A friend of mine (a college football coach and a huge Michigan man) recommended that I read "Three and Out" by John Bacon.  I’m glad I did.  I’m a bigger Rich Rod fan than I was before.  If you hate Rodriguez and don’t want to believe any narrative about his departure other than what came from the mouths of Mike Garrison and Ed Pastilong, this book will only make you angrier.  A preconceived bias is likely true for Rodriguez apologists, too (the minority faction of WVU’s fan base).  We want to hear good stuff about Rich and this book further details the story to which we have always subscribed.

For objective fans looking for more detail about Rodriquez, this book will be entertaining.

John Bacon is a hard-core Michigan man, in addition to being a best-selling author and sports journalist.  He was given unprecedented access to Rodriguez and company during three seasons at Michigan.  He saw the mishaps, errors of judgment and personal foibles, and reports them all.  Love him or hate, this book will at the very least expose you to whom Rich Rod really is.  Bacon has no personal interest in making Rodriguez look good.  In fact, by making his alma mater look incompetent and hypocritical, Bacon has made enemies at Michigan and the Detroit Free Press (whom he made look unprofessional).

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a Rich Rod guy.  Always have been.  I was a student at WVU when he was.  In 1985, every dude on my dorm floor was infatuated with the "hot blonde cheerleader" (who knew she'd be the future Mrs. Rodriguez).  And when Coach Rod left WVU, I sent him a note of thanks for all of his work in Morgantown.  To my surprise, I received a personal response from him the next week.  Granted, at that time he didn’t have a lot of nice notes coming into the office from WVU people, so I shouldn’t feel particularly honored.  I saved the letter anyway.

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One of the things that was kicked around last week but never fully developed was the love/hate relationship with UConn.  The hate or dislike is easy enough because they are a conference rival.  I don't know that you could ever love or even like a conference rival.  But when I think of UConn, I can point to a couple of instances where they hold a special place.

The murder of Jasper Howard was awful.  But it did provide us with the opportunity to show some compassion as a fanbase.  Even if just for a second, we were able to comfort a team and a school that went through a horrible episode.  The loss to UConn last year was the beginning of the end for Bill Stewart as coach at WVU.  So I guess we can thank them for that.  Also, like UConn we lost our coach to another school.  So we can sympathize.

While I may never like you, UConn.  I do hope you get to throw that egg for real some day if it makes you feel better.  Me personally, I still take issue with the way Rodriguez left WVU.  When I tie that together with they way I personally saw him kiss and make up with WVU boosters after the Alabama episode, I can certainly understand why the Huskey would want to throw an egg or ten at Edsall.

Scene: The Pro-Am golf tournament at The Greenbrier. Dave Alvarez is talking with his caddy.

  Hey Rich! Thanks for being my caddy. I sure do appreciate it. So what's with the disguise?

First off, don't call me Rich. Call me...Rodney...Rodney Richards. Yeah, that'll work. See, there's going to be some people here that forked over a lot of money during the whole Bama thing. I'd rather this didn't turn ugly and so on and so forth and things of that nature.

Oh come on Rich...I mean, Rodney. That's all water under the bridge by now isn't it?

I'd rather we play it safe, Dave. Plus my wife is around here somewhere and I could use a break. If you know what I mean. (winks)

Fair enough.

Plus, this is going to be my first shot at coaching in a while.

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It's time to let bygones be bygones.

When I turned on my local sports report this weekend, I saw an interview with Rich Rodriguez as he played in a Glenville-area golf fundraiser.  Specifically, Rodriguez was talking about the potential of sitting down and talking football with WVU Offensive Coordinator (and Head-Coach-In-Waiting) Dana Holgorsen.  This was surprising to me, not because of the thought of them sitting down, but because Rodriguez was being so forthright with his want to have such a meeting.  This was a different Rodriguez.

The signs have been there for a few months.  A fired Rodriguez, or at least one that was on his way to being out at Michigan, had started to lay inroads to coming back to the Mountain State.  Not in any official capacity, mind you, but just publicly setting foot inside the state borders.  A few years ago, that would have been nearly impossible.  Sure, there were reports of Rodriguez visiting family in the state -- but when it's news that someone is just in the state, you know that person is certainly persona non grata.

That shouldn't be the case anymore.

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Listen, I'm not saying it's going to happen, but if Rich Rodriguez is going to end up as the head coach of Pittsburgh, this is how I see that journey playing out.

Trust me, it took every bone in my body not to actually use the word "fuck" in the title.  We've been instructed not to use profane language in our story titles, so I refrained.  Of course, there's no limit to the times I can use profane language in the actual story, so...

Fuck Rich Rodriguez.

Fuck Rich Rodriguez.

Fuck Rich Rodriguez.

Fuck Rich Rodriguez.

Fuck Rich Rodriguez.

Fuck Rich Rodriguez.

Fuck Rich Rodriguez.

That almost sums up my feelings right now for that man.  I say almost, because words vile enough to properly describe Rich haven't even been invented yet.

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CFN's Matthew Zemek attempted to lay a great quandary at the feet of all Mountaineer fans earlier today in his Monday Morning QB article (note, I said attempted).  Here is his question to us:

Listen up, Old Gold and Blue backers: Would you rather be winning 11 games with Rich Rodriguez, or maintaining your dignity and winning nine games with Bill Stewart? Integrity and humanity are supposed to matter more than results, at least within certain parameters. Keep that in mind as you continue along the path with Mr. Stewart.

Now, don't get me wrong, I had to think about this for a little bit.  But the answer was actually pretty easy...

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