Rich Rod calls NCAA violations while at UM "...a bunch of BS"
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2013/10/rich_rodriguez_vents_about_vio.html#incart_river
"I get mad when I think about that, to me -- and I don't mind saying it -- I thought it was a bunch of BS," Rodriguez said. "We got in trouble for, in the offseason, a strength coach putting a rubber ball on a stick for a get-off thing when (players) did their running. A rubber ball on a stick.
"Now think about that, I could have put a hat on a stick -- that was something I got in trouble for."
Let's just focus on the NCAA violations for this discussion. The rest of the past is history. I was thinking about this the other day as it seems the NCAA is not going to make a big stink about Alabama and other SEC schools committing very similar violations to what got USC in a heap of trouble.
It angers me that players receiving illegal benefits in the south is probably going to get a slap on a wrist compared to what Michigan got for a Freep jihad over a rubber ball on a stick.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:23 PM ^
In before the lock. Hint. Hint. HINT!
October 10th, 2013 at 2:59 PM ^
It is garbage. Just the NCAA grasping at relevancy.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:04 PM ^
Do you think part of the NCAA's grand show during the UM investigation was in part due to the Free Press hyping the whole story up from the beginning with gross exaggerations of the violations?
Would Alabama face similar consequences if a major southern newspaper tried their hardest to deface the program? - Which yeah I know that would be suicide in the south.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:23 PM ^
Honestly, I'd say yeah, the Freep was a big reason. The NCAA's modus operandi seems to be ignore everything until some outside entity makes a big enough stink that the embarrassment of not doing something about it finally gets to be too much. They also seem to like coming down hard on "easy" cases so they look like they're doing something. Combined with an apparently arbitrary sliding scale of punishment.
The thing was, Michigan had a clear violation, the proof was right there, and somebody was squawking about it with words like "player abuse". NCAA decides they need to protect their phony-baloney jobs, comes down on Michigan.
Now the actual rules violated by Michigan were stupid, arbitrary, and had minimal impact on the team - the players at every school do exactly the same thing, but the coach stands somewhere else so they don't have to count it. But it was an open and shut case that was embarrassing the NCAA, so BAM, probation.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:48 PM ^
I'll answer that after Oklahoma State and Miami are sorted out.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:03 PM ^
October 10th, 2013 at 3:00 PM ^
I'm sure this thread will remain level headed as everyone can agree the Freep sucks.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:04 PM ^
Glad it's in the past, but still irks me.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:26 PM ^
October 10th, 2013 at 3:34 PM ^
I should say "Rehire him(!)"
I mean, heck, whats the worst someone can do? Downvote me?
Oh wait...
SHIT HE BEAT ME TO IT(!)
October 10th, 2013 at 4:03 PM ^
Let him finish the job he started. Couldn't possibly do worse than the current crop of fatheads running the program.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:08 PM ^
October 10th, 2013 at 4:19 PM ^
You forgot this....
/s
October 10th, 2013 at 6:15 PM ^
October 11th, 2013 at 11:29 AM ^
yeah but that Spread offense was so much better at getting lots of yards in those losses.
October 11th, 2013 at 11:29 AM ^
yeah but that spread offense was so much better at getting lots of yards in those losses.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:03 PM ^
October 10th, 2013 at 3:09 PM ^
But nobody is ever going to forget the whole Rich Rod leaving WVU to fail at UM saga. I'm not here to debate who's at fault for all that or anything besides the actual violations. I get a feeling Rich Rod, like everyone else, is seeing the current ridiculous manner in which the NCAA is conducting investigations and handing out disciplinary actions. It's extremely frustrating, and I'm sure he thinks that NCAA shitshow while he was here did not help his efforts to make UofM successful. But I digress, just keeping it related to the violations and discipline issue.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:20 PM ^
"I'm focused on my team here in Arizona. I'm moving forward with my team here, not looking at the past." He should go to bed saying this. It would save him from a lot of the grief he's received over the past 6 years, but never understood.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:15 PM ^
As Rich Rod was fond of saying: "it's in the past."
Enough already.
October 11th, 2013 at 7:46 AM ^
who are you people? What business is it of yours what a guy talks about? Look, I don't like thinking about the RR era anymore than anyone else on this blog but this is HIS history he's talking about. Whether he chooses to answer questions about it or not is up to him and hearing posters cry about the fact that he answers questions about his time here is far more bothersome to me than anything he could say.
I know we all identify with the football program at UM, but he was the coach guiding that program i.e. was a far bigger part of it than any of the posters here (save the occasional post from our favorite pahokee crew). I just can't imagine how anyone here can say he has no right to talk about something that actually happened to him, This is beyond foolish.
October 11th, 2013 at 8:05 AM ^
Who are you? What business is it of yours what posters talk about?
Sorry. I just couldn't resist.
October 11th, 2013 at 1:20 PM ^
I don't begrudge the man his right to speak his mind. I wish he'd move on, though.
However, my comment was far more about this simple desire: I wish our fanbase would move on.
Enough already. By half.
October 11th, 2013 at 1:29 PM ^
...as though we were putting on uniforms on Saturday. Like we had to "focus" on our assignments for the upcoming week. No distractions, so that we can study film and do the necessary pregame prep.
I don't know about you, but my game day this week will consist of playing golf in the morning and sitting down with a beer and some snacks at 5 o'clock.
I do think -- and about this I am completely sincere -- that the Rodriguez story, and even his current position at Arizona might have turned out very different, had there not been a vociferous, repeated and relentless defense of Rodriguez. Almost entirely, that defense arose on the internet. Later on, in John U. Bacon's book. And only gradually, did there come to be a shared understanding that Rodriguez was treated badly at Michigan.
In another era, a paper like the Detroit Free Press would have gotten away with their smear-job.
October 11th, 2013 at 8:08 AM ^
October 10th, 2013 at 3:04 PM ^
"He disgraced us by having the first ever NCAA sanctions!"
Say what you want about him, he is basically on the money with that statement.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:18 PM ^
it sucked when asked? I don't think that his speaking the truth about the matter proves that he's obsessed.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:05 PM ^
to fix this is for the NCAA to get subpeona power and set up a punishment for each crime ahead of any infractions. You get a 6 game suspension for taking money the first time, 12 games for 2nd offense etc....
October 10th, 2013 at 3:15 PM ^
is for it to become a government entity. Is anyone really in favor of that?
October 10th, 2013 at 3:06 PM ^
The more details that emerged about "Stretching-Too-Much-Gate" the more clear it became that it was mostly BS.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:06 PM ^
when Rich Rod takes only one offensive lineman in the 2010 class. However, he makes a good point.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:10 PM ^
Don't you start!
October 10th, 2013 at 3:27 PM ^
Rich Rod = severe emotional over reactions from all sides. Best not to play with fire.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:44 PM ^
But these emotional reactions is more like throwing a 50/50 mix of tootsie rolls and tootsie roll wrappers lined with crap to a bunch of 3rd graders. I only talk to people who talk about Michigan. Even if it's Rich Rod.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:32 PM ^
when turds continue to pile on RR. It's in the past - he's where he can flourish and we have a good thing going too.
BTW - The whole RR recruit thing is kind of a false narrative. Yes - some recruits didn't work out , given but think about the following RR recruits on the team: Lewan, Schofield, Gallon, Dileo, Countess, Beyer, Jake Ryan, Jackson, and I'm sure I'm missing a few. He's a good coach and did what he could do and left us with a bit more than he seems to get credit for. Hope he beats up USC tonight.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:45 PM ^
Regarding recruiting, I think you're attacking a straw man - of course he brought in some good players. But the overall depth of talent wasn't there in his classes, particularly on the OL, and we're paying the price for that right now. His staff went two consecutive classes with minimal OL recruits, which should never be the case. You really should bring in 3-4 OL every year, given what a crapshoot recruiting at those positions.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:52 PM ^
Could just be me, but I've witnessed a litany of posts of the form "Player X sucks because he is a RR recruit!!!!1111" or "This team sucks because it's full of RR playerz"
Your reasoning is spot-on. The above (mild) exaggerations are not.
October 11th, 2013 at 1:03 PM ^
The 3-4 OL can fluctuate based on needs and circumstances. See this and next recruiting class where we are only taking 2 OL for both classes, which I am not thrilled about. Would like 3 OL in the next class but is going to be supersmall and coaches know a lot more than me so they can do what they think is best. We took 4 and then 6 in back to back classes so that gives Hoke and Co a little more leeway. In relation to RR, his critical mistake was the 1 OL class in 2010 when he took 27 players overall. There needed to be 4 OL recruits and he only took 1. That was a huge mistake. In RR's defense, that mistake gets magnified by his 2011 recruiting class falling apart due to coaching change (see Fisher-starting at Oregon I believe-and possible 5 OL go elsewhere). As to your other points, you're right. RR had some successes and might have had more if his situation was more stable here but overall he had a lot of misses and too many misses based on guys not being eligible or being head-cases and leaving early. Maybe he could have built better and more consistent classes given better circumstances, but I would rather focus on the classes Hoke is building.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:59 PM ^
If only Pace were here today.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:09 PM ^
The man still doesn't get it. This is not 'Nam, there are rules here. Garbage or not, a head coach has to know what's allowed and what isn't and abide by that. The coach at Alabama can't just say that it was "only" $500 that he lent HaHa Clinton-Dix.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:11 PM ^
That's apples and oranges. Giving $500 is an obvious violation. The UM "violations" were a joke and the punishment was even far more ridiculous.
October 10th, 2013 at 7:18 PM ^
Getting around off-season coaching restrictions by using GA's is also an obvious violation, and he did it two stints in a row (WVU as well as Mich).
I've got a famly member in one of those not-quite-coaching positions (not at Michigan) and it gets talked about a lot. The restrictions are frustrating--he's a former coach that isn't allowed to coach--but nobody's confused about what they are.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:20 PM ^
Actually, a head coach is brought in to win games. He outsources the rule keeping to the guys in Compliance.
Its no different than a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. They dont know the in's and outs of compliance, they do what they have to do to make money (e.g. win games) and then ask Compliance to figure out a way to make their methods legal.
The whole $500 loan to Ha-Ha though was just asine as never has it been legal to lend a player money.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:52 PM ^
Yes, the head coach is the CEO of the program, responsible for making sure that there are no violations, which is the reason they and the program are held accountable. That he didn't know is not a valid excuse.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:57 PM ^
But my company has a CEO, and I bet you a bazillion dollars my CEO has no clue when lots of things happen. Part of the blessing/curse of being at the top is that not everything rises to your level. If you try to manage every decision, you will die.
I'm guessing, for example, that the "what item should we put at the end of this stick" conversation didn't reach the head coach.
October 11th, 2013 at 8:09 AM ^
October 11th, 2013 at 10:36 AM ^
I work in compliance for major pharma and biotech companies across the East. There's a saying that goes, "if you have perfect compliance record you spent too much money on compliance." Given the current environment (the NCAA pretty much powerless and frankly unwilling to do anything over obvious violations) its really a great time to be cheating. This doesn't have any bearing on RR's tenure at Michigan, but its worth mentioning because Saban and his ilk are definately managing their programs with no intention of maintaining perfect compliance. It's a smart way to do business until you get caught going too far.
October 11th, 2013 at 11:34 AM ^
That does not surprise me at all regarding the pharmaceutical industry. However I don't want Michigan's athletic department to comprise integrity for wins in the short term.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:28 PM ^
I'm sorry, but when the rule book is so monstrously arcane that a rubber ball on a stick is illegal but a hat on a stick would be legal, I cannot expect head coaches, with all else that's on their plate, to know that. Compliance, sure. But even then, what is compliance supposed to do, ban rubber balls on sticks? Hold yearly meetings with the coaching staff about rubber balls on sticks?
Cumong, man. I'm down for "follow the rules." But if you write a set of rules and some of them, nobody remembers, I think that's your fault, not theirs.