I was a Michigan fan. Starting today, I am an Arizona fan.
If you want to know the REAL TRUTH about what happened to the great Rich Rodriguez at Michigan, I highly reccomend reading John U. Bacon's new book, "Three and Out." If you don't have the time, here's a summary (I'll be as brief as possible without leaving important information out):
...It all starts with the coaching search. The first choice of Bill Martin (our former athletic director) and the search committee he assembled was Iowa's Kirk Ferentz. That's who Bo Schembechler said he wanted before he died, and as a result, that's who Lloyd Carr and the rest of the Michigan family wanted (Bo was a very, very powerful man here). So Ferentz was reached out to, he agreed to come, and the papers were ready to be signed. But Mary Sue Coleman (the school president) vetoed the hire. Before she came to Michigan, she was the president at Iowa, and she hated Kirk Ferentz because his players got into so much trouble there. This was the first curveball of the search process; and not including Mary Sue Coleman in the search comittee was the first of many mistakes made by Bill Martin.
...The second choice of Bill Martin and the search committee was L.S.U.'s Les Miles. Miles was reached out to, he agreed to come (after finishing his national championship season), and the papers were ready to be signed. But Lloyd Carr vetoed the hire (I guess he had enough influence to do so). Before he died, for reasons that are still debated (I can explain in detail, if requested), Bo Schembechler made Lloyd Carr promise him that Les Miles would never be the head coach at Michigan. This was the second curveball of the search process; and not including Lloyd Carr in the search committee was the second of many mistakes made by Bill Martin.
...The third choice of Bill Martin and the search committee was Rutgers' Greg Schiano. He was reached out to, he agreed to come, and the papers were ready to be signed. But once Greg Schiano learned that his assistants were actually going to have to take a PAY CUT to come to Michigan, he renegged. This was the third curveball of the search process; and not recognizing the value of assistant coaches was the third of many mistakes made by Bill Martin.
...Bill Martin and the search committee had no idea what to do at this point and couldn't agree on a fourth candidate (Jim Harbaugh was never considered as a real candidate, in either search, due to negative remarks he made about the schools academic policies for athletes). So, Lloyd Carr decided to handle things himself. He wanted to hire Mike DeBord (his offensive coordinator), Ron English (his defensive coordinator), or Brady Hoke (his former assistant head coach). But Bill Martin and the search committee agreed that none of these candidates were high-profile enough. So, Lloyd reached out to a high-profile candidate that Bo Schembechler admired - Rich Rodriguez. Lloyd sold the idea to Bill Martin and the search committee, and the papers were signed.
...Then the real trouble began. There were two major problems. I'll start with the simpler problem. Bill Martin (one of the greatest penny-pinchers in the history of college sports) wouldn't give Rich enough money to lure Jeff Kasteel, his long-time defensive coordinator, away from West Virginia. In fact, Bill Martin wouldn't give Rich enough money to lure any of the defensive coordinators he wanted. So, Rich was instead forced to hire a cheap defensive coordinator he didn't want (Scott Shafer), and then another the next season (Greg Robinson). The results clearly speak for themselves. In contrast, Dave Brandon (our new athletic director) gave Brady Hoke $1,000,000 a season to hire Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. Those results also clearly speak for themselves.
...Now the more complicated problem. Lloyd Carr (who became our assistant athletic director after he retired as head coach) wanted Rich to retain all of his assistants when he arrived (...to run the spread option!?!?). Rich interviewed all of Lloyd's assistants and decided to retain only one. This INFURIATED Lloyd and the Michigan football family. Lloyd and his friends wanted Rich out before he ever coached a single game. They wanted a "real Michigan man" to be their head coach. So, they went into full-on sabotage mode (I know it sounds crazy, but trust me, it's very, very true).
...Immediately, funding from alumni clubs dropped drastically. NFL alumni started saying their high schools and "Lloyd Carr's Michigan" in their player introductions. Former players across the board publicly ripped Rich in the media. High school coaches that Lloyd and his friends knew started encouraging their players not to go to Michigan. Former players that were in some way connected to recruits started telling them not to go to Michigan. And worst of all, Lloyd's people in the athletic department repeatedly leaked false information to the press...leading to a two year - recruiting class killing - NCAA investigation (which ultimately concluded that Rich wasn't counting 15 minutes of pre-practice stretch time towards the total number of practice hours). Eventually, Lloyd and his friends got their wish. Rich was fired. Brady Hoke was hired.
...Rich Rodriguez had EVERYTHING going against him here. He was completely sabotaged by those he was working for. And he still managed to put together one of the most prolific offenses in the country. Now that his players have an actual defensive coordinator, they're projected to play in a BCS bowl game.
Recent Comments
Tennessee or Florida??? I say Tennessee, we should be the favorite in this game.
If this is true, we got a great draw. We'll be the favorite in this game. Lets end the season in style!