So, once again, the painful subject of Rich Rodriguez is brought up within Mountaineer Nation. Recently, our friends over at WV Illustrated did several stories on him, and even landed an interview with him done by Bray Cary. I truly wish Cary would have asked him some tough questions. Granted, I say this knowing I only saw the first 2 parts of it. Not sure if there were more posted. If there were, let me know.
Anyway, Scott Grayson at WVI also did an article entitled, WVU Fans Sound Off About Rich Rodriguez. After the jump, I’m going to comment on some of the comments left by readers of that article.
"B.D. I would take Rich Rod back in a heartbeat. Love his style of coaching"
Really, dude? Yeah, granted, he had a hell of an offense… but, it was somewhat limited. If one of the key guys went down, or if the other team had us figured out, it was not a fun game to watch. Style of coaching is also what ran off several players from Michigan, namely Ryan Mallet. RichRod refuses to work with what he has… he’s a proponent of “let’s blow everything up and start all over, talent capabilities be damned.”
"JM: I think that I’m like most fans in the fact that I could care less about Rod as long as he doesn’t have anything to do with WVU. He will never take full responsibility for any of the drama surrounding his departure. It will always be Ed’s fault, Joe forced me to sign a contract, or in the end, it will probably be blamed on his agent. He is far too self absorbed to accept blame for anything.The larger issue is the week-long love fest that you’ve had with him. Not one single tough question about slandering the university on his way out, his use of Chuck Finder that was referenced in his deposition, the concerted effort by Calvin to play the race card, etc. Ignoring hard questions would be bad enough but in your article, you claim that he had seven successful seasons. The last three were special but as we now know, eight or nine wins are no longer good enough.I think when judging Rod, the question you should ask is, How sorry would he be if he had won ten games a Mich and was still employed there. My guess not at all."
OK, this guy GETS IT!!! This guy covered every issue, including Calvin Magee’s infamous play of the race card, the constant legal wrangling, and the fact that RRod is ALL ABOUT HIMSELF!
"SM: RR said “I truly want to be a Michigan man.” So be it. He’s no Mountaineer."
Less is more, and this was well-said.
"Nameless commenter: Well, he does seem self indulged still today. I also think that the coaches must have knew something about the Michigan move before the Pitt game. How can an entire offensive coaching staff just up and leave on such short notice. Seems like they would need time to discuss all this with their families, maybe they had enough time but I am not convinced. I am thankful Casteel and the defense stayed put. That said, it is now in the past and we do have a better program than before he came along, and like it or not, he is due some small credit for that. I also think Holgerson will help heal a lot of old wounds."
Let this man heal the wounds of the past 3 years!
Read my rant in November about people talking about bringing back Rich Rodriguez!