A Story From Close to Home

Ok, I know it has been a while since I have posted, but life gets the better of me sometimes.

I started this blog originally to cover the Kentucky Wildcats and other news in local sports that I found interesting, but being that I am a fan of the Big Blue living in the land of the Flying WV, I feel necessary to comment on the situation involving the Rich Rodriguez situation.

To tell the story, the week before the game against Pitt was sheer pandemonium in the state of West Virginia. People that I went to school with were already booking their hotel rooms to New Orleans and planning their vacations the week of the BCS National Championship. I kept telling people that the season wasn't over and not to overlook Pitt, because they were the type of team that could give the Mountaineers problems. Of course, people thought I was nuts, but whatever. One person that I respect made the comment "Coach Rod will not let his players overlook Pitt" with sheer cockiness.

A week later, I felt like a prophet, as Pitt held West Virginia in check for a 13-9 victory at Mountaineer Field, pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the season and eliminating the Mountaineers from the national championship hunt. Of course, you know the rest of the story, as Rich Rodriguez decided to bolt and head to "The school up north" in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

As a Kentucky fan, I can hardly blame Rodriguez, even though he was leaving his home state. The man is aiming to increase his prestige in the coaching circles, and he would not accomplish that in Morgantown. The Michigan letterhead represents so much in college football similar to the UK letterhead in basketball. People want to be a part of that tradition, which opens the eyes of a recruit such as Terrelle Pryor. Pryor ended up committing to Ohio State, but Rodriguez never would have had the chance to land him at West Virginia.

Then the lawsuits were filed. Here were some of the allegations:

Shredding of paperwork on players. Since the college already possessed this information, there was no need to pursue it.

In addition, Rodriguez called recruits from WVU cell phones to inform them of his decision to take the Michigan job.

The biggest allegation was refusing to pay back 4 million dollars from a buyout clause insisted upon by booster Ken Kendrick, a Princeton WV native who is a general managing partner for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kendrick was a major Rodriguez supporter and lashed out in the media over the hiring of Bill Stewart. Rodriguez had no shot with this one, yet pursued it like there was no tomorrow.

Finally, when both Bill Martin, the AD at Michigan, and Mary Sue Coleman, the President were asked to give depositions by West Virginia University, a settlement was reached. Some will look at this and wonder what would have been said by the powers that be at Michigan, but it is over.

So who won? To be honest, nobody. West Virginia got its 4 million, which will buy a ton of toilet paper and couches in the near future. However, in a lawsuit of this magnitude, the court of public opinion also results in backlash over a Mountaineer fanbase that is viewed as bitter rednecks that couldn't accept losing the same coach that had choked away a national championship chance. A lot of promises were made by Ed Pastilong and Joe Manchin to keep Rodriguez in the mountain state when Alabama came calling, but how many of them were actually going to be fulfilled? Which in turn gave Rodriguez an excuse to get out.

Rodriguez finally settled an ugly divorce from his previous employer and has left an entire state alienated by his actions. However, these are the same fickle fans that wanted Terry Bowden(son of former WVU and current FSU coach Bobby Bowden) to be leading the team. Truth be told, that was probably who Ken Kendrick wanted as well. If Rodriguez wins a national championship and beats Ohio State into submission in a couple of years(depending on whether or not OSU can adjust to the spread option), he will be welcomed back into the state with open arms.

Michigan is also finally able to move on. The only thing that has me wondering is if they view Rodriguez or for that matter John Beilein as full time fixtures or someone that is easily replacable down the road. They didn't bail out Beilein(even though his amount was lowered due to WVU getting a better coach in Bob Huggins), but I really wonder how committed the University of Michigan is to their coaches.

Now looking at the future. Bill Stewart is the head coach at WVU, and is a far more likable figure. I never liked WVU due to Rodriguez and his arrogance, yet I will pull for the Wolverines when they play Ohio State every year. People can claim WVU got caught up in the emotion, but I disagree. This program was left in shambles by Rodriguez, whether people want to admit it or not. The last thing the program needs is every recruit dropping their commitments, losing players such as Noel Devine to transfer with a new coach coming in. He isn't being paid like a Terry Bowden, and will most likely be used as a buffer to keep the program running smoothly until it is time to name a successor.