rich rod comments at bust!

Submitted by Brandon_L on
coach rod said choked up at the banquet tonight "our time is coming and in a big way". The teams going to rally around their coach! "we will let people jump on the bandwagon. they may not get a front seat" he also said he is "honored to be hc of michigan i hope you all realize i trully want to be a michigan man" rich showed a lot of emotion and the players looked ready to play a game tonight.

M-Dog

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:09 PM ^

You give RR two more years for sure, to be able to see how he does with "his guys" as Seniors.  When you've see that, you've seen everything you need to see.  Until then . . .

With Harbaugh out there, it changes the game.  I get the vibe that DB already has Harbaugh lined up and RR is out.

I'm torn, if we boot RR now we can never really say we gave his program a full hearing.  It's not just an excuse, the team really is young and inexperienced.  But if it doesn't work out with RR, we may regret that we did not get Harbaugh when he was ours for the taking. 

This is a lot different than 2007.  There are only 2 scenarios, RR or JH, and we'll know in a few weeks.  Either way, the program should be fine.

ATLWolverine

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:46 PM ^

If someone can make Stanford an 11-1 team, (turning it around from a 2-win-team the season before he got there) have Heisman finalists 2 years running, train up the likely #1 NFL draft pick, and recruit ridiculously at STANFORD... and also likely have it playing in the Rose Bowl...

You can't dismiss the record, even if (like me) you think RR deserves another year.

fab5

December 2nd, 2010 at 11:09 PM ^

coach rod did all that at wvu with lesser talent... He turned wvu around, he had heisman trophy canidates 4 yrs running and had two teams in bcs bowl games that won against sec and big 12 powers..  Now you can't dismiss that record

fab5

December 3rd, 2010 at 12:49 AM ^

You're crazy... you do realize miami, virginia tech, boston college, were part of the big east while rrod was part of the big east before the acc snatched them.. those miami teams were pretty damn good playing for national championships and coach rod wvu teams would battle them with inferior talent.. If we really want to be serious how strong would you say the pac 10 has been the past two years.. usc the past two years have been very weak and we all saw what happen when stanford played a ranked team this year they got owned..  please name another good team in the pac 10 beside the ducks.. ucla, wash st, wash, arizona, arizona st, oregon st, and cal are not that great... the pac 10 is not as great as many are making it out to be i wouldnt call it extaordinary what harbaugh is doing when willingham won the pac 10 and went to the rose bowl at stanford

Dezzy

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:45 PM ^

Regardless of your opinions on his coaching ability, everyone must admit that RR is one hell of a man.  He has such a great passion for what he does.  You can't say he doesn't care about tradition and such when he gives speeches like that. 

That sure does rub off on the players too.  I wish the bowl game were played tomorrow.  Those boys have to be so fired up, they'll run through a brick wall for him right now.

Ghost of Bo

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:48 PM ^

Rich Rodriguez has been fed nothing but a shit sandwich since his arrival in Ann Arbor. Think about what has befallen Coach Rod since December of 2007...

- His couch-burning departure from West Virginia and death threats to his family.

- Instant suspicion from the old guard at Michigan coupled with dissention in the athletic department.

- Fielding a 2008 team devoid of any personnel with which to run even a rough approximation of his spread offense.

- Being forced to start freshman and sophomore quarterbacks for two consecutive years.

- Triumphing by bringing in a vaunted recruit in the defensive secondary (Demar Dorsey), only to have that fall through followed by Warren's departure, Woolfolk's injury, the Cissoko debacle, Emilien's woes, and countless other issues. Then, he is publicly blamed for not recruiting enough talent in the secondary.

- NCAA sanctions that were completely overblown made even worse by a complete lack of support from the local press.

- Constant rumors about his impending firing and who his successor may or may not be.

Rich Rodriguez is still standing at the end of all that mayhem. His players still believe in him and his system. That, alone, is a testament to his skill as a motivator and his strength as a man. I love Coach Rod and I'm cheering harder for him than any coach in Michigan history.

"Those who stay will be champions", Bo said. Coach Rod has stayed around, bedraggled and bruised but full of resolve. No matter how you feel about Brandon's upcoming decision, you have to respect and admire Coach Rodriguez.

RickH

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:02 PM ^

Honestly, even if you don't like Rich, I don't understand how you could not respect him for not only going through all that, but going through that after being on top of the world only weeks before his departure and STILL fighting to become successful here.  I definitely know I couldn't take the stress, and I guarantee most would have just givin' up.

I love the comment about him wanting to become a Michigan Man.  It means a lot to me, it truly does, more-so than the other one.  I see a man trying his hardest, making success through ridiculously tough times and getting no support from the fan base that he truly wants to please and be apart of.

ATLWolverine

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:23 PM ^

RR hasn't exactly served up the fanbase with tasty treats since his arrival.

That being said, the fact that his players are still fired up to play for him speaks volumes, much more than what comes out of the echo-chamber of the fanbase collectively freaking out over being sub-.500 in the Big Ten and being 0-3 against MSU and OSU since RR came to town.

If DB lets him stay (which I'm rooting for) and he ends up turning the program back to even keel, he'll enter the Michigan pantheon of coaching legends just for the adversity he overcame alone.

Huntington Wolverine

December 3rd, 2010 at 9:09 AM ^

RR hasn't exactly served up the fanbase with tasty treats since his arrival.

That's not a very fair assessment of what he's done because it ignores these "tasty treats"

  • Upset comeback against Wiscy (regardless of end of the year record, it remains the biggest comeback at the Big House and was thrilling at the time and the argument could be made that it derailed Wisconsin's season much like we used to do against MSU)
  • Exciting offense and emotional victories
  • One of the greatest Michigan offenses ever (the greatest according to yardage)
  • B10 OPOY
  • Mealer walking
  • Destroying UConn in the rededication of Michigan Stadium
  • Got our crowd into the games again.  We're not just louder because of the renovations, we're actually cheering and not just jingling our keys.
  • One of the best GPAs in the football programs history

go16blue

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:48 PM ^

I have said before that I would rather be a wolverine in defeat than a buckeye in victory. On a similar note, while I would support whomever is the coach at michigan, I can safely say that I would rather root for a RR coached team than a Harbaugh coached team, even if (not that this is the case) they might win one less game here or there. 

scottydreisbach

December 2nd, 2010 at 11:48 PM ^

Look I respect Rich Rod and if he is our coach next year then I hope he does amazing things.  But come on, really?  You would rather lose a few more games here or there than have Harbaugh?  Crazy talk.  Don't confuse honor with a loser mentality.

I don't think anyone in Columbus is worrying about moral victories or honor, having smacked us in the mouth for pretty much the entire decade.  Let's get back to being winners people!

MGoShtoink

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:56 PM ^

My name is Rich Rodriguez,  I'm honored to be the head coach at U-M. I hope you all realize I truly want to be a Michigan Man.

To those who say he is not already a Michigan man:

At what point does one become a Michigan Man?

  • He is the Head Coach of the University of Michigan Football Team, one of the most reveared positions in all of college football. 
  • He has implemented a completely new offensive scheme in just 3 years (and a dominant one at that). 
  • He has shown great poise on and off the field.
  • He's lead successful fundraisers for many of the charities we've associated with Michigan Football
  • He has shown that he cares deeply for his players. 

Are those not enough? 

If the criteria is more, then none of us, not one of us on this board is a Michigan Man/Woman. 

Coach Rich Rodriguez IS a Michigan Man.  Period.

JTGoBlue

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:52 PM ^

RR said when he took the job, and has maintained it since, that he wants to finish his coaching career at Michigan...he's committed.  He has that in common with every head football coach WE HAVE EVER HAD AT MICHIGAN.  Maybe this point has been missed, but isn't it remarkable that no coach has EVER left Michigan to take a HC job anywhere else? I don't know why this matters to me at the moment, but it can't be said for the other candidates that Michigan considered after Coach Carr retired, nor any of the candidates being mentioned now..does this matter to any of you?

Huntington Wolverine

December 3rd, 2010 at 9:11 AM ^

Pretty sure you just equated the statuses of WVU and U of M.  There is no where to go up from coaching at Michigan, especially if we assume he never gets the call to the NFL (not sure he's interested because he seems to thrive on the character development side of coaching)

TheOldQB

December 3rd, 2010 at 10:17 AM ^

Maybe that is why some people take AA to mean something other than Ann Arbor.

I was not equating my alma mater to WVU, but bringing up a character issue of RR. Hard for me to believe that RR will not be jumping ship at UM some time in the future when he walked out on his own alma mater, WVU. That was his original dream job.

He will eventually find that there are places other than UM to coach. I would not be surprised if he is not currently looking at other opportunities. Anyone have flight tracker??

GOBLUE

Communist Football

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:54 PM ^

RR has done nothing but work his ass off, 24/7, to make Michigan football great.  I have really tried hard not to attack those who want him fired, because people of good will can disagree.  I will say this: to those of you who seriously believe that firing RR will "unite the fanbase": the opposite is true.  If RR is fired, we'll have more than jhackney's nuclear bomb videos to contend with.

VaUMWolverine

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:54 PM ^

one more thing. RR is showing that a lot of these coaches are human beings. I'm trying to learn that these guys have families too. To wish so and so would get fired really isnt helping out those who did not chose this profession. I hope RR succeeds at Michigan and if not, I hope he lands on his feet soon after...just not anywhere that we'll have to face him because that would not be good for us.

Plegerize

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:58 PM ^

The more time that passes without word about a coaching change, the more I want (and think that) Rodriguez will be the head coach next year.

And honestly, after all the shit that has gone on this week, that wouldn't be so bad to me...

HHW

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:02 PM ^

Kind of reminds me of a dead man walkin', "Any last words?".  Uh, raise me up?  I want to be a Michigan man?  Please, you know that right?

john22

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:04 PM ^

that has bashed RICH ROD needs to sit back and think.I am one of those people who thinks he should get one more year.But everybody who wants a coaching change needs to think about the players that are going to leave,your big ten player of the year for sure.And also some of your recuirts from this class also.Lets hope Dee Hart stays on board,but if he leaves then there's a saying we all know.But i pray he stays!!!

Mitch Cumstein

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:52 PM ^

You think he leaves for sure if RR gets fired?  Where would he go?  If RR gets fired after Jan 1st, he will most likely not be a BCS head coach next year.  With that said, I'd like to know how you know for sure that Denard is gone if RR gets let go.

Tony Soprano

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:06 PM ^

I hope DB is stronger than some of you guys.  You can't let emotions cloud your judgement.  Sure RR is a nice guy and I like him, but we're talking about the future of the Michigan football program.  Hopefully, DB makes the right choice, but he shouldn't be swayed by emotions.

Go Blue!!

Route66

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:11 PM ^

Are what I am afraid of.  Just as the emotions would want you to feel sorry for RR, the opposite of that is the JH is a true MICHIGAN MAN RABBLE RABBLE emotion.  Let's hope DB has NO emotion.  I'll help take the emotion out...... 7-5 with a first year starting QB is pretty damn good. 

nsweet

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:22 PM ^

I for one believe emotions can damage and be overrated.  As an AD he needs to do what is best disregarding how he feels, but he must value his coaches having passion/emotion about their team, if your coach is not passionate about his team there are some real problems there!

shorts

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:27 PM ^

Even though my first choice would be to see Rodriguez return, I have to agree with you here. If Brandon believes that the best thing for the program is to bring in Harbaugh, I wouldn't want him to change his mind all of a sudden and say, "Shoot, now I feel bad for firing him, so I guess I should give him one more year."

Not trying to sound heartless at all -- like I said, I want to see Rodriguez succeed as much as anybody -- but I also trust Brandon to do what he thinks is best and not make a decision that's strongly influenced by emotion.

maizeblue28

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:07 PM ^

I love this whole thread!  I can't remember the last time I read through a whole thread with nothing but positive things said about RR.  I'm completely 100% ALL IN for him and this team.  

I really can't understand the hatred for this guy ever since he got here.  Think about it, he left his alma mater, a place he was worshiped and loved to come here and coach this team.  Not for money, but because Michigan is the best football program in the country!  It wasn't his fault that he didn't fully research all of our traditions and know everything about UM history right away. The media and hater fans can all go to hell!

tybert

December 2nd, 2010 at 11:12 PM ^

I was at the "HONOR" game in 2008, when we lost at home in cold, rainy/snowy miserable conditions to NW.

We had such a pathetic O that we could only score TEN points vs. a crappy Toledo team, that gave up 38 the next week at Northern Illinois.

Methinks RichRod decided he had to get a real O, with talent acroos the board. Unfortunately, it meant sacrificing other units.

Whether we get some studs on D and at K, we'll see. But watching Nick Sheridan run and pass us all the way to ONE TD was enough to say that we need to be able to score before we can win any games.

SalvatoreQuattro

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:08 PM ^

I have stated what I think should happen to do the guy, but I still have empathy for what he has gone through. He has gone through alot of crap and undeservedly so.

I do know that no one feels worse than he does for how the team has performed. I know he is working hard to fix it, but I just don't think he can. JMO.