Rhino77

March 8th, 2012 at 5:34 PM ^

I would say he made HALF of a cake (He forgot the Defense). That being said all parties landed on their feet, so it's time to move on.

I would say to RR, thank you for Denard. He is on my all time list. Carry on now RR, carry on.

Butterfield

March 8th, 2012 at 5:35 PM ^

May perpetual light shine upon you, my son.  I posted this same quote and link a while ago and I have the negative points next to my handle to prove it. 

Erik_in_Dayton

March 8th, 2012 at 5:39 PM ^

He didn't have a fair chance/his offense was or was not great/he was not good at recruiting or developing defensive players, except he kinda was (or wasn't)/he didn't fit in culturaly/he didn't get "it"/he hired Greg Robinson/he meddled in the defense too much/he was a good disciplinarian but wasn't/he recruited too many risky guys/he gave guys a shot who wouldn't have got one at Michigan in the past/2008 wasn't his fault but it was (or wasn't)/Lloyd Carr did or did not stab RR in the back/losing Casteel was the worst thing that happened to RR/D. Hart and what could have been/he found Denard/his offense wasn't complex enough, though he never had a returning starting QB, but that should (not) have mattered/people didn't give him a chance/he never would have fit because he didn't understand the Big Ten/the spread is dead/the spread lives/turnovers in the red zone were his fault, but they weren't b/c that's just luck, but then why did it improve so much when he left?/All the cornerbacks are dead, Jim!/Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine/I'm on the pavement thinkin' 'bout the government...Did I miss anything?

B-Nut-GoBlue

March 8th, 2012 at 5:38 PM ^

I know many times we get sick and tired of hearing the comments athletes and coaches make.  But I gotta say, I think we need to look to the media more often.  QUIT ASKING HIM ABOUT MICHIGAN.  I think we've all heard all he has to say on the matter.  That being said, he needs to learn to deflect these questions better and grow a back-bone, telling the media to quit inquiring him on the past.

Magnus

March 8th, 2012 at 5:39 PM ^

He has made this statement a bunch of times before.  I'm open for Rodriguez discussions if there's something new, but this is old news.

CRex

March 8th, 2012 at 5:40 PM ^

No coach is ever going to say "I thought we would have sucked next year". However RR still needs to learn when to bite is tongue and give some kind of trite soundbite versus comments about eating his cake. Year 4 of RR would have still featured Greg Robinson and Tony Gibson on defense and games we had to score 70+ to win in. No way it ends 11-1 with a BCS Bowl.

FrankMurphy

March 8th, 2012 at 5:42 PM ^

If you watch the video, he makes this comment about his red Arizona shirt: "It's the first time I've been able to wear red in awhile. It used to be a banned color, but now it looks good."

He repeatedly refers to his time at Michigan without mentioning Michigan explicitly. He also lets this slip: "The year off was good for me, thought I'd rather not have had it off..."

I also found this bit interesting:

 

For a guy who had never set foot in Tucson before taking the job, Rodriguez has done his homework on the Wildcats. He had dinner with Mike Stoops several times before his predecessor joined his brother Bob's staff at Oklahoma. He is also renting Stoops' house.

It seems like Rodriguez got a lot more support from his (fired) predecessor at Arizona than his (retired) predecessor at Michigan. Also, it's painfully obvious that Rodriguez and the others quoted in the article are referring to the DC issues at Michigan when they make vague references to a lack of chemistry on previous staffs. Interesting article all around. It's clear that the wounds from his time at Michigan are still very raw and that he's driven by that failed experience.

HighKnees

March 8th, 2012 at 5:42 PM ^

Argh, I think the mods already deleted one post on this subject.  I'll make the same response here that I did there:

Doesn't matter, it's the past. 

Let's just live and let live, and enjoy watching a cool offense on Saturdays at 10 p.m. when everyone else is done playing for the day.

And I think it's awesome that Rich Rod got good popsicles for his players and made a note of his disappointment that no one ate them.  Seriously, you're so tired from practice that you can't move for a delicious red, white, and blue bomb pop?  I don't always like popsicles, but when I do, I go for the bombers. 

UMMAN83

March 8th, 2012 at 5:44 PM ^

....  What else is would he say as a fired head coach.  Now it just looks like he is not facing reality.  I do think he caught a raw deal and I blame Carr for that .  We sucked, it was not going to change the next year.  He made many programs think they are relevant.  That is changing and we will be better than the best we were in the past.  See yah.

UMMAN83

March 8th, 2012 at 5:45 PM ^

....  What else is would he say as a fired head coach.  Now it just looks like he is not facing reality.  I do think he caught a raw deal and I blame Carr for that .  We sucked, it was not going to change the next year.  He made many programs think they are relevant.  That is changing and we will be better than the best we were in the past.  See yah.

dahblue

March 8th, 2012 at 5:46 PM ^

The winningest program in the history of college football needed to be made "from scratch"?  And he still wonders why he wasn't immediately accepted and loved by all...

I like this quote better (it's from his WVU D-line coach who didn't join him in A2), "I felt bad. I felt terrible. I almost felt like I cheated him because I didn't go up there," Kirelawich said. "But I got arthritis. I ain't going up there in Eskimo country."  But up here in Eskimo country, you can see defense from your porch.

ish

March 8th, 2012 at 5:47 PM ^

i'm fine w/ that.  any reasonable person in his position, with the confidence and ego that a successful head coach needs, would feel the same way.

JHendo

March 8th, 2012 at 5:49 PM ^

I know that it's in a new article, but that's an old quote. Either that or baking a cake is his favorite analogy as he said this during the season. Besides that, I chuckled at the popsicle quote in that article. I'm not a RR fan, but he does have his charismatic moments...

Section 1

March 8th, 2012 at 7:34 PM ^

Just look.  More than 100 posts, in less than two hours.  And scarcely a single point trying to defend Rodriguez.  It is just a pure, spontaneous, self-igniting, fanboy freakout.  You guys piloted this one all on your own.  "Garble garble garble."

lhglrkwg

March 8th, 2012 at 5:51 PM ^

should get together and say stupid things about Michigan that everyone is tired of hearing about. I think they'd really connect over that

Summoner10

March 8th, 2012 at 5:57 PM ^

you guys need to stop acting like it was only the defense that led to some of the worst teams in michigan history.....  It was bad recruiting and horrible game planning as well.  Our offense only looked good against inferior competition as well.  Any step up in comp and we got handled by oppossing defenses.

pdxwolve

March 8th, 2012 at 6:09 PM ^

as part of a PAC 10 preview out here. He essentially said the same thing.

As he was talking, I felt bad that he didn't get the chance, but I then remembered the defense. He would have been lucky to get 8-4 out of last year's squad, and I think 7-5 was likely.

I was disappointed when he didn't get a chance to complete. I'm not anymore.

I did like when they asked him if he was still bitter. His response: "I think we all have a chip on our shoulder and have something to prove. Yeah, I'm still bitter."

aaamichfan

March 8th, 2012 at 6:51 PM ^

Dave Brandon is a marketing guy.

 

He knows a RR vs. Michigan matchup can be marketed like crazy. It's the same underlying thinking why he decided to schedule App State again. It would definitely be tougher to put together a series with Arizona because they would almost surely demand a home and home, but I guarantee the thought has already crossed Brandon's mind.