With the news that Rich Rodriguez is leaving West Virginia to become the next head coach at Michigan, some are now arguing that he’s no better than Bobby Petrino.
Rodriguez met with his team for 10 minutes this afternoon to tell them he is leaving, and that he’s not going to coach in the Fiesta Bowl, all but ensuring a blowout loss to Oklahoma.
Rodriguez then walked back to his office, leaving players “somber-looking,” the reports say.
Thanks a bunch, Coach Rod.
I will not debate the merits of Michigan versus West Virginia. What upsets WVU fans is that, no more than a week ago, Rodriguez told West Virginia media “you’re stuck with me.”
He’s a liar.
I think it’s a valid argument that what R-Rod did to WVU was no better than what Petrino did to Louisville and Atlanta. Did Rodriguez lie about not jumping ship? Yes, although certainly not as bad as Petrino, who on Monday evening guaranteed Falcons owner Arthur Blank that he would be back next year, only to do the “Woo Pig Sooey” chant with Arkansas cheerleaders less than 24 hours later. Did Rodriguez leave a team in the lurch? Yes, although once again, not as bad as walking out on an NFL team with three games left to go on the schedule.
Is what Rodriguez did open for criticism? Absolutely. Is he Bobby Petrino? Well, there can only be one Bobby Petrino…and he’s off somewhere practicing the Gator Chomp or some other college football tradition, you know, just in case.
