RichRod to speak to Tulane about HC position

Submitted by bdsisme on

Two stories from sportsNOLA.com lay this out. RR is calling the Southern Miss game this weekend, and is expected to make a detour to New Orleans to meet with the Tulane administration as well as reunite with the 1998 Tulane football team (that he was a coordinator for).

Sources tell sportsNOLA.com that Rodriguez is expected to speak with Tulane officials this week about the Green Wave football head coaching position.

Link 1

Link 2

mgoblue52

November 9th, 2011 at 9:29 AM ^

I really wish he could get a job like the Arizona job.

1) BCS conference

2) zero expectations, so he could build from the ground up

3) USC is the only "good" team in his division.

 

Either way, I wish him the best and will be rooting for him to get a fair shot and be successful.

superstringer

November 9th, 2011 at 9:35 AM ^

He's be a fish out of water in AZ.  He's ultimately a Southerner -- he wants to recruit FL and GA guys, build a team with SEC speed.  He's built roots throughout FL high schools, is known by coaches throughout the south, etc.  Going way out West would be like starting over for him.  No way he goes out there to coach. Not that his teams would suck, but, he would really struggle to recruit, compared to him being in the Southeast.

Someone suggested that if Skip Holtz leaves USF, RR could be a fit there.  That is more prime RR territory -- right in Florida, in a BCS conference (for the moment at least).  I don't know if BC is a good candidate -- really far North, but at least he can try to get FL kids because its in the footprint of the conference.  Yes, I'm assuming BC changes coaches.

lhglrkwg

November 9th, 2011 at 9:59 AM ^

I think they already run a bit a of a spread there (though Holtz may be changing it without my knowledge) but RichRod could have his pick of lightning quick Florida kids and I'm sure he wouldn't be limited to the 3* guys either. He'd dominate

JHendo

November 9th, 2011 at 10:03 AM ^

Allowing a coach to go 7 1/2 years without ever breaking .500 in his career win/loss record sounds like pretty high expectations to me...

But seriously, I just moved back to A2 after living in Arizona for 5 years, and let's not fool ourselves here.  U of A and ASU are absolutely fine with mediocrity and allow sub par coaches to stay far past their welcome.

shorts

November 9th, 2011 at 3:17 PM ^

I think that when people talk about "expectations," they're talking about expectations among the fan base, where everybody thinks ASU is just a step away from being USC and Arizona can be a consistent contender.

Among the administration, you're right. The bar is relatively low.

 

MichiganStudent

November 9th, 2011 at 9:30 AM ^

I think he can do better than Tulane (Ole Miss, Arizona, etc), but he has ties there and may be able to build them up to something impressive in 4-5 years. 

superstringer

November 9th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^

No SEC team is going to hire RR.  We all think of the SEC as "speed" and high-octane offenses.  Guys, that's Spurrier and Meyer at UF -- that's it.  Aren't you paying attention this year?  The SEC is NOT about high-octane offense.  It's about killer defenses.  Defensive lines with ends and tackles that weigh 300 pounds, can bench press 800 pounds, and all have 4.3 speed.  Something like that.  That's why the SEC has won 5 championships in a row -- defensive lines and, more generally, defenses that are just superior athletically to anyone else.

RR has now proven, he knows not a thing about defense.  So NO WAY does an SEC team hire RR.

coastal blue

November 9th, 2011 at 3:55 PM ^

offensive minded Auburn Tigers took down last year's NC with the nation's 60th ranked defense. 

Anyway, something tells me Rodriguez will be a little more selective in picking his defensive staff this time around. 

BlockM

November 9th, 2011 at 9:30 AM ^

That would be great. I'll wholeheartedly root for him as long as we're not playing his teams. I feel sorry for the teams he goes up against.

profitgoblue

November 9th, 2011 at 10:34 AM ^

I agree with you wholeheartedly. However, this is an interesting development, having just read Three and Out . . . From what Bacon writes, Rodriguez was floored when Tulane decided not to offer him the head coaching job after Bowden left for Clemson. He was all prepared for the press conference when he heard through someone other than the President that another candidate was chosen. That's why he left for Clemson. Seems interesting that he'd go back after that bad experience of being passed over for an outsider.

FSPP-14

November 9th, 2011 at 9:39 AM ^

His offense could work fantastic for Tulane. He never had top talent really before he came to U of M (and ever we weren't at our best), but he was always able to put points on the board. I'm sure Tulane would love to have him back. Great fit for both parties

BlueVoix

November 9th, 2011 at 9:40 AM ^

This is finally a coaching position that would actually make sense for Rodriguez.  Low expectations school in a bad conference that Rodriguez will get plenty of time to install his system at.  He doesn't need a good defense, though that would certainly be a plus.

His past connections and the fertile recruiting ground can't hurt either.  This would be a much more natural fit than any BCS job right now.

Tater

November 9th, 2011 at 9:43 AM ^

I was hoping he would hold out for a better job.  There will be plenty of them available, especially if he waits another year or two.  There might even be a couple of nice jobs available this year, such as UGA.

As we've seen, though, RR can let his emotions influence his decision-making, and he does have some nice memories at Tulane.  I hope he doesn't "knee-jerk" this one, and ends up at a school where he has a chance to win a National Championship.  

Needs

November 9th, 2011 at 10:19 AM ^

He's not getting a Tier 1 job until he rebuilds his reputation. About the only coaches who cratered historically great programs (and that's how RR is perceived, rightly or wrongly, and the Bacon book won't change that*) and then walked into Tier 1 jobs are Neuheisal and Willingham, and that's not a good track record.

 

*If you don't believe this, look at the comments on the Ole Miss blogs when his name is brought up.... Ole Miss!

rbgoblue

November 9th, 2011 at 11:52 AM ^

I don't think he needs to do much rebuilding, as most programs would love to take on a coach with 2 BCS wins and multiple conference championships under his belt.

Speaking of coach reputations, UM just hired a guy with a career winning percentage below .500 and no BCS head coaching experience.

GoBlogSparty

November 9th, 2011 at 11:16 AM ^

I really don't see Richt getting fired at UGA. He has the best winning percentage in UGA football history through his first 130 or so games there and is 7-2 in bowl games with 2 SEC championships in 10 years.

Personally, I think the best fit for RR would have been the Florida OC job last year. He would have had fertile recruiting ground, powerhouse of a football brand, and he wouldn't be the head coach so he would be able to just fly under the radar and do his thing.

 

justingoblue

November 9th, 2011 at 12:54 PM ^

After reading the introduction to RR in Three and Out, flying under the radar is the last thing he wants. He's going to take the most high profile, tradition rich position he can get. Whether or not he ends up at Tulane is up to the administrations at PSU, OSU*, Arizona, maybe UCLA, and on down the list.

*Not that I think there would even be interest from him or OSU, but it did help make the point I think.

SamIam

November 9th, 2011 at 9:52 AM ^

I cant believe one of the Florida teams doesnt try to hire him as an OC.

I mean seariously thats what he really is and should be is an OC.

BlueVoix

November 9th, 2011 at 10:47 AM ^

He also won at West Virginia because the dude is an offensive genius and the Big East is a terrible conference.  I agree with Rodriguez winning big IF he can go to a mediocre conference.  If he wants to win big at the BCS level, he'll need to assemble a staff there first that can win on both sides of the ball and come with him to the next stop.

BigBlue02

November 9th, 2011 at 11:29 AM ^

This is just false. Because he only win 11 games after the "big 3" left doesn't mean he still didn't do very good when they were there. He still won 2 conference championships and held his own when they were still in the big east, and that was back when Miami was going to national championship games and virginia tech was winning 11 games and being ranked highly. Don't be fooled, RichRod's teams at west Virginia could play with anyone in the nation

BlueVoix

November 9th, 2011 at 1:38 PM ^

There was exactly one season where WVU under Rodriguez played Miami and Virginia Tech, his second year.  He lost to a very good Miami team on the slow Coker downswing and dominated a mediocre Virginia Tech.  They got blown out by the other good team in the conference, Maryland, twice.

2004, WVU beat one team with a winning record.  One.  That team was UConn.  In both 2005 and 2006, West Virginia played three ranked teams.  The best season, without a doubt, has to be 2007.  But you'll excuse me for not being impressed by WMU, Marshall, Maryland, ECU, USF, Syracuse, Croom Miss State, Rutgers, Louisville, Cinci, and Pitt.  Oklahoma, obviously, is impressive.

BigBlue02

November 9th, 2011 at 3:57 PM ^

By this logic, no matter what happens this year, we should discredit the job Hoke does because we don't have Wisconsin and Penn State on the schedule and the big 10 sucks. Good to know. Have fun with that argument after the season is over

coastal blue

November 9th, 2011 at 4:02 PM ^

has 2 BCS wins.

Michigan has 1. 

His teams took down Georgia and Oklahoma. 

When was the last time Michigan beat a BCS conference champ? Alabama in 1999-2000?

The guy arrived at Michigan at the exact wrong time. He'll succeed wherever he goes next. 

Ziff72

November 9th, 2011 at 10:39 AM ^

Don't be an idiot.   You can argue RR's merits and faults, but did you just say the only reason he was good at WV was that he was "fortunate" that he had a good defense at WV"?

So he was able to produce a good defense from 2 and 3 star rabble at WV after 5 years with a DC he hired and that was all luck?

His resume is incomplete.  To write off his head coaching career because of the 3 years here but not give him credit for his time in WV is just being a hater.  Go back to Mlive.

We were 7-5 last year despite all the problems if anybody cares to remember.

SamIam

November 9th, 2011 at 2:09 PM ^

And you want to send a fellow fan to another site for disagreeing with you...also classy.  I do not hate RR I feel his strengths are better suited for the O.C. position. 

BigBlue02

November 9th, 2011 at 4:02 PM ^

You can disagree all you want, but it is just dumb to suggest his success at West Virginia was because he got lucky. That type of argument would be better suited on a website that doesn't require you to make any sense with an argument, like Mlive or the Freep. Unless you actually have a reasoning why RichRod dominating the big east was because of his defense and luck.....I'm all ears

Gorgeous Borges

November 9th, 2011 at 5:07 PM ^

Why was his defense so bad in 2008? The team had 9 returning starters, and yet it was a lot worse than a year before. And then the defense just got worse and worse from then on. The defense got a lot worse at Michigan when he got here and got a lot better when he left. I don't know why he had such good defenses at West Virginia but he by any measure failed on that account at U of M. He failed to recruit good defensive players. He failed to retain good defensive players. He failed to coach good defensive players. He failed to hire a good defensive coordinator or a good defensive coaching staff (Mallory?).

I can understand that the offense needed to be rebuilt at Michigan. Rich Rod was implementing a completely new scheme and needed new players, and the team was devoid of talent at skill positions. I have very little problem with what Rich Rod did offensively, except that he didn't recruit very well in the trenches. But the defense didn't need to be rebuilt. The defense had plenty of talent on it to start, and it was driven into the ground.

Three and Out largely ignores the elephant in the room with Rich Rod. He was fired at Michigan because he failed to win, and he failed to win not because of Stretchgate, or Carr, or internal politics. He didn't even fail to win because his offense wouldn't work in the Big 10. Rich Rodriguez failed to win because his defense was atrocious, because as many points as his offense put up, usually his defense managed to give away more. You can win against good teams without the support of your predecessors or the Free Press, but you cannot win with a defense that has all the stopping power of wet toilet paper.

Rich Rodriguez's resume suits him certainly to be an offensive coordinator anywhere. He lived up to his reputation for being a great offensive coach at Michigan. But his defensive debacle at Michigan matters, and it is extremely troubling, and it probably will and should keep him from elite head coaching jobs

SamIam

November 9th, 2011 at 2:04 PM ^

I was initially flamebaited for saying I think he is a better O.C than head coach.  To say that is not debatable or worthy of flambait status is a bit of a reach in the other direction.  Especially considering his failure to address defensive needs including hiring of a competent DC.

I dont know anyother way to express you feel a neg is unworhty