Adios Rich Rodriguez

[Sea Ray]

If he embraces tradition he will be fine. Rich Rod did himself no favor in irritating the fan base right away. He said that OSU (and MSU?) were just another game on the schedule. He gave #1 away to some third string CB until Braylon Edwards stepped in and nixed that. Apparently he didn't realize that #1 went to a good/great UM WR and that Edwards had a scholarship fund that enabled him to have veto power over who wore #1.

That sounds nutty. An ex-player should not have any control over his college team after he's gone.

[bucksfan2]

That sounds nutty. An ex-player should not have any control over his college team after he's gone.

#1 was always given to a great WR. You had to gain Lloyd Carr's approval in order to be given the #1 jersey. After Edwards left he set up a scholarship fund and thought that scholarship fund he was on the "committee" who decided if a player was worthy or not of wearing that number.

Here is an article explaining it: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...ey-at-michigan

[Hoosier Red]

I think in this respect, Braylon is a booster just like anyone else. He apparantly set the rules for his money. If UM didn't want it, they could have politely declined. To be honest, I think it's a good tradition for schools like UM and Syracuse to have their special numbers, maybe involving former players in the process helps keep that alive.

[Sea Ray]

#1 was always given to a great WR. You had to gain Lloyd Carr's approval in order to be given the #1 jersey. After Edwards left he set up a scholarship fund and thought that scholarship fund he was on the "committee" who decided if a player was worthy or not of wearing that number.

Here is an article explaining it: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...ey-at-michigan

The author of that article agrees with me that the coach should control the uniforms, not a rich alum.

I still don't get this whole endowment thing. Supposedly it goes to the star WR who will wear #1. Well won't this kid be getting a scholarship and all expenses paid anyway? What more can this endowment give the kid? I must be missing something

[WVRed]

Those are all good points WVRed. I keep reading where Hoke is a hard and fast pro-style offense guy, but my perception of Ball State was they played a sort of spread with 3 WR's, an undersized TE in in Hill, and a running back who could take advantage of the smaller fronts caused by the passing attack. It wasn't the RichRod spread, but it wasn't exactly line everyone up in an I formation and ram it down their throats either.

I think it's a big leap to assume that he won't find a way to be successful with Robinson and/or Forcier.

I think Forcier could work in a pro-system.

Robinson OTOH could be looking for a new team. If I were him though I would stick with Michigan and try to make it work under Hoke. Teams are starting to move away from the spread, including WVU who I would have thought to be a prime candidate for Robinson before they decided to go with the air raid offense under Holgorsen.

[Unassisted]

Hoke tweeted this today:

318 Days. #goblue

Not nearly as bold a delivery or as prominent a forum as the parallel statement made by his predecessor, but probably necessary.

[bucksfan2]

The author of that article agrees with me that the coach should control the uniforms, not a rich alum.

I still don't get this whole endowment thing. Supposedly it goes to the star WR who will wear #1. Well won't this kid be getting a scholarship and all expenses paid anyway? What more can this endowment give the kid? I must be missing something

It came from a WVU website so it may have been pro-Rodriguez but that really isn't the point.

If you make a sizable donation to a school you should be able to get a few things that you want. That is what Edwards did.

But beyond that every school has their sacred numbers. At OSU #2 is a highly sought after number. And the granddaddy of them all #45 is dangled out there every so often in order to get a top notch recruit. IMO when Rodriguez attempted to give away #1 it was a lack of understanding the tradition at Michigan.

[IslandRed]

The author of that article agrees with me that the coach should control the uniforms, not a rich alum.

I still don't get this whole endowment thing. Supposedly it goes to the star WR who will wear #1. Well won't this kid be getting a scholarship and all expenses paid anyway? What more can this endowment give the kid? I must be missing something

A scholarship endowment is a gift to the school, not the scholarship recipient. Pulling a number out of thin air, let's say that every football scholarship Michigan awards costs the athletic department $25,000 a year. An endowed scholarship is a gift of money large enough that it can be invested and the return on investment is enough to cover the costs. Most big athletic departments have their scholarships endowed to varying degrees, and it's great when they can do so, because it means that money doesn't have to come out of annual operating expenses or booster fundraising.

So in Edwards' case, he probably told Michigan he'd give them enough money to endow a scholarship but he wanted some say in who got #1. Like the other guys said, then it becomes Michigan's decision to take it or don't.

[Sea Ray]

A scholarship endowment is a gift to the school, not the scholarship recipient. Pulling a number out of thin air, let's say that every football scholarship Michigan awards costs the athletic department $25,000 a year. An endowed scholarship is a gift of money large enough that it can be invested and the return on investment is enough to cover the costs. Most big athletic departments have their scholarships endowed to varying degrees, and it's great when they can do so, because it means that money doesn't have to come out of annual operating expenses or booster fundraising.

So in Edwards' case, he probably told Michigan he'd give them enough money to endow a scholarship but he wanted some say in who got #1. Like the other guys said, then it becomes Michigan's decision to take it or don't.

Excellent explanation...

[Hoosier Red]

The author of that article agrees with me that the coach should control the uniforms, not a rich alum.

I still don't get this whole endowment thing. Supposedly it goes to the star WR who will wear #1. Well won't this kid be getting a scholarship and all expenses paid anyway? What more can this endowment give the kid? I must be missing something

Yes, but that scholarship money comes from somewhere. You see this a great deal in academic scholarships. A person will endow a scholarship, but then they'll sit on the board that determines who gets that scholarship. If the school wanted to, they could just say, no thanks once you give us the money we decide where it goes, but then they'd of course have fewer scholarships to hand out.

This case does seem to be unique in that 1)It's not exactly an old tradition at Michigan anyway, and 2) Most athletes don't ask to be actively involved in the operations of the team after they're gone. Edwards did, UM probably told him what the suggested donation was for that kind of control, and Edwards gave it.

I think this went to more of a PR hit for Rodriguez then anything. You can forgive him for not embracing a tradition that was apparantly accidentally followed by all but one of its recipients, but because he didn't know and then didn't care to truly find out he cost himself some points.

[RedsBaron]

Rich Rod is also being sued in WV regarding the sale of his former Morgantown house, with allegations that he didn't reveal a water leak at first and then wanted the purchasers to accept all responsibility for the leak, etc. (allegations in a civil complaint are not proof).
Someone that I know who was involved during the deposition of Rich Rod taken as part of WVU's suit against him a couple of years ago told me a few months ago that during a break in the deposition he asked Rich Rod and his lawyer if he could get them something to drink, since he was closer to the refreshments. He said Rich Rod wouldn't respond to him or even look at him. Instead, Rich Rod allegedly turned to his lawyer and curtly said: "tell him that I don't want anything."

[pedro]

Rich Rod is also being sued in WV regarding the sale of his former Morgantown house, with allegations that he didn't reveal a water leak at first and then wanted the purchasers to accept all responsibility for the leak, etc. (allegations in a civil complaint are not proof).
Someone that I know who was involved during the deposition of Rich Rod taken as part of WVU's suit against him a couple of years ago told me a few months ago that during a break in the deposition he asked Rich Rod and his lawyer if he could get them something to drink, since he was closer to the refreshments. He said Rich Rod wouldn't respond to him or even look at him. Instead, Rich Rod allegedly turned to his lawyer and curtly said: "tell him that I don't want anything."

That doesn't surprise me RB. The guy gave every appearance of being a major jerk. As a Michigan fan I have to say his demeanor and constant excuses appalled me. I like this hire when they made it. How wrong I was.

[15fan]

All indications are that Les wanted the job.

From an outsider who doesn't know any of the details, it seemed to me more like Miles was using it as leverage to get a better deal from his current employer.

Michigan's best teams generally had prime HS talent from NE Ohio. Tressel's had command of that pipeline for a while now. Hoke needs to figure out a way to put a hole or two into that pipeline.

I'm also curious to see where Rodriguez lands. At this point, I think he sits out a year, does some TV, and then looks to land an OC job when the churn starts again in 10-11 months.

[BuckeyeRed27]

From an outsider who doesn't know any of the details, it seemed to me more like Miles was using it as leverage to get a better deal from his current employer.

Michigan's best teams generally had prime HS talent from NE Ohio. Tressel's had command of that pipeline for a while now. Hoke needs to figure out a way to put a hole or two into that pipeline.

I'm also curious to see where Rodriguez lands. At this point, I think he sits out a year, does some TV, and then looks to land an OC job when the churn starts again in 10-11 months.

RichRod will get another HC job. He wasn't the right fit at Michigan, but he does have a system that will work at a lot of programs. He will get a HC job at a Big East or ACC program probably next year I would guess.

[westofyou]

RR reminds me of George Allen, has a popular approach to the game, can be successful in the right situation, but has the personality that kills him in the end, in short not a people person.