WVU Rodriguez seems to have forgotten about the 4 million dollar by out to break his contract.?

Question

Now he seeks not to pay it. What do you think will happen in the courts? Who will pay because someone will be paying even if they have to sell the debt to a collection agency. Did Hot Rod allow a lose at Pitt.s and few small things to set him off and hurt his Career I mean Mich. is not a loyal school to coaches?

Answer 1

He is just a greedy weasel trying to skirt the system. Make him pay what he owes!!! No one twisted his arm to sign any contract, so he needs to be a man about it and pay up!!

Answer 2

Note: I"m a diehard WVU fan and have been since sitting with my father (WVU alumni member) when I was kid watching them play on TV (This is around 1985).

First - Michigan has been HISTORICALLY very loyal to their coaches. It has one of the lowest turnover rates for coaches in the NCAA besides PSU...wow, Joe Paterno...you amaze me.

As for Rich Rodriguez:

1) Of course he, his agent and lawyers are going to try and get out of paying the 4 million dollars. It's 4 million dollars and that is a lot of money for anyone.
2) Of course WVU is going to try and get every penny considering how he left.
3) The BOOSTERS are not the reason Rich Rodriguez left. They and the university gave Rich Rodriguez EVERYTHING that he wanted with his contract extension. Some of the things were still being worked on, but they were getting done.
4) Rich Rodriguez came back to the Athletic Director and the University with his Michigan offer and said this is what I need done for me to stay at WVU. The university said, "You need to focus on the student-atheletes and on the upcoming bowl game. We can work on these small issues once that is over." There is a history with Coach Rod and the WVU administration butting heads over this type of stuff especially after last year and the whole potential Alabama job. So, Coach walked.
5) The boosters are ticked off about #4 above because the demands Coach Rod had were, to them, small issues. One booster was qouted as saying that he could have cut the check that day...
6) Talking to kids that are still there at the university there was a big riff between the coach and some of his players after the Pitt debacle with each side pointing fingers at each other. The game was not thrown. I think Coach Rod's nerves got the best of him, he didn't sleep well (admitedly) for two days consecutively before the Backyard Brawl, and his play calling suffered. I also think the players weren't as focused as they should have been and they came out as flat as I have ever seen them.

In the end, it SOUNDS like there was a big riff/power struggle going on between the WVU Athletic Director and Coach Rod that got WAY out of control. If I was a booster I would be furious with both sides. WVU should have done everything in their power to try and keep Coach Rodriguez at WVU, but at the same time Coach Rod should have had some flexibility and been able to trust the university's word when it came to the "small issues." Both sides acted shamefully and unfortunately the only people who are truly going to suffer are the players.

All we can do now, as WVU fans, alumni, and boosters, is pray for and work towards the university getting another great coaching staff and recruiters for all their athletic programs. Also, the boosters especially need to help along those relationships between the new coaches/recruiters and the WVU leadership (Board of Governors, University President, and especially the Athletic Director) so they are on the same page and do what is best for the university.

Let's GOOOOOOOOO....Mountaineers!!

Answer 3

1) Michigan IS loyal to their coaches.
2) WVU and Rod needed to settle their differences in other ways, namely by sitting down and engaging in a civilized manner.
3) I also heard that Ed Pastilong told Rod to clear his office by noon Saturday. If that's so, Rod may have a case in court in regards to not paying the 4 million buyout.
4) Good news: Both Terry Bowden and Steve Spurrier were in town (at least that's what I'm hearing from sources close to Pastilong).

WVU and Rich need to settle this dispute and move on with their lives/business. Don't be surprised if new HUGE developments take place in the next few days. Rich still hasn't signed his contract with Michigan yet, so.................
I won't say anything more.

Answer 4

He will end up making a deal and probably paying a portion of it back...maybe 2 to 2.5 million. Maybe the loss to Pitt got to him, maybe not...we'll never know, he seems to have moved on. WVU and the boosters will argue for awhile until they enjoy some success with the next coach then all will be forgiven and forgotten. So goes the way of sports. If you win, everbody is happy and if you lose, everybody is pissed. Right now everyone is mad b/c WVU is going to have a real challenege in the Fiesta Bowl with their head coach and several assistants gone. Not to worry though...I bet Doc Holliday is going to replace Coach Rod and Holliday is one of the best recruiters in the nation. Hopefully, WVU will make the right choice and get Holliday.

Answer 5

This whole thing is a mess. Ive heard several things back & forth. What it comes down to is the lawyers & agents make all this worse & worse as they try & straighten it out.
I say there is no way he wanted to lose that Pitt game. He played for WVU and is from WV. Pitt is the biggest rival game for the Mountaineers & they hate each other! So he is not going to throw a game like that. WVU was just outplayed & must have had the big head before the game.
There is also a man from WV that is in big with the Arizona Dimondbacks organization that gave out 12 million dollars to keep him in WV when the Bama job came up. This guy claims that it was the WVU boosters that screwed the whole thing up by not allowing a raise for his assistants & other things that added up to around 200K. Now this guy is angry & is wanting his money back! Being a WVU fan I just want to get maybe Terry Bowden & move on.

Answer 6

Unless there's some clause in the contract the public doesn't know about or there's a loophole his attorneys found resulting from sloppy drafting, I don't see how he can get out of paying the buy out.
I honestly can't see Rodriguez losing that Pitt game on purpose. If it was his intention to go to Michigan all along you'd have to assume having a national championship under the belt couldn't hurt (whether they won or not, they went.) Even if he didn't have any intention on going to Michigan, the look on his face and sound of his voice in the press conference after that game says to me there's no way he lost on purpose. If he put all that on, he's in the wrong business because he's an academy award winning actor.

Answer 7

Well let me tell u this, if u were working at a small company with a decent salary, and u get a call from a big company that has a good intergity and will pay u double the amount at that lil company, wouldn't want to jump for the bigger company? Thats what rodriguez just did. He wants to have a better team then he did at west virgina. Nobody cared about them until he turned their program around. Give the guy a break. He wanted more money into the program and the school decided not too. In order to win on college level, a school has to have the abilty to bring in the money and be able to have the funds to have more recuritment, It's all about money and business. he got the best deal that he wanted and now he is happy.

Answer 8

Well, Michigan doesn't have the turnover in coaches that many schools have had. So, I don't know if you can say Michigan's administration lacks loyalty.
As far as Rodriquez's agreement, contract law will rule the day in that if it is valid then he doesn't have a leg to stand on. As far as the Pitt game the Mountaineers came out flat and never could get into a rhythm. It reminded me of OSU last year against Florida. The coach doesn't play the game.

Answer 9

I think he's got a good chance in court. What many people don't know is that the university(WVU) didn't hold up it's end of the contract. Promises were made and not followed through. Besides, who cares if he does have to pay it. It's not like it's coming out of his pocket.

Answer 10

Rodriguez is only Michigans 4th coach since 1969. How in the world to you get that they aren't loyal to coaches.

Answer 11

One major booster has been quoted as saying Rodriguez should not have to pay the buyout and he was forced to sign that extension basically under false pretenses. This is going to get ugly if it goes to trial and it seems as if both sides are not budging one inch on their interpretation of the deal.