good for Michigan (I don't know this for sure but I'm assuming you wanted him gone after OSU, correct me if I'm wrong) but I side with him here and think it was bad for everyone involved.
I think he's saying more of "Brandon should have either let me find another job or let me finish the last one I started" which seems perfectly reasonable to me, especially since he isn't claiming to speak for anyone but himself. What coach wouldn't want a job vs. not having one?
Although it is true he could have said "if only got coach my kids for bowl...", I do think he would have been in a better situation if he was fired before. It is really only unfair if Brandon knew he was going to fire RR before the bowl game, but if he was still weighing his options and wanted to give RR one more chance then its not unfair cause we/RR blew his chance in the bowl game.
Also, I think the original commenter is correct to wonder what would have happened with more time and a significantly better defensive coordinator. Maybe better defensive recruits and better team play. Another year of Denard in RR's system could have been great with improved RBs and a great WR crew.
That is a bold statement to make about the program so far. Think we need to wait to see what happens. I think we have positive momentum going forward, but time will tell.
one more year of RR? Denard taken off field on stretcher, career over?
You are basically saying that RR would construe events (and hypotheticals as well) in a way that puts him in a positive light. OK.
That's human nature. Not sure how you see that as a knock on the guy.
I'm saying that RR has a "not my fault" mentality and feel that was part of the problem with his tenure. He blamed his players, the media, the past coaches, WVU and anybody else. I can understand the guy wanted to shine his own turd as he moves forward and looks for other jobs, but his insistence that he was about to turn the corner but was denied a chance is tired and false.
He claims he wasn't given a chance to show improvement (bowl game disaster anyone?) and, in the same breath, says he was fired too late (thus denying him a chance to get another job). Kinda hard to complain both that you weren't given a chance and that you had too much time.
Recruiting would have been BRUTAL this year with the napalm hot seat hanging over the program all year. And any lost recruits weren't going to Florida, or Oregon, but our Rivals. It wouldn't be good for the program, or fair to Rich.
I wish RR the best. Hasn't every major media outlet asked him the same exact questions every time he is interviewed? I think I've heard RR answer these questions at least 4 times before.
Honestly, every time I see RR on this board or see him on TV or whatever I get a pit in my stomach like seeing an ex-girlfriend after a fresh breakup. Maybe we can be friends again at some point but right now I'm just so glad I don't have to get angry talking/writing/drinking about him.
Clean break is the only way to go, in that situation and in this.
RR is a good guy. I will miss his offensive pyrotechnics, but there are some great things going on with M football right now. Good luck to him wherever he ends up. I will follow his teams with interest.
I agree that he's a good guy. I met him once in the Target on Carpenter Rd. after he was fired and he was very friendly and approachable. After that I've always gotten a little mad when I hear the RR bashing on campus, it didn't work out and the defense was frustrating but if he's moving on then perhaps we all can do the same.
I believe he gave his all while he was here. Wish we could have found some defense and special teams last year, because holy fucking crap, right?
Love what Hoke & Co. are doing so far...great day to be a Michigan fan.
I'm just tired of the RR era. In my mind I just want to pretend like it never happened and move on - but things like this just bring it back in full force. It's like breaking up with a girlfriend and seeing her all around town.
Rich Rod to OSU in 2012.
just like I'm sure Lloyd knew about shady Tressel. They both have friends who are HS coaches and people talk.
well-kept secret. I like the way RR subtly hangs it out there.
He obviously wants a new coaching job, so if I was RR I would start visiting all of the top defensive programs and then talk it up, giving some details on what he's learning to develop a stronger D. It's a fact that he can score points. He should also be hunting for a top specials coach along with a new DC. I still think he will be relatively patient and wait for a job in the southeast so he can be close to his favorite recruiting areas.
If I was him, I'd completely give up on defense. His 3-3-5 interjections only seemed to make things worse. Next job interview he has, he can just say, "look, I hate defense. Give me an experienced D-Coordinator with a good track record, and I'll give him a 50 point per game cushion to work with."
Unrelated... but is your name related to a certain 2013 OL recruit, or are you just a big glue fan?
He did this at Michigan.
Bada-boom!
between me and RR, i love UM, he was UM's coach, so i had little choice in supporting him. things didn't work out for many reasons, his and others. since he has left he has comported himself with nothing but class and dignity. our arranged marriage is now over and i find myself more and more proud of him and hope that he carries a small and decent bit of UM with him wherever he goes.
It may have been a forced marriage, but it's hard not to like the custody arrangement we got in the divorce:
of great players that are still here and still young. Should be exciting to see them all as juniors and seniors along with Hoke's promising recruits. Rich Rod will build another WVU eventually.
I liked RichRod and thought he got the short end of the stick, although it was not a very long stick. But to suggest that a solid D was right around the corner was to completely avoid the disaster that we saw on the field. Sure it was partially youth, but it was also coaching, and that can't be blamed on anyone but him.
I think "we" might have included the majority of the MgoBoard a long time back, but most have seen the light at this point. With RR, a solid D was not around the corner...it wasn't even across an ocean. Even RR's biggest supporters said that, in order for Rich to keep his job, we'd need a new DC and would need to bar RR from interfering with the D. When you need to spell it out like that, it's clear that "solid" was not around the corner. "We" is now limited to "you" and just a few others.