Rich Rodriguez told CBSSports.com that in hindsight, leaving West Virginia for the head-coaching job in Michigan was a mistake.

From ESPN.com:

“I think it’s easy to go back now and say, ‘Gee, made a mistake.’ And you can say that now because of hindsight,” Rodriguez told CBSSports.com. “But at the time, some of the things I was looking to do and the opportunity that was there, you kind of make the move.”

“Hindsight is always easier to look back and say, ‘It was a mistake,’ ” Rodriguez said. “Because we did have a good thing going at West Virginia, and we really enjoyed it. As you look back at it, wasn’t the best move. Easy to say now.”

I think the mistake was on Michigan’s part for hiring him in the first place. He wasn’t a fit for the program, or the Big Ten, and his record in Ann Arbor speaks for itself.

There are many Wolverine fans that believe RichRod would have eventually gotten the program pointed in the right direction. And maybe he would have. But the fact of the matter is that under his watch, the defense was historically bad, the special teams were an utter joke, and the Wolverines went a combined 0-6 against Ohio State and Michigan State. That’s the ultimate sin for any Michigan coach, nevertheless one that was hyped as being someone who could potentially bring a national championship to Ann Arbor in 3-4 years.

Brady Hoke might not wind up being the answer either, but at least he knows what the Michigan program is all about. He knows that he has to beat Ohio State regularly. He knows he has to beat Michigan State yearly. And he knows he has to win some Big Ten championships or he’ll eventually be replaced by someone who will. He certainly has his work cut out for himself, especially with Nebraska set to join the conference this year. But at least the program should have some direction under his supervision.

Several players on the Michigan football team claim that head coach Rich Rodriguez and the rest of the program regularly violates NCAA rules limiting how much time they can spend in training and practice sessions.

From ESPN.com:

One former player who started for Michigan last season told ESPN Saturday night that the report was accurate.

The player, who asked not to be identified for fear of repercussions from fans, said in-season Sundays at the football facility lasted from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., including a one-hour lunch. That would be an 11-hour day. The NCAA daily limit is four hours, the weekly limit 20.

The same player said required offseason workouts included three-hour lifts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and two hours of speed and agility on Tuesdays and Thursday. That’s a total of 13 hours; the NCAA limit is eight hours of required workouts.

This player said he would tell the Big Ten or NCAA what players were required to do and believes most of his former teammates would, as well.

A current member of the Michigan football team, who has started, also told ESPN his in-season Sundays at the football facility lasted from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., although he acknowledged the first two hours were spent in treatment, which is not counted against the restricted hours.

As expected, Rodriguez and the program are denying these allegations and have said that no rules have been violated. It’s unclear at this point if Michigan has a serious problem on its hands or if a couple of players are just trying to make things difficult for Rodriguez.

It stands to reason that most teams in college football violate NCAA regulations on a yearly basis. That said, it’s highly doubtful that they’re exceeding regulation times by over six hours like the report claims Michigan has. If these allegations are true, this is yet another black eye on Rich Rod’s short tenure at UM and will certainly hurt recruiting if the NCAA can somehow prove that the program is in violation.

What’s interesting is that even with all of those practices last year, Michigan suffered its worst season in the history of the program. Nice work, Rich.