At 44, Rich Rodriguez still has a lot of coaching in him. And as the new head coach for the Michigan football program, he made it clear during a Dec. 17 announcement of his appointment that he’s in it for the long haul.
“This was the most difficult decision in my professional career,” he said of leaving his post at his alma mater West Virginia University. “But I am taking this job as if it was the last job of my career.”
Rodriguez, who becomes the 18th coach in U-M football history, spent the last seven years as head coach at West Virginia. In that time he led the Mountaineers to a 60-26 record.
“I am confident we can have good success at Michigan,” he said. “The passion (expressed) from Athletic Director Bill Martin and President Mary Sue Coleman convinced me this was the right decision.”
Retiring coach Lloyd Carr called Rodriguez “a personable guy who is very focused.”
“I’m very impressed with what he’s done at West Virginia and what’s he’ll do at Michigan,” said Carr, who will step down after the Jan. 1 Capitol One Bowl, concluding 13 years as head coach of the Wolverines and 28 years of service to the U-M football program.
While U-M has not set an official start date for Rodriguez, he said he already is looking to buy a home in the Ann Arbor area. It is still unclear if West Virginia will have him coach the team in the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma.
Rodriguez called it an honor to follow in Carr’s footsteps.
“In our profession, we have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Carr and what he has done,” he said.
As new head coach, Rodriguez promised “unpleasant” workouts and tweaking the existing program. He said he planned to stay focused on a strong passing game and gearing plays around offensive team players. “We will do things the right way. We deserve to win,” he said.
Rodriguez often joked that he would stay until at least 2017, when his son would be eligible to be red-shirted for the Wolverines.
“When you see a coach with a young family, that’s a good sign,” said Bill Martin, director of athletics. “I’d like to see him stay a couple decades.”
Born and raised in Grant Town, W. Va., Rodriguez comes from a family of coal miners. After attending West Virginia University, he coached football at Salem College in North Carolina (1988), Glenville State College in West Virginia (1990-96) then joined West Virginia University in 2001.
With this experience and a winning coaching career behind him, Rodriquez vows not to compromise his approach.
“I need to be who I am,” he said. “Do you have to be a Michigan man to be a Michigan coach? I hope not. But I do need admiration and respect for what they did in the past. My staff and I have that.”
