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Rich Rodriguez (official thread of last laughs)

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Jim Carty continues to be a voice of reason in the land of TSUN.

Don't Make Excuses for Rodriguez's Exit Strategy

The way Rodriguez left West Virginia was wrong.
His decision to contest this buyout might earn him some money in the long run, but the damage it's doing to his reputation and Michigan's isn't worth it.
And, yes, the people at West Virginia who leaked a story that Rodriguez had shredded official university documents are guilty of the smear campaign Rodriguez has accused them of. Rodriguez admitted shredding documents Thursday, but said they were his own files. West Virginia officials have said no player records are missing. Right now, that storyline appears to have been more about character assassination than any real transgression.
But neither sin forgives the other. They just each feed the ugliness and hurt both schools.
Rodriguez told a story Thursday about West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin calling him on Christmas day. Earlier, Manchin - a long-time friend - had criticized the coach's decision to leave West Virginia, saying, among other things, that high-priced agents had changed Rodriguez and that "something is wrong with the profession of college coaching today when a leader's word is no longer his bond."
Why did you say those things, Rodriguez asked?
It hurt me, the coach said.
Manchin apologized.
If Rodriguez would simply do the same thing to all the people who believed in him at West Virginia, he'd do more to help himself and Michigan than he could in a dozen news conferences.
Instead, the coach said he has nothing to apologize for Thursday.
Hopefully, that's just stubborn pride, because if Rich Rodriguez truly believes there was nothing wrong with the way he left West Virginia, you have to wonder just what Michigan has gotten itself into.
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This will go on for another year and it will affect recruiting and the football season during that time.

I am saying this from past experience with Barnett and Colorado and nothing was even proven against Barnett.

But what's really sad is 2 schools are caught up. He knew EXACTLY what that buyout meant. Greed rears it's ugly head.

That is a hole tough to dig out of.

Stop and think, can we really afford for TSUN to slip a few notches in the Big 10? Big game, strength of the conference etc., and more?
 
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I'm sorry but I just don't think that an honorable man leaves a coaching job like this guy did, especially when the kids he recruited and promised big things were so close to playing in a BCS bowl.

Even if you play the "free market card" and the "those kids always knew this was a possibility card". This thing stinks. Can you imagine Jim Tressel doing this? He's about as Ohio State to our fan base as this home-grown wunderkid was to WVa. Anyway, you can bet he told those kids he recruited a whole lot about what he was going to do for them for the entire time they were at WVa, and they had confirmation when he was enticed to stay the previous year and signed with such fanfare.

Add to that behavior that is clearly unethical and remains unrefuted. Calling a recruit for your new team before you left the old team? Calling up your booster buddies to trash your old employer. Cellphone calls to recruits on your old employer's phone bill?

If these things are true, then he looks foolish and unethical. If they are not, then he should forthrightly call BS.

On the other hand, WVa appears to have been pretty silly in a couple of instances. How long does it take to waive a $5 ticket fee for high school coaches and what is it gonna cost you to do it?

But, pretending that such things were major failures to deliver on an agreement and were affecting your ability to coach--for goodness sakes--I know he's a bit of a yahoo, but how could he expect it would look like anything but trying to make a mountain out of a molehill to weasel out of a commitment to pay the $4 million?

Forget the missing documents and the other allegations about how he physically left his office. These things alone are enough to create a PR shitstorm for TSUN and this coach.

RR and TSUN can end this right now. Just pay WVa. Pony up the cash and stop this mess now.
 
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Steve19;1069200; said:
RR and TSUN can end this right now. Just pay WVa. Pony up the cash and stop this mess now.
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That would be the smart and ethical thing to do...live up to the contract that you signed. But, why start being smart and ethical now. Snakes shed their skin from time to time, but in the end they're still a snake.
 
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Steve19;1069200; said:
But, pretending that such things were major failures to deliver on an agreement and were affecting your ability to coach--for goodness sakes--I know he's a bit of a yahoo, but how could he expect it would look like anything but trying to make a mountain out of a molehill to weasel out of a commitment to pay the $4 million?

Forget the missing documents and the other allegations about how he physically left his office. These things alone are enough to create a PR shitstorm for TSUN and this coach.

RR and TSUN can end this right now. Just pay WVa. Pony up the cash and stop this mess now.
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Agreed. To me the buyout is the single most embarassing thing and it far, far outstrips anything else in this deal. One part of me says, if I was on the hook for $4 million, I'd probably want to find a way out of it too. But that's a bit weak. If RR wants to make this whole thing go away, paying the buyout - or even negotiating a settlement as with Beilein - would be the best way.

If the lawsuit were settled today, I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow WVU said "oh silly us, we found the copies of that stuff we thought was missing."

The Beilein thing is what's frustrating, and it's not hard to see why Michigan fans are looking askance at WVU over this. Beilein was hired on April 4 and the buyout not settled until April 26. In between, there was the usual fuzzy-talk - "The lawyers are looking into it" and all that jazz. Rodriguez was hired December 16 and right away, the dance began. Same music, same beat. "The lawyers are looking into it." Then, in less than half the time it took to settle the Beilein buyout - whammo! lawsuit.

It'd make RR the bigger man in this case if he'd offer up the $4 million or at least try to sit down and discuss a settlement. He'd have every right to ask for a reduction in the amount since WVU agreed to it with Beilein, and since his accusations aren't without merit, that WVU hasn't held up their end of the bargain.
 
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Taosman;1069065; said:
I wish Michigan football the best.
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Whoa whoa whoa, let's not go overboard here. I don't want them to fall into complete mediocrity, but that doesn't mean I, nor should any tOSU fan, "wish them the best."

I understand it's pretty easy to be sympathetic when we've been beating them like a drum for the past 7 years, but remember, the tsun fans we have here make their fanbase look good, but all you need to do is go look at any scUM forum and you'll quickly reverse the idea of wishing them the best.
 
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