I would hazard a guess that as far as coaching positions go, no job in sports has as hot a seat as the college football coach at a traditional power program.
No one today, though, probably has a hotter seat right now than Rich Rodriguez up at Michigan.
Coming in on the heels of Lloyd Carr’s retirement and after a catastrophic collapse against Pittsburgh in December 2007 (costing West Virginia the chance to play for the mythical national championship), Rich Rodriguez was brought in to bring his spread option style offense to Michigan, pulling the staid (and some would say stale) program into the modern era of college football.
Because Rodriguez was not from the coaching tree of the legendary Bo Schembechler (a “Michigan Man”), Rodriguez was viewed with suspicion by some Michigan fans and backers.
But he was hired by former athletic director Bill Martin to shake up the program.
And shake it he did, forcing some players to transfer. One such player, center Justin Boren, transferred to Ohio State and said that under Rodriguez, “family values [of the program] had eroded.”
Rodriguez has also been criticized by some former players now in the NFL such as New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards and Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones.
The 8-16 record over two seasons hasn’t helped things for Rodriguez.
Nor has the fact that Michigan was stuck footing some of the bill for Rodriguez’s West Virginia buyout.
Did I mention that Rodriguez is being sued for being in default for a loan to build condominiums near Alabama’s football stadium?
And lest we forget the NCAA violations of practice time at Michigan.
Or the fact that it was announced earlier this week that the NCAA visited with West Virginia officials about possible rules violations for the football program. According to an ESPN.com report, a source close to the program said the allegations are related to Rodriguez.
Michigan recently hired a new athletic director. The new AD, Dave Brandon, is a former player under Bo Schembechler.
In other words, he is a “Michigan Man.”
And while Brandon has stated in interviews that he would be proud to play for Rich Rodriguez and has stated that Rodriguez will be the coach for the 2010 season, let’s say that Rodriguez’s tenure is tenuous at best.
If the NCAA sanctions are damning (which they probably won’t be) and the team continues to be a train wreck on the field, I would thoroughly expect Michigan to cut ties as soon as possible.
Sometimes, when things are a bad fit, you need to move on as soon as possible.
No one would fault Michigan if that’s what they did.
(A version of this piece appeared on Southern Pigskin.)
