The Patented Rich Rodriguez Meltdown Has Begun

by Dr. Charley West on Aug 31, 2009 11:39 AM EDT in Yes, We Still Talk About Rich Comment 16 comments

It happened at West Virginia, and it's most certainly beginning in Ann Arbor: the Rich Rodriguez meltdown.

Known for its short temper, "aww, shucks, I just want to coach football" quotes, and fiery end, the Rich Rodriguez meltdown is a sure way to endear a coach to a school's fanbase. Or the exact opposite. When Rodriguez starts blaming anyone but him for his own problems, you know the meltdown has begun.

Really, these allegations of NCAA violations are pretty minor. The only meaningful thing you could expect is probation, but I don't think anyone would say the program is under deep fire. But, instead of taking his medecine and letting the whole episode fade into the sunset, Rodriguez decided to make his "stand," which of course contained gratuitous weeping on national television.

Which only brings one thing to mind:

Isn't the clip 1000x more hilarious in French? Wouldn't you love a Rich Rodriguez press conference dubbed into random languages? Will I stop asking rhetorial questions?

So where does Rodriguez go from here? Tough to say. If he wins, all will be fine in the land of cars and unemployment. But if he loses, and from the looks of things, having three mediocre QBs doesn't generally equal wins, things are going to get a lot, lot worse.

As The 25314 reminded us, it's pretty clear that Michigan beat writers are looking for any angle to skewer Rodriguez. Luckily, they don't have to make things up, as Rodriguez generally serves his own and his program's faults on a silver platter. So this whole episode will probably not be the last emotional, ill-tempered press conference of the season. Just imagine the questions after an early season loss to Notre Dame, Michigan State, or gasp, Western Michigan? Two of those three will likely happen, too.

So, Rodriguez cries on national television. I'm sure his mother has already called the newspaper, complaining about their "reporting." And somewhere, Mike Barwis is running through brick walls killing hobos for sport. And, according to Rich, this isn't a distraction?

Let's go ahead and call it now:

Western Michigan 24, Michigan 21 ... Meltdown reaches Defcon 2.

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“What goes around, comes back around.” – J. Timberlake, circa 2007.

by The 25314 on Aug 31, 2009 11:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

quick question for you

and full disclosure – I am a Michigan alumnus and fan. Was there ever any indication or evidence of such improprieties during Rodriguez’s time at WVU with regard to practice time, etc? I honestly never paid much attention to RR or WVU before he became head coach at Michigan, so am pretty unfamiliar with his history. The easy answer is that this sort of thing happens everywhere, but that local writers don’t really make it a point to go after these potentially minor violations (except, apparently, in Ann Arbor).

What are your thoughts?

by georgiablue on Aug 31, 2009 12:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Quick answer.

Did it happen? Maybe/probably. Was it ever brought up in the media? Never. This is a new thing with Rodriguez. One of our writers may the comment that underdogs (i.e. WVU) are allowed to practice all they want, while favorites (i.e. Michigan) are confined by the rules. But that’s all just speculation.

by Dr. Charley West on Aug 31, 2009 12:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Voluntary

There were voluntary workouts at WVU too. Every football program that is worth a damn has intense voluntary workouts.

Even though I hate Fraud, I think this attack is pretty unfair and motivated by writers with an agenda. As Dan Hawkins said “IT’S DIVISION I FOOTBALL.” If you can’t take go play intramurals brother.

by 5th Year Senior on Aug 31, 2009 12:48 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

this IS NOT a big deal, although it’s great fodder for WVU fans. I would be willing to bet that most colleges have “voluntary” (that isn’t voluntary) time go well beyond the limit. The issue is that the consensus in Michigan is that he can do nothing right and they are pouncing on him in a big way. His ego is soooooooo big and he is sooooo not in the world of Tony Caridi’s, Hoppy Kerchival’s, etc. (yes men) and now in a major American market that the media is a larger and hungrier animal than in WV, where there is no media…….He should have kept his mouth shut and instead, now looks like an idiot for this public reaction…..all because of his ego.

by WVUColumbus on Aug 31, 2009 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We agree on something!

by Dr. Charley West on Aug 31, 2009 3:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think it’s fair to call out Caridi and Hoppy. Hoppy is not very involved in sports unless its a major story or gameday. He normally asks the tough questions in politics (see Garrision, Michael) when required and covers sports when it’s a cross over story. However, he isn’t involved in the day to day reporting that would break a story like this. As for Caridi, he is employed by the University and many times has his hands tied…and is too nice of a guy to ruffle feathers unnecessarily. Compared to John Antonick, Caridi and Hoppy are Woodward and Berntstein.

by The 25314 on Aug 31, 2009 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This issue here is that the players hate him.

And the fans want Les Miles.

by RichRN on Aug 31, 2009 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes

I first heard about the story when a former WVU football player sent me a text at 2 am Sunday morning saying, “haha RichRod is in some [trouble] over practice and lifting hours…he did the same [stuff] here.”

The beauty of WVU is no writer is going to try to make a name for himself by alleging stupid allegations like this. And the beauty of Rich Rodriguez is he has such hubris, he has to make himself a martyr in every circumstance and it was/is/ and shall be again, his downfall.

by The 25314 on Aug 31, 2009 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

that's interesting

would you say that the prevailing attitude among former players in general is one of no love lost, or is it that RR is more of a polarizing “love him or hate him” kind of a figure? I don’t know what your connection is to the program or its players, so perhaps it’s something you can’t really comment on.

by georgiablue on Aug 31, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would say alot of players loved/like him. Especially the winning. A few probably hated him, as with any person in authority. Even if they didn’t like him personally, I think most of the players bought into what he was selling. While he cussed people out on the field and was degrading, I think he generally did create a “family, us against the world” attitude. For instance, he required every player on the team had to memorize the names of every other person on the team, including walk ons, janitors, trainers, equipment managers, etc..

Some players resent him for leaving, others see it as business and don’t care. The person who sent me the text actually disliked Stewart more than he disliked RichRod, but there’s a story behind that. Really, I would say the perception of the players of RichRod is pretty traditional. Some loved him, some hated him, some were indifferent, and most of the opinions stemmed from playing time.

As for Mike Barwis, I’ve never met anyone, from any sport (he was the Olympic sports strengtth coach until 2003) who didn’t love him.

by The 25314 on Aug 31, 2009 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It is widely believed.....

that Mike Barwis was the primary reason for Pacman Jones staying out of trouble the majority of his time at WVU. They had a very close relationship.

Also, I know that first-hand Avon Cobourne would come back to Morgantown during his offseasons w/ the Argo’s to train w/ Barwis, and always spoke highly of him…….and Avon is about as good a dude that you can find (and arguably the most beloved Mountaineer ever….pre-PW era)

by WVUColumbus on Aug 31, 2009 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

DEATH THREATS ON RODRIGUEZ FAMILY

…you KNOW that accusation is coming. To quote Fraud, “I’m the head coach. I’m in charge. The buck stops….at Barwis!”

God bless you, Michigan, you deserve this.

by rumplestiltskin on Aug 31, 2009 2:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Just watched

the espn guy who was live at Michigan earlier today. Not good that a former player now at Colorado is going to “fully cooperate” and give an interview for the investigation. I can’t believe he cried.

God Bless America
WVUD

by WVUD on Aug 31, 2009 3:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs