jokewood;1124822; said:
Standing up for something would be to simply walk away. Throwing the coaching staff under the bus with vague accusations when their response to your leaving was "no comment" isn't exactly taking the high road, whether you want to agree with Boren's comments or not.
In all fairness, there were alternatives on both sides - and the fact there was a "no comment" is probably not a good choice by those coaches.
For instance RR could have himself taken the high road and produced the standard "we wish Justin well wherever he goes, he will always be a {insert team nickname here} to us. He was a great contributor while here, but now he is gone we must move on, and that is all I'll say on the matter." That would almost certainly have had Boren's public statment stop at quoted sentence one.
Instead the diplomacy challenged new head coach once again offers a terse dismissal, "I only talk about those who play for Michigan" no explanation whatsoever and offers up a vacuum.
Now nature abhors a vacuum - so that is then filled in turn with bile and repudiation by members of the fanbase that Boren played in front of these past two seasons. Accusations of softness and far worse being offered up - and no, none quoted here as this is the Recruiting Forum and there are clear language limits. But you know very well what is being spoken of.
I believe that fan reaction and the previous information vacuum provided by your Head Coach naturally leads to the statement Boren made. One in which he praises the qualities of the TSUN football program that he and his father knew. And, it is true, one in which Boren offers undisguised - though calmly described - distaste for what he sees it becoming.
You call it throwing the coaches under the bus. Maybe so, but when the Head Coach dismisses a significant departing player out of hand, like so much used laundry, what kind of example is that but petty? Let's not forget this is the same kind of "he's gone, I don't want to talk about him" attitude he also displayed for Mallett. This is a trend, and likely something Boren felt might happen - that he would be skewered as a turncoat by Rodriguez's dismissive answer to the press.
Thus, I'd say Rodriguez walked in front of the bus - faced it and walked toward it. All Boren's comments do is give Rodriguez the mildest of nudges.