You can excuse fans of the Michigan Wolverines who don’t exactly look back fondly on the time that legendary coach Lloyd Carr‘s successor spent in Ann Arbor.
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Rich Rodriguez spent three seasons as head coach of Michigan after a successful tenure at West Virginia. And let’s just say, things didn’t work out as planned. A 15-22 overall record combined with NCAA violations was enough to set him out to pasture in favor of Brady Hoke, though Rodriguez said the plan was to be back in contention by year four – something he never got to experience.
“We thought by the fourth year that we were going to be really good, and they were pretty good. I just wasn’t around to see it,” Rodriguez joked. “Those guys making the catches and tackles and throws and runs (in 2011) were guys we recruited. But that’s the way it goes in this business.”
What fans may not remember is that Rodriguez had an offer from the Alabama Crimson Tide in December of 2006 to become their head coach after firing Mike Shula – an offer that Rodriguez would ultimately turn down before coming to Michigan in 2007. All that led to was Alabama’s eventual hiring of Nick Saban and subsequently one of the most successful runs in college football history.
“We all have things in our lives that we would do differently if we had that opportunity,” Rodriguez said. “And, sure, hindsight is always 20-20, but Alabama would have been a better fit for me than Michigan. But it all happened, and you live and learn.”
“I’d say it worked out pretty well for Alabama because they went out and got the best college football coach of all time.”
After being let go by the Wolverines, Rodriguez would rebound in Arizona, where he went 43-35 before his 2017 dismissal. He would soon take the offensive coordinator job at Ole Miss – though he wasn’t retained by incoming coach Lane Kiffin.
– – Quotes via Chris Low of ESPN Link
