Thoughts on the RichRod Interview
Thought I'd start a new thread about this since the original article has been expanded to cover more of the interview.
This quote in particular caught my eye.
"Everybody's got their own theory of it. My personal theory -- and this is talking to people that were there before I got there -- is that when Bo Schembechler passed away that driving force to get everybody pulling in the same direction may have gone with him. I think there were some battles that were being fought even before I took the job," he said.
I think Rodriguez is partly right here. There was too much skepticism and negativity directed toward Rodriguez from the moment he was hired, and there were too many whispers about various factions close to the program trying to undermine him throughout his entire tenure. If Bo were around, he never would have allowed the rifts and divisions to develop the way they did. Everybody would have supported Rodriguez because Bo would have demanded it.
Having said that, Rodriguez wasn't fired because there were people who never accepted him, he was fired because he didn't win. It's as simple as that. If he had won, the divisions would have evaporated and he would have ended up redefining Michigan Football. It wasn't the drama that made him hire and fire Scott Shafer, it wasn't the drama that made him hire Greg Robinson, it wasn't the drama that made him implement the 3-3-5, it wasn't the drama that made him waste time and manpower recruiting Demar Dorsey, it wasn't the drama that made him force a 6'5" slow kid and a walk-on to run the spread option, and it wasn't the drama that made him neglect special teams to the point where we only made 4 field goals the entire season. No one forced him to make any of the poor decisions that led to his demise.
But on the whole, it was a classy interview. He spoke highly of the position, he didn't take shots at anyone, and his criticism of Brandon is a fair one. The timing of the decision didn't benefit anyone. I still think he's a stand-up guy and I'd love to see him land a good job somewhere next season. I hope he'll learn from his mistakes. He'll always be a part of our history, and the Rich Rodriguez era will forever stand out as the brief period during which Michigan Football unfathomably stepped outside of its comfort zone and tried, but failed, to reinvent itself.
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:58 PM ^
In 2008 then, and let him do his job. And get rid of his buddies if they wouldn't let him do it.
February 2nd, 2011 at 8:54 AM ^
...that for the first time in my life I feel embarrassed by the clownish activities coming out of the Athletic Department regarding the football program. The losses on the field never bother me because the kids always try hard and, besides, it's just a game after all.
But the month of limbo for the Rodriguez coaching staff? Two days to fire him? That's borderline sadistic. And then to replace them with a patchwork quilt of of Lloyd Carrtel™ cronies...WTF?!
Right now I just want to quit it all...but can't. When will this end? It's Groundhog's Day...you've got to be kidding me. I'm going to kidnap Mgoblog, steal a car and drive off a cliff in a murder/suicide attempt.
Yeah, I'm losing it. You might want to keep your distance.
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:59 PM ^
Every time you post.
February 2nd, 2011 at 9:01 AM ^
If he knew he was gone like he seems to be saying, he could have resigned. Then he could have gotten a jump on looking for his next job. I'd hate to think he hung around just for the pay day if he knew for sure.
Maybe he thought he was gone, but didn't know it for sure? The team's performance in Jacksonville could lead to the conclusion he was distracted during his preparation. He probably could have returned with some indication of real improvement defensively at any point from the Penn State game forward, including the Gator Bowl.
That's 5 games against quality opponents. Instead, we're in his third year and it was getting worse. He was treated fairly, but didn't get the job done.
Can't wait for the Bacon book to learn more about his time in charge.
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:54 PM ^
tag that he was given? No win situation! (Pun intended)
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:13 PM ^
First off, support Hoke. He didn't fire RR.
Decision to not give the man a 4th year given the conditions he had to work with within the program, and the team he inherited will always anger me.
Why are some acting like the wins went from 7 then 5 then 3? It was the exact opposite! Total of 90% of the starters returning, all the good big 10 teams getting worse, and Michigan was poised for 9 or 10 wins. Before you disagree, don't forget we miss Wisconsin and Penn State, and have ND, Neb, and OSU at home. It just upsets me because anyone that disagrees isn't aware of everything that went on prior to RR even coming to Michigan. To me, it's impossible to disagree if you knew what was going on based on the players lost, various DC's in a short time span, etc.
You know that Bo Schembechler would have never let this go on. He would not have led a CEO for a pizza company come in and undercut a man that busted his ass despite the conditions he was in, improved the team each year, brought the team closer than they were under Lloyd Carr, and not give him a 4th year when he had 20 starters returning and had the team poised for improvement.
I don't see the problem in addressing RR with, hey , we know what you're capable of after this year offensively... but defensively, lack of talent is obviously an issue and this defense isn't working out. We will support you for another year, expect improvement here here, and here, and we'll pay high $ for the best DC you can bring in to fix this.
If it didn't work out with 20 starters returning, then you bring Hoke in. Why not? He wasn't going anywhere.
Michigan was returning 20 starters and by far the most in the big 10. The best 5 teams in the Big 10 this season are the five worst for losing starters going into 2011.
What if we landed Terrelle Pryor? We start out a year quicker, and the 4th year is automatic.
February 2nd, 2011 at 9:47 AM ^
It is odd that RR, as well spoken and sharp he is, had no perspective on the program at the start and did not win over the boosters. RR did not have proper perspective on the program and what it was at that point he took the job. He acts like its never his fault of any kind. What he said about Bo is true, but he should have known that.
If he was clever, he'd have said at his opening press conference, a tribute to who he was succeeding in Lloyd Carr and praised and thanked his efforts for manning the program to 13 or so great years. Then he should have praised Gary Moeller for the fantastic job of 26 or so years of service and really bringing the wood to the most important rivalry in all of sports.
Instead, he opens with "Gee, great crowd! Must be giving out hats or something!..." then "me,me,me, me" you get the point. Nobody cares about West Va and he'd talk about them incessantly.
He never endeared himself to those "factions", and he easily could have, had he shown the respect. But not doing so told so, at that critical point after losing Bo, the perception was that he was bigger than the program. Then when he was asked about the OSU game, he said it was just another game. I mean, the guy had no perspective, at all, and takes zero responsbility, not even for a part of it.
RR dropped the ball, he really did. He had the chance to endear himself, and he did not do it. By not doing the things I mentioned, it then became as if he was bigger than the tradition behind him, and he wasn't, and the tradition put him in his place.
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:29 AM ^
So, bringing in the 69 team to talk to the team, etc, giving former players full access to the program, etc, etc, Barwis working them out on his own time meant nothing? you can go on and on with examples.
RR did plenty.
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:36 PM ^
Anyone else read this and giggle? Just me? Ok.
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:48 PM ^
judas priest this is a blog board, not a bordello!
February 2nd, 2011 at 9:38 AM ^
Look, what do you expect the guy to say, that we would be worse in 2011? He's gone, the reasons for his failure and his record for the past three years have been outlined and debated ad nauseum in this forum with posts from the Decimated Defense to Free Press Jihad to Angry Michigan Hating Secondary God (Devil, if you ask me) and on and on.
Reality is that for all these reasons, some things definitely under RR's control (hiring and firing Shafer as defensive coordinator and hiring Gerg as defensive coordinator for instance) and some things definitely not under his control (T-Wolf's ankle injury, Cissoko turning criminal, Some amount of Press and old Carr supporter animosities, etc) to somethings that we really don't know how much control he actually had (Boren, Mallett, Donovan Warren, et al).
Reality is that all of this led to RR's record and results. The real question was whether we would be better off in 2-3 years with him or without him. We'll only know now how we will be without him. So be it! Let's see where we are in 3-4 years and what the story says. That will kind of tell us the tale of what Hoke and Mattison and others have wrought. If we are competing for Big Ten titles and have consistant top 10-15 recruiting classes and winning 9 to 10 games games a year, then we are on the right path. Now, can we move beyond that? That will be the next question coming after we get to this level.
"Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future."
―Yoda to Michigan Faithful
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:26 AM ^
I can think of about 2.5 million+ reasons why RichRod shouldn't be chapped right now.
This is at the end of the AP interview republished on ESPN:
"I'm hungry as I've ever been to coach," he said. "I don't want to lose my confidence. We have a formula that can take a team to BCS bowls and compete for national championships. If I'm at the right school that gives you total support and is pulling in the right direction, I think we'll do that."
This borders on the delusional, and shows why MSC and DB had enough. There's always someone else to blame; he couldn't get enough money to hire the ghost of Lombardi as DC.
National Championships? He couldn't even beat Little Brother.
He's an ACC or Big East coach. Maybe Vandy or Kentucky in the SEC.
Thank goodness MSC hired DB and DB can make a tough decision. Michigan will soar under Hoke, rather than continue to struggle under the RichRod reality show.
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:29 AM ^
Coaching isn't just a "formula" you can plug in anywhere for automatic, predictable success. Every situation is different, and what works in place A or time X won't necessarily work in place B and time Y. Loads of wildly successful coaches have struggled to replicate their gaudy W/L ratios after moving from their first major success.
I do wish RR the best, though, and am confident he'll land somewhere good and win some games.
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:42 AM ^
I hope you are right that we soar under Hoke, but I suggest that we temper our enthusiasm until we have at least played a few football games with him as our head coach.
Also, define Soar. Better than last 3 seasons under RR? Better than 2005 Carr Season? Better than Carr's 1-6 record over last 7 games against OSU (or maybe I should say TSIO for that school in Ohio?).
Before we annoint another savior, how about we have some real game data both in the pre-Big Ten and Big Ten season????
February 2nd, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^
Rich Rodriguez has taken a team to multiple BCS bowl games and won (when given time to actually fill a roster with his players). He was a Pat White injury away from playing for the national championship. Not really delusional to think he can repeat the kind of success he has actually had before. I also have a strong hunch we'll be having the same kind of success over the next two years as the freshmen/sophomores he recruited become juniors/seniors.
The only "soaring" his successor has ever done involves losing to Buffalo in the MAC title game. If "delusional" means basing your expectation on past results (it doesn't, LULZ), then yeah, you are right on track.
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:37 PM ^
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:57 PM ^
Your numbers are correct. Rodriguez had a .697 winning percentage over 7 seasons at WVU while Stewart has posted a .700 over 3 seasons (exactly the same percentage if you want to bother rounding it off, but I'll grant you the point). Of course that number gives Stewart credit for winning the Fiesta Bowl with RR's team as interim coach. Since he was actually hired his winning percentage is slightly lower. Of course 30% of Rodriguez's losses came in his first (3-8) season which is the only reason the numbers are close. Of course Stewart has never achieved the high level success Rodriguez did (he did manage to win the Meineke Car Care Bowl, though). Of course Stewart also has a much higher winning percentage than Brady Hoke but I doubt you want to make that comparison. Of course you don't really think Bill Stewart is a better coach than Rich Rodriguez but were just trying to be douchey.
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:27 PM ^
Okay, since I'm being "douchey," might as well go after your first post as well.
"Rich Rodriguez has taken a team to multiple BCS bowl games and won"
He took them to two BCS bowl games. And won one of them.
"He was a Pat White injury away from playing for the national championship."
You mean the season that unstoppable Pat White was also stopped by South Florida? That season where LSU won the national title with 2 losses?
"Not really delusional to think he can repeat the kind of success he has actually had before."
In a major conference that isn't the ACC or Big East? Good luck convincing anyone with that.
"The only "soaring" his successor has ever done involves losing to Buffalo in the MAC title game. If "delusional" means basing your expectation on past results (it doesn't, LULZ), then yeah, you are right on track."
Now this is where I misread you and I apologize for that. I thought you were referring to Stew and his time at WVU, especially his losses this year. But to go after our current coach's past? Well, not suprising.
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:32 PM ^
Now as for this post...No, I'm not trying to claim that Stewart is a better coach than Rodriguez. He certainly isn't a better offensive coordinator. All I'm saying is that the Big East isn't a good conference and does not provide particularly difficult competition. The fact that Stew has had equal success to Rodriguez (which no amount of "but he had 8 losses his first year!" can change) is a glaring indictment of the awfulness of the Big East. Taking over an already good program from Don Nehlen in a cellar of a conference gave Rodriguez everythig he needed to win. Taking over a very good program from Rodriguez gave everything Stew needed to have a job for more than one season.
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:06 PM ^
If he doesn't start doing a better job hiring defensive coordinators. Otherwise he won't sniff those things again.
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:15 PM ^
Scott Shafer is a good defensive coordinator currently having loads of success at Syracuse. The last time Greg Robinson was hired to be a college defensive coordinator the team went 12-1 and won the Rose Bowl. Those aren't bad hires. Those are guys that got blamed because the results on defense matched the talent/experience levels of the defense.
Like I said in the Belichick post, talent matters. Just like Rodriguez and Magee don't suck at coaching offense because the 2008 Michigan team couldn't score points, those guys don't suck just because they had mediocre/poor defenses with mediocre/poor talent at their disposals. In the same vein, Borges and Mattison have some poor results on their resume, but both are high quality hires because when the talent is there they produce high level results.
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:32 PM ^
But utilizing it helps too. 2008's defense wasn't that talentless. And had a good DC who was hamstrung. Hiring involves not just getting the guy, but letting him do his job. If he had backed the hire, gotten rid of previous coaches who wouldn't go along with what his DC wanted, we might not be here today.
<br>
<br>At WV, after he left, and the talent decreased without his recruiting, the offense got worse without their coaching, but the defense stayed as good, or got better. Who knows if he had brought the WHOLE staff of WV if he would continue to roll. But he's 1 for 3 in having his DC hires work out (the other 2 were fired), and if he continues to trend and goes 1 for 4 after his next hire, he won't be going back to BCS games. But at this point he'll have a lot of new staff members, so he won't be stuck with friends who might not be great coaches, and can just try and bring back the excellent one's.
February 2nd, 2011 at 2:09 PM ^
That 2008 defense (basically meaning that senior class) was obviously more talented than the next two and didn't bear the brunt of some of the structural holes in the depth chart (no safeties in 2009, for example). Still, when you are starting Ezeh (never a good anchor to construct your defense around) and Mouton at linebacker as sophomores and Mike Martin is getting PT as a true freshman and Stevie Brown is forced to play out of position, there are some holes on that side of the ball. When the extent of the NFL talent at your disposal is Taylor, Trent, Brown, and junior Brandon Graham, you don't have the kind of stars that can make up for holes elsehwere in the defense.
With that roster, having a middle of the pack defense (I think they finished in the mid-sixties) doesn't really surprise me. Throw in all the transition drama and the fact that they were playing with a complete abortion on the other side of the ball and it makes it tough to maintain the motivation necessary to play D at a high level, I would think.
In hindsight, Shafer should have been retained but nobody was saying that (at least not loudly) at the time because the WE ARE ANGAR!!! sentiment over 3-9 was far too powerful and demanded a scapegoat/sacrifice.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:24 PM ^
So...Shafer shouldn't have been fired and was a scapegoat. Who fired him? Who hired GERG? Who chose the defense? Who recruited the players? Who chose the offense that couldn't get it done against the top half of the conference? Who lost all of those games? Who got blown out by OSU? Who got blown out in the bowl game? Who barely beat Illinois, UMass, Purdue and Indiana?
There's only one goat...and now he has all the time in the world to complain about how it wasn't his fault. It's kinda sad that you can't just enjoy the positive future on the horizon. Of course, how can anyone expect you and you fellow RR-slappies to move on when even He can't take responsibility?
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^
I was discussing Michigan's 2008 defense with someone else. You are the one who showed up to remind everyone how much you dislike Rich Rodriguez, even though you've long since had your way and seen him fired. Everyone knows you are mad Michigan lost some football games the last three years and think it was all the coach's fault. You don't have to keep bringing it up.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:46 PM ^
If I had "my way", RR would have won a lot more games and been competitive in all.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:44 PM ^
I just hope that Rich knowing way more about football than me wouldn't come to the same conclusion that he should go. Or undermine him when he was here.
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:35 PM ^
So in your opinion, Greg Robinson was a good hire for Michigan?
February 2nd, 2011 at 2:14 PM ^
The guy never got to coach a defense that didn't have massive holes in the roster. You can debate how good a coach you think he is over the course of his career (his resume has some ups and some pretty big downs) but acting like he sucks because these two defenses weren't any good is just intellectual laziness.
February 2nd, 2011 at 11:26 AM ^
The interview makes me lose much respect for RR. I previously was bothered by his record, but not his off-field actions. He now publicly raises the standard mgoblog excuses for his failures and doesn't accept any responsibility for his own actions. That is not what a coach or leader does. It's what a child or superfan does. Contrast the RR interview with this quote from Hoke in a DetNews interview:
On the one message he wants to get across to players: "Accountability. Accountability to each other. The respect that we're going to have and love we're going to have for each other and representing Michigan and being accountable for that. I told the kids in the first team meeting, 'You're going to hear me say that word more than you want, but that's what good teams do, that's what championships teams do — they're accountable to each other.'"
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:08 PM ^
Rodriguez is not the Michigan coach anymore. So he's free to offer his observations on the Michigan program, especially since he's now the "outsider" that some folks thought he was all along. And yes, it sure is surprising to hear that he still thinks he has the ability to coach championship-calibur teams -- did you really expect him to conclude from his Michigan experience that that was his ceiling, he screwed the job up, and it's all downhill from here? Since he's very likely to get hired in the future by another BCS-level program, we'll find out soon enough whether he's right to remain confident in his coaching ability. I know what my prediction is. What's yours -- that he can't possibly succeed elsewhere because he doesn't get the concept of accountability?
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:18 PM ^
Why do the RR slappies always bring in the strawman. I never said he can't be a good coach. I merely said that he doesn't accept responsibility for his failings here. Children learn to take responsibility. Children.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:38 PM ^
How very ironic of you. Let's take excerpts of interviews with Rodriguez and Hoke that were selected for printing in a couple of newspaper articles and conclude that Hoke believes in accountability and Rodriguez does not. Sounds reasonable. And no, of course you didn't say he "can't be a good coach" -- you said he has failed to behave like one (or a leader to boot). Just curious -- do you believe in accountability for what you say here?
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:43 PM ^
Sure. We can even do it twice.
If Hoke produces a record similar to RR after three seasons and blames it on anyone but himself, I'll gladly proclaim that he failed to live up to his own standards. I will also say that he failed to behave like a leader or coach. No problem at all.
Now get back to your RR shrine. I think Jobu needs another offering.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:02 PM ^
I don't pore over every word Rodriguez says (that finds its way into print) to decide whether I admire him or not. Personally, the guy comes across as a bit glib in interviews, and I wish he had learned to keep his mouth shut a bit more, so as to avoid giving ammunition to those (hmmm, sound familiar?) who will dissect his every word to decide whether he's a good human being/Michigan man/whatever. On the other hand, the guy landed himself a job on TV with that skill. Mostly, I don't find it a good use of my time to try to judge the character of the Michigan football coach by the quotes I read from him in the newspaper. Don't know if you've noticed, but those newspaper folks have a knack for spinning things to fit their narratives (also sound familiar?).
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:41 PM ^
Double post.
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:09 PM ^
He could say "I" did something wrong. It seems the head coach has no influence, he's just along for the ride.