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Rich Rodriguez

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 68.61.222.122 (talk) at 18:30, 31 December 2007 (→Playing career). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the baseball player, see Rich Rodriguez (L.H. pitcher).
Rich Rodriguez

Rich "Rod" Rodriguez (b. May 24, 1963, in Grant Town, West Virginia) is the incoming head football coach at the University of Michigan. Prior to moving to Michigan, he was the head coach at West Virginia University for seven seasons.

Playing career

Rich Rodriguez graduated from North Marion High School in 1981 where he had played four sports and was an all state football and basketball player. After high school, Rodriguez attended West Virginia University (WVU) where he first walked on to the football team and later earned a scholarship under coach Don Nehlen. Playing as a defensive back, Rodriguez recorded 54 career tackles over three seasons.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

During the 1985-1986 season, Rodriguez served as a student assistant coach under head coach Don Nehlen and graduated with a Physical Education and Safety degree. In 1986, he moved to what was then Salem College (now Salem International University) where he served as special teams coordinator and secondary coach. In 1987, he became Salem’s defensive coordinator and in 1988 took over as head coach. At 24 years old, he was the youngest college head coach in the country. He was 2-8 in his first season as head coach, after which the college announced it was dropping its football program.

In 1989, he returned to West Virginia as a volunteer assistant.

Glenville State, Tulane, and Clemson

After Rodriguez's return to WVU as a volunteer coach with the outside linebackers for the 1989 football season, he left again to take over as head coach at Glenville State College. During his stay from 1990 to 1996, the team earned three consecutive West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and competed in the 1993 NAIA national championship. His first season, 1990, he led the team to a 1-7-1 record, but improved to 5-5 in 1991. In 1992, Glenville went 4-5-1 - an improvement. 1992 showed a 6-4 season; however in 1993, Rich Rodriguez led Glenville to a 10-3 record and the WVIAC Championship and NAIA runner-up. The next two years, 1994 and 1995, Glenville finished as WVIAC Co-Champions. In Rodriguez's final season at Glenville, 1996, he led them to a Co-Championship once again. While at Glenville, Rodriguez compiled a record of 43-28-2 and was named WVIAC Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1994, NAIA National Coach of the Year in 1993, and West Virginia State College Coach of the Year in 1993 by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association. Glenville State's four championships under Rodriguez were their first since 1959 while his players' set five national career records for Division II. He also coached three players who earned WVIAC Player of the Year honors.

Rodriguez left Glenville State at the end of the 1996 season to serve as assistant coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback coach for Tulane University from 1997 to 1998, under head coach Tommy Bowden. Rodriguez was essential in Tulane's success, including their 12-0 season in Rodriguez's last season at Tulane, mainly for his spread offense with quarterback Shaun King. When Bowden was hired as the head coach at Clemson University, he retained Rodriguez on his staff. Rodriguez served as the offensive coordinator and associate head coach until the end of the 2000 season, traveling to a Peach Bowl and Gator Bowl.

Return to West Virginia

On November 26, 2000, WVU's athletic department announced that Rodriguez would again return to West Virginia, this time as head coach to replace the retiring legend Don Nehlen. Rodriguez's first season at West Virginia, 2001, was a disappointing 3-8 season. However, Rodriguez's turn-around of the 2002 team is the greatest turn-around in Big East history with a 9-4 record,[citation needed] Big East runner-up finish, back-to-back road wins against ranked Virginia Tech and Pitt, and a Continental Tire Bowl berth. The Mountaineers finished second in the nation rushing with 283 yards per game and fourth in turnover margin. In 2003, the Mountaineers started the season 1-4, and after losing to #2 Miami 22-20, the Mountaineers posted a 6-1 Big East record and tied for the Big East championship with Miami, earning a Gator Bowl berth. That season, the Mountaineers replaced 22 seniors, eleven of which were starters. In 2004, the Mountaineers posted a 8-4 record with a talented team of seniors and juniors, but were ranked as high as sixth during the regular season.

Following the 2002 season, Rodriguez was awarded the Big East Coach of the Year by Sporting News and state college coach of the year for all sports by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association. He also received the 2003 Frank Loria Award from the West Virginia chapter of the National Football Foundation, and also earned Big East Coach of the Year that season. In 2005, he was offered to join the AFCA Board of Directors, and that same season was against given Big East Coach of the Year honors.

Pat White-Steve Slaton Era

In 2005, Rodriguez and the Mountaineers won the Big East title with freshman tandem Steve Slaton and Patrick White, thus claiming the conference's automatic berth in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), where they defeated the Georgia Bulldogs in the Nokia Sugar Bowl and a final Associated Press ranking of fifth, tying the highest in school history (other in 1988). In 2006, the highly-ranked Mountaineers ended the season 11-2, with losses to Louisville and a shocker to USF. The Mountaineers won a classic comeback in the Gator Bowl against Georgia Tech 38-35, led by Pat White without Slaton.

Repeating off of their 2005 success, West Virginia posted another 11-win season, which was the first consecutive 10-win seasons in school history. The Mountaineers defeated Georgia Tech, 38-35, in the Gator Bowl and finished 10th in the final polls. Rodriguez also had two consensus All-Americans, running back Steve Slaton and center Dan Mozes (who also Rimington Trophy as the nation's best center).

On December 7, 2006, Rodriguez received an offer from the University of Alabama to be the next Alabama Crimson Tide head coach. Despite reports that he had agreed in principle to coach at Alabama,[1] which Rodriguez described as totally incorrect,[2][3] on December 8, 2006, Rodriguez announced he would remain as head coach at West Virginia.[4]

The Mountaineers started the 2007 season ranked #3 in the AP poll and #6 in the Coaches' poll. They were #5 in the nation, before losing to #18 South Florida for the second consecutive time. South Florida eventually moved to #2, before dropping out of the Top 25 after losses (though USF would end the regular season ranked at #21). West Virginia dropped to #12 and #13 in the AP and Coaches' poll, respectively, before rebounding with wins against Syracuse, Mississippi State, #25 Rutgers, Louisville, and #21 Cincinnati. The Mountaineers eventually defeated #20 Connecticut to clinch the Big East Championship and move to #2 in the BCS standings and #1 in the Coaches' poll, both the highest position ever for a Mountaineer football team. WVU's regular season ended at home with a crushing loss in the Backyard Brawl against Pittsburgh.

Rodriguez was one of the most successful coaches in West Virginia history.[citation needed] He was credited with the first back-to-back Top 10 finishes in school history, four consecutive New Year's bowl appearances (joining USC as the only program at the time to do so), the school's first BCS bowl win, three Big East championships, eight wins over Top 25 teams, twenty-six straight weeks in the Top 25, a 30-6 record from 2005-2007, and a home-attendance average of 98% of capacity. [citation needed] Rodriguez brought his unique offensive style to WVU and after a disappointing first year, led the Mountaineers to four straight winning years, in three of which (2003, 2004, & 2005) the Mountaineers won or shared the Big East Conference championship. Rodriguez led the team to six straight bowl appearances (the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl the 2003 and 2004 Gator Bowl, the 2005 Nokia Sugar Bowl, the 2006 Gator Bowl, and the 2007 Fiesta Bowl).

Controversy

On December 16, 2007, Rodriguez informed players at West Virginia that he was leaving to succeed Lloyd Carr as the University of Michigan head football coach.[5] Rodriguez's original resignation letter, which he left with a graduate assistant to deliver to WVU officials shortly after meeting with his players, listed January 3, 2008, as his resignation date, however he subsequently made it clear that he would not be coaching WVU in its January 2 appearance in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl vs the University of Oklahoma. Some press reports suggested that the resignation letter was a ploy intended to put WVU officials into a position of "firing" Rodriguez before the bowl game, allowing him to escape the $4 million buyout clause in his seven-year contract with WVU.[6] On December 18, 2007, Rodriguez informed the university that his resignation would instead be effective at midnight that night.[7]

The announcement of his departure came just one year after Rodriguez last renegotiated his contract with West Virginia, and was made despite his stated long-term commitment to the Mountaineers. After being considered for the head coaching job at Alabama in 2006, he stated to the media, "When the details (of the new contract with WVU) come out, you’ll see that I’m committed to West Virginia University for a very, very long time." [2]

On December 27, 2007, West Virginia University filed a lawsuit against the former head coach demanding payment of his contract buyout, even though the first installment payment is not due until January 19, 2008. [8]

An accusation was made that Rodriguez deliberately sabotaged the last game he coached at WVU, against the University of Pittsburgh, in order to avoid being in a situation of negotiating with Michigan while coaching WVU in the BCS Championship. This accusation remains unproven.[9] This is exasperated by known conflicts between Rodriguez and the controversial new President of WVU, Mike Garrison, and the potential violation of NCAA rules committed by Rodriguez in contacting a recruit he had already made for WVU about his move to Michigan while still employed by WVU.[10]

University of Michigan

Rodriguez was introduced by the Wolverines as their new coach at a news conference held on December 17, 2007 at the Junge Family Champions Center on the University of Michigan campus.

Spread option

Rodriguez has been considered the pioneer/creator of the no huddle spread option offense (although a pass-first version was already being implemented),[11][12][13] while at Glenville State, which he refined through his stops at Tulane with Shaun King, Clemson, and West Virginia. This strategy features frequent use of the shotgun formation.

Coaching record

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Preceded by West Virginia Head Football Coach
2001-2007 		Succeeded by
TBD
Preceded by Michigan Head Football Coach
2008-Current 		Succeeded by
Incumbent

References

  1. ^ Rapoport, Ian (2006-12-07). "Rodriguez agrees to become Alabama's next football coach". The Birmingham News. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) The article stated, "University of Alabama officials and West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez have reached an agreement in principle for Rodriguez to become the Crimson Tide’s next head football coach, two sources close to the search told The Birmingham News tonight."
  2. ^ Barnhart, Tony (2006-12-09). "Rodriguez leaves Alabama red-faced". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2006-12-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Hickman, Dave (2006-12-08). "Rich, Alabama still talking". The Charleston Gazette. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ News, ESPN (2006-12-08). "Rodriguez turns down 'Bama, will stay in Morgantown". ESPN.com. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=22574
  7. ^ Associated Press. "Rodriguez Officially Finished". WSAZ. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
  8. ^ http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gWWa7h4kUTcjsgGxdqgrJkTjp2uwD8TQ62CO0
  9. ^ Detroit Free Press. "SPECIAL REPORT: How and Why Rich Rodriguez Left West Virginia For Michigan". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
  10. ^ Detroit Free Press. "SPECIAL REPORT: How and Why Rich Rodriguez Left West Virginia For Michigan". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
  11. ^ Lang, Arne. "College Coaching Award". Retrieved 2006-10-18.
  12. ^ Davie, Bob. "Football 101: Mountaineers spread the wealth". Retrieved 2006-10-18.
  13. ^ May, Tim. "College football: Spread option remains in vogue". Retrieved 2007-08-09.
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