May I ask you a question?
Do you have a breath mint? Perhaps some Binaca? I kid, I kid. Here’s the real question.
Is it time to be embarassed? Explain.
I’d love to pose this question to a series of - Michigan fans, Michigan State fans, Ohio State fans, and then sports fans in general specifically regarding Rich Rodriguez.
I realize I have been harping on Michigan quite a bit lately and I promise I’ll get away from that …. just as soon as Fraudriguez Rodriguez allows me. And with that I must say, it’s not so much Michigan …. it is Rich.
There had to be doubts surrounding this guy prior to his arrival didn’t there? Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones, Chris Henry, and God only knows what other felons he’s allowed through his program at WVU. His flirtations with Alabama which on the outside appeared to have been done solely to extort more from the West Virginia administration and boosters. Then comes the whole Michigan debacle.
Where do I begin with that last one?
First he’s flown into Toledo to meet with Michigan AD Bill Martin and University President Mary Sue Coleman. Upon his arrival back in Morgantown he states that he’s focused on getting his team prepared for the Fiesta Bowl. Behind the scenes he’s again trying to extort more money from West Virginia to stay.
When West Virginia decides that they cannot (or will not) come through Richie decides he’ll accept the Michigan job and thanks West Virginia for seven years of employment by having a graduate assistant hand in his resignation.
On Tuesday, January 15, we learn that there are missing documents from West Virginia’s football facility and Rodriguez is suspected of making documents disappear. This is way too early in the stages of investigation and may wind up being nothing but still ….. not a good story and certainly not something you ever want your name tied to.
On Wednesday, January 16th, we find out that West Virginia University’s lawsuit against Rodriguez for his $4 million lawsuit has been moved to Federal Court.
Now, Michigan hasn’t been apart of any of this so this is nothing against the University. It is everything against the man they have hired. It comes down to how many question marks a person is allowed to have before they’re an embarassment.
I recall 2003 very well … it was the first time in my lifetime it was embarassing to be a Buckeye. Maurice Clarett, the unmentionable, was a stain on the football program, there were questions surrounding the men’s and women’s basketball programs as well. You never want these issues to effect your university or your team. Yet there it was right in front of me.
Michigan State fans I probably don’t have to say much more than Bobby Williams to make you quiver.
Oklahoma how about Rhett Bomar? SMU should I mention the death penalty? USC … Reggie Bush?
Right now I really feel for Michigan and their fans. I’ve already heard many defending Rodriguez adamantly. Is it blind devotion or do people fully support the man they know very little about? His character was one of a few reasons why I was convinced he was a bad hire for Michigan. I just didn’t think that he’d start to prove me right so fast.
January 16th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
innocent until proven guilty at least. in a moment of defensive curiosity, i googled “ohio state football arrested” and got a list of all the players with discipline or legal problems since tressel’s hiring.
only problem is that i couldn’t find one headed up to the end of 2007, so we’ll have to leave out at LEAST the two cornerbacks that were suspended for the bcs title game (until realizing one was a starter at which point only one was suspended).
http://www.centralohio.com/ohiostate/stories/20050526/football/2145095.html
i’m confident that michigan will bring legitimacy to rodriguez… if it happens that it can’t be the other way around.
January 16th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Jake,
Allow me to reiterate ….
On Tuesday, January 15, we learn that there are missing documents from West Virginia’s football facility and Rodriguez is suspected of making documents disappear. This is way too early in the stages of investigation and may wind up being nothing but still ….. not a good story and certainly not something you ever want your name tied to.
And again, I wasn’t attacking Michigan, per se, maybe in a round a bout way through their hire, but not directly. I think Rodriguez comes with some hefty baggage. I hope you’re right about Michigan bringing some legitimacy to Michigan … for your sake.
Also, I am not sure Michigan fans want to discuss arrests and legal issues right now. The football program was just absolutely mired in them this past year. I’ve said it before and I will say it again. They’re kids and kids will make mistakes. That will happen to each and every coach out there; including one of the classiest, Lloyd Carr.
Re: those two cornerbacks it was never released what they were in trouble for … all that I saw disclosed was that it was nothing legal. The last person arrested was backup quarterback Antonio Henton. Since 2003 I would say Tressel has done a good job controlling the issues with the team; this coincides with about the time most of Coop’s guys would have been out. There were obvious issues, Louis Irizzary, Erik Haw, and some others since then but Mo Clarett wasn’t in legal trouble till after he was dismissed.
Obviously I know much more about Ohio State’s legal issues and things of that nature but right off the top of my head in the past couple of years I can think of assaults, public uriniation, indecent exposure, alleged dui, marijuana possession, prescription drug possession, etc., all occuring to Michigan football players.
I don’t want to get into that kind of game here … it happens everywhere. Ask Mark Dantonio and the Spartans about the three players arrested for robbery.
Should we even mention some of the issues that have arisen with Toledo’s football program recently? Outside of the gambling there was the major assualt at an off-campus party and a player kicked off the team for selling Oxy.
Big or small programs, legal issues are going to happen. So, let’s not make that argument.
January 16th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Oh, and Jake, you didn’t answer the question ….
Is it time to be embarassed?
January 17th, 2008 at 12:23 am
i was saying the pristine nature of tressel’s legacy would appear to be a whitewash.
it’ll be time to be embarrassed when rodriguez is found guilty (and not one of his assistants, who may very well be found a patsy - who knows?). if this is found to be true about rodriguez, i wouldn’t be surprised to find him back out looking for a new job.
michigan needed to hurry up and get a good coach since it was becoming increasingly clear that their good name alone wasn’t going to be good enough for top-tier choices anymore. that and the school (and everyone else) was probably so confident about les miles that they didn’t bother doing much of a search.
but to say he went back to “extort” more money shows a pretty clear bias in the situation. is it immoral to get the most money for the services you provide? is it crazy to think wv might want him back, considering the job he did?
i admitted being on the defensive, and said innocent until proven guilty. like mike conley sr (agent for his super ohio state one-year duo - greg oden and his son) reportedly buying an suv for heisman runner-up darren mcfadden.
if there’s fire where there’s smoke inre: rodriguez, it won’t be the last fire.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Jake,
Find me where Tress’ legacy has been tarnished outside of Maurice Clarett which it has been proven through NCAA investigations there was no fault of the coaches or the university. Any coach, any coach, can find himself in that predicament. Red flags, cautionary signs missed … absolutely. However, with 100+ players on a team these coaches can’t be everywhere.
What I am talking about with Rodriguez here is character. He may very well be innocent in this scandal back in Morgantown; I never said he was guilty. It’s still not something you want your name tied to innocently or not. While the American judicial standard is ‘innocent until proven guilty’ the citizenry’s modus operandi doesn’t always equal that. You know that.
Getting back to character and this is where its largely derived from for me. From an ESPN.com article dated December 6, 2006 Rodriguez is quoted as saying, “Obviously I’m very excited to stay here and I plan on being here a long time. We’ve done some pretty good things over the last five years or so. We’re not done yet. We’re going to continue to grow.”
In Rodriguez’ turndown of Alabama he was rewarded with:
- A $750,000 pay raise.
- A clause to build a new academic center and locker room in a set period of time, otherwise the contract would be voided.
- A one-time $100,000 pay raise to his assistants.
In June of 2006 Rodriguez accepted from the university for his hard work:
- $50,000 annual raises
- A clause that paid him a bonus of $600,000 if he remained coach until 2011.
A year later, after meeting with Michigan (a meeting he initially denied publicly) Rodriguez asked for the following from West Virginia to remain as head coach:
- Allow at least $100,000 additional bonus money for assistant coaches.
- Allow scholarship players to retain possession of textbooks at the end of each terms, which meant they could have sold them. (Apparently this is practice at other programs).
- Waive a $5 ticket fee for each high school football coach attending Mountaineer home games.
- Hire 7 graduate assistants and a new recruiting coordinator, to ease the duties performed by coach Tony Gibson.
This is a year later. A year after saying, “I plan on being here a long time.” A year after taking overtures from Alabama, receiving a huge increase in compensation, and promises to improve facilities. Now, granted his last set of wishes weren’t over the top but how is an administration supposed to take that? As a gun to the head as the WV administration said in denying him this wishes? I may have thought so too and it appears he was holding West Virginia hostage.
There is no bias, this time Jake, as this is a well thought out and formulated opinion (and no, not a biased opinion). On top of this you have the denying to pay his buyout claus (which I think could be negotiated) and then this scandal. It all just seems to keep adding up to me.
And let’s stop trying to compare university scandals. I shouldn’t have to say anything more than Ed Martin to quiet that one down. Ok?
January 17th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Very interesting transcript from a radio interview from the Detroit area published in the Free Press today. Please take a gander.
Free Press Transcript
January 17th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
i think his demands were pretty solid and unselfish that last time around.
maybe he thought he’d be around a while, having given himself no chance at a job like michigan (les miles), notre dame (pre-weis-implosion), usc (carroll), or any other elite football program.
the buyout clause? i guess that’s just how business is done these days. larry brown got paid over $10 million to quit coaching a losing team. after that kind of crazy ruling, i wouldn’t be surprised to find any sports coach thinking that a buyout clause is completely negotiable.
if demands for his staff and better facilities are unreasonable, considering a football program essentially funds the rest of any given school’s atheletic department, then i don’t think there’s any shame in going somewhere that offers more. he’s letting kids down, but kids these days are well aware of the fickle nature of college coaching.
for the last time here, i admitted up front, my jab at tressel was defense, and was not meant to do anything but negate the pacman jones and chris henry comment. like you said, coaches can’t be everywhere.
now, i pray that we move onto other sports. granted, ohio state is unranked in basketball and hockey. perhaps you can regale us with stories of water polo
by no means do i want to tell anyone how to write their own thing, but you’re no longer preaching to the buckeye choir up in monroe. provocative is great, but at least be more fair and balanced than fox news.
January 17th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Jake,
His actions spoke louder than his words. I can’t forgive a guy for that. I’ve been guilty of it too and I have been regaled for it too. I agree, his last set of demands weren’t bad. But you know, ground had been broken on the academic center and the money was to be raised through largely private donations. That does take time.
I guess loyalty and honor in others just means a whole bunch to me. So when someone makes that kind of statement and goes back on it only a year later its hard to hold any faith in that guy. He could go a long way by sticking to his word from here on out because people are forgiving most of the time (with the exception of West Virginia).
We can move on to other sports when they get here. Football season is very much alive until February 6th and it is my forte. We’ll get to other sports and I’ll touch on more than just Ohio State and Michigan too.
As far as fair and balanced go … I feel most of them have been. I think anybody could have writen the end of the michigan man blog it just so happened to be a Buckeye who did it. I actually congratulated Michigan for walking away from their tradition. I have forwarned all though that this blog wouldn’t always be objective.
It’ll all get there in time but my Buckeye choir is slowly going to follow me here and my missionary work will continue. It is the world wide web after all and I am trying to intrigue the masses.
So consider this debate closed. I know how I feel about Roddy and I would feel that way if he were at any of those other institutions you named. I would, however, been less likely to write a blog about it.
Thanks for the commentary buddy. It’s been fun.