Good Riddance, RichRod

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.

That was Rich Rodriguez last year, after talking with Alabama about the Crimson Tide's vacant head football coaching job. RichRod used the interest from Alabama to coax a new big-money contract out of WVU's administration as well as promises of upgrades to the Morgantown facilities. He seemed to have settled in at his alma mater as it got ready to make a run at a national championship. Now, a year later, he played the same sort of "will he or won't he" game with the coaching vacancy at Michigan. Only this time he will.

Well, I say good riddance. I understand the pull of a job with the history of Michigan - I was a Wolverine fan long before I ever set foot in Morgantown. What I don't understand is all the jerking around - RichRod angrily refused to discuss the rumors that he was even talking to Michigan, must less considering taking the job. And if there's even a possibility that you'd consider moving on to greener (er, bluer) pastures, don't talk about your long term commitments to stay where you are.

In the end, the coda on RichRod's WVU tenure will be that collapse against Pitt, a loss as a four-touchdown underdog to keep the team out of the national championship game. RichRod's inability to find a Plan B when the offense sputtered or to ramp his players up to get out of their funk points to some fundamental issues in his coaching style. Will the Wolverines discover the same thing?