RR statement
“I am proud of the dedication and commitment exhibited by the coaching staff and student-athletes who have represented the University of Michigan football program over the last three seasons. While I am disappointed to depart Ann Arbor before we were able to reach the level of success we had in our sights, I am confident that the players who remain have the potential to do great things and to return the Wolverines to greatness. I would like to thank our fans and our student body for their tremendous support. There is great passion for Michigan football and I have made lifelong friends through this experience.”
January 6th, 2011 at 7:00 PM ^
We could carpool to that one hackney. And since Pitt's stadium is always half empty tickets wouldn't be a problem either.
January 6th, 2011 at 7:03 PM ^
Sounds good to me. Road trip! I'll bring the Lionshead! (One of the finest PA beers. Got me through college)
January 6th, 2011 at 8:49 PM ^
Lionshead bottle cap riddles for COACHING CAROUSEL 2011!! And submit them.
January 6th, 2011 at 9:04 PM ^
Haha. Good call! Too bad I don't know how to put symbols on here though!
January 6th, 2011 at 8:43 PM ^
I attend the Backyard Brawl every year. My in-laws living in the PGH. Great town!
January 6th, 2011 at 5:56 PM ^
GO TO CLEMSON, GO TO CLEMSON!!!! Clemson fans love RR and by waiting a year, Dabo Swinney probably will be fired if Clemson underachieve(they will). Clemson is a sleeping giant with tons of talents that they were able to attract. RR can use his florida connections in addition to the recruiting pipeline at the Carolinas. Clemson could very well be a national power under RR.
January 6th, 2011 at 6:50 PM ^
That would make me soooo happy. Now rooting against Clemson, ehr, Swinney
January 6th, 2011 at 10:01 PM ^
This is true. Actually, I think it will happen. I live in upstate South Carolina, not far from Clemson, and their fans would love it if he were to return.
I'd even have to buy an Orange shirt. That'd make my father-in-law happy.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:11 PM ^
I really hope we don't regret this. I really liked Rich Rod as our coach. I hope he finds success in the future.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:14 PM ^
Mistake #254
January 6th, 2011 at 4:39 PM ^
"I really hope we don't regret this. I really liked Rich Rod as our coach. I hope he finds success in the future. "
My sentiments exactly.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:11 PM ^
This guy is nothing but absolute class. And isn't class part of what being a "Michigan Man" is all about?
Good luck Rich Rod, please do not kick our asses if we ever have to face you in a game.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:13 PM ^
Michigan "Man", apparently.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:40 PM ^
Are you insinuating Rich Rodriguez might be a woman?
January 6th, 2011 at 4:43 PM ^
class, yes.....but more winning
January 6th, 2011 at 7:19 PM ^
not all self proclaimed Michigan Men deserve the title. Examples being the people who treated RR like a child abuser for no fucking reason other than their own bigotry, stupidty, and arrogance.
Don't like his style of football? Fine, but to drag him through the mud and dance on his grave like he's Hitler is beyond pathetic.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:11 PM ^
It is hard to believe that RR could come out of all of this with his reputation more intact than either the guy who fired him or the fans who spurned him, but I think it might happen.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:15 PM ^
Agreed... and I have been one of the "detractors". RR is a good man who was thrown into an impossible situation. Best of luck at UConn or Clemson.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:56 PM ^
Was the situation impossible here? I would say Difficult. Did RR make some bad decisions with his staff and strategy? yes. Did he not understand Michigan tradition when he came aboard? likely. Offensively there seems to be improvement in the last three years, but defense and special teams seem to have regressed. Splitting hairs, but I disagree that the situation was impossible when he hired in.
RR has handled his departure with class, for sure, and I respect that. I won't miss his coaching @ UofM though. Two plays of the Gator Bowl comes to mind: First, Denard throws a WR screen to one side of the field. Goes for nothing. Next play, WR screen to other side. Goes for nothing. I won't miss that.
January 6th, 2011 at 5:23 PM ^
... and he is of course flat-out amazing.
But in the Gator Bowl, sadly, Denard played like a sophomore first-year starter. A gifted one, to be sure. But he made a lot of bad decisions in that game. Denard, for all his brilliance, has a lot of room to improve his thinking, his throwing, and his ability to slow the game down. JMHO. I say this, because my guess is that Denard would agree, although he'd be too modest to admit to his brilliant talent.
If the story comes out eventually, that Michigan did not do everything humanly possible, including the payment of one million dollars and full support for Rich Rodriguez, to get Jeff Casteel to come here, Michigan will look like the dumbest administration in major college football.
January 6th, 2011 at 8:46 PM ^
A guy I have coached with in the past here in FL has connections at WVU and told me that Rich Rod asked Casteel if he wanted the DC position after the tOSU loss and Casteel declined.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:24 PM ^
with Michigan paying 2.5 Million of the 4 Million buyout, I don't think it was money that was needed to grab Casteel. I expect him to become the Head Coach at WVU.
Even if that's wrong, who would risk hitching their wagon to Rodriguez while on the hotseat?
January 7th, 2011 at 12:50 AM ^
It already does.
January 6th, 2011 at 5:21 PM ^
Year One was always going to be difficult. Perhaps even impossible. Not only did few players from 2007 return, UM was switching its football philosophy. The most predictable major program in the country was going sexy.
But without a QB to run the offense it was doomed from the start. And since UM had hired RR to install his system it's daft to argue that he should have adapted it to suit Sheridan and Threet. The whole point of RR was to change things.
So Year One was essentially Year Zero and I think you can make a decent argument that RR has been fired after just two "proper" years in which he had players (albeit young) who had some idea of what he wanted and aptitude for it.
Of course there were mistakes, most obviously on defense. And the results and all the rest of it do make it hard to make the case for keeping RR. You can see why it has panned out this way. But if getting Harbaugh was a reasonable and consensus First Choice for next year I'd say that giving RR one more shot was a reasonable Second Choice.
Sure, there would have been pressure and intense media speculation and a new DC and all that. But we'd also be better placed to see if the building could be finished, even late and over-budget, than is the case now that we've abandoned a half-completed project and are looking for a new architect to finish it in, well, lord knows what kind of style.
So good luck to RR wherever he lands. I understand why it's happened this way but I can't help but feel somewhat sad about it all.
January 6th, 2011 at 6:34 PM ^
Zone left, zone left, zone right. Works much better.
January 7th, 2011 at 10:33 AM ^
The punt that frequently followed the zone right.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:16 PM ^
I hope it's not too late for all of this to be salvaged, but I think you may be correct.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:34 PM ^
It's already happened. Much bigger black eye or us and UM than for RR.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:36 PM ^
I wish I could +1 you , I think you nailed it.
Good Luck coach, I'll be a RRod fan for life.
January 6th, 2011 at 6:04 PM ^
He consistently treated people well, no matter how he was treated. I hope we won't miss his class. Jeff de Fran, always the consummate pro, couldn't read that statement without badly mangling it to make RR sound worse.
January 7th, 2011 at 12:52 AM ^
DeFran is a clown
January 7th, 2011 at 12:08 PM ^
We are starting to come off like a 50 year old divorcee who thinks she's still hot and insists on being extremely, extremely picky.
Big turn off for the ever-dwindling number of desireable candidates out there that may still show some interest.
We're going to spend the rest of our Saturdays bitter and alone, bitching about how life has passed us by, with our BFF Ms. Notre Dame.
January 7th, 2011 at 12:16 PM ^
Spot on!
January 6th, 2011 at 4:12 PM ^
He's been nothing less than a class act. He'll find great success again soon.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:23 PM ^
Thanks for everything you endured at M and for everything you did for the program. You have a fan for life wherever you land.
Anyone think there should be a /s after the 'tremendous support' sentence
/s
What are best coaching opps for him right now? Is Pitt out? Clemson?
January 6th, 2011 at 4:27 PM ^
I don't think he's looking to take a coaching job for the fall. So we probably won't have any idea until next season (and the subsequent annual coaching shake-ups) starts shaping up.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:53 PM ^
Perhaps he is going to be a bit more careful in assessing a situation this time.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:58 PM ^
[ fill in name] was an utter disaster for the University of Michigan football team in the 2011 football season. In a surprise move, athletic director Dave Brandon rehires Rich Rodriguez for the 2012 season.
INCEPTION
January 6th, 2011 at 4:12 PM ^
Glad to see him going out with class. Although, I'm sure plenty of "fans" will somehow manage to twist his words around to find something terrible in there.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:36 PM ^
Yeah - I know he's not a "fan" but Rittenberg pointed out that he didn't thank the administration or DB in his statement, but he didn't take issue with the fact that RR left that out.
Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten
January 6th, 2011 at 5:01 PM ^
Well, there's class - which characterizes Rich Rodriguez and the statement he made - and then there's masochism - which would include thanking someone who handled the last couple of months in about as poor a manner as could be expected.
I am hopeful that we will be back in the thick of things in the Big however many and on the national stage before too long, but I have the feeling that Rodriguez will find his way to success in a very short time.
Best regards to a man who, when it comes to integrity, runs circles around the crabby alumni, ersatz journalists, cranky "livin' in the past" players, and bandwagon fans who couldn't stand to give him a real chance.
Now Brandon is in a pickle, and I sure hope he can find a good way out of it.
January 6th, 2011 at 6:56 PM ^
Considering the cirumstances, I don't think it to be obligatory to add a thank in any way, shape, or form. I don't think he has anyone to thank there.
January 6th, 2011 at 5:49 PM ^
You will see fans complain about him not mentioning or thanking the UM administration or AD.....the haters will definitely find a way to turn his comments around.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:12 PM ^
Thanks coach i know you will go somewhere else and kick ass, you came into a situation that was a lot worse then the fans thought. The talent was gone
January 6th, 2011 at 4:13 PM ^
I hope he absolutely destroys whatever conference he ends up in, and wins that MNC that we were all so convinced would come. Good luck Rich Rodriguez, you deserve better.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:13 PM ^
Hopefully I am wrong and this isnt a big mistake like I think it is........
January 6th, 2011 at 4:13 PM ^
Thank you, Coach Rodriguez.
You worked your ass off for us, and I'm sorry things couldn't work out. Best of luck.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:13 PM ^
we didn't do this too hastily.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:15 PM ^
Oh don't worry. We did.