Just so you know, the horse may have three broken legs but, he has yet to be shot. So, I'm not technically beating a "dead" horse.
No matter who is talking or writing or blogging or however they may be communicating their respective views concerning Rich Rodriguez, they more times than not, bring up the WVU loss to Pitt in the Backyard Brawl.
Those who are mad at Rich say he threw the game. That's ABSURD! I hated to see the 'EERS lose that game but c'mon.
Here is a version of one of my blog entries from www.thankscoachrod.com concerning this unfortunate situation:
Listen! I am very unhappy at Coach Rod. I hate the way he handled the situation upon his leaving WVU. I hate that the majority of the WV people have hard feelings about him right now, including myself.
However!!!! I could never accuse Coach Rod of throwing ANY game. Especially, The Backyard Brawl.
I understand how tough it is to deal with his departure (notice this whole website) but, he is still a doggone good coach and would not want that on his record. Furthermore, even if WVU beats Pitt and goes on to the BCS Championship and perhaps even wins it, doesn't automatically keep Coach Rod in Morgantown. It, in my opinion, would only make other schools want him that much more.
We can all hate the fact that Coach Rod is gone, hate the way he went about it and even write about it on the web, in the papers or talk about it to everyone we meet. But, we can't hate Coach Rod. He had problems with the administration and visa versa. He could have accepted the fact that he would have to endure some difficulties with the administration, for the sake of his players and the legacy he was continuing to build. He should have not taken it out on the rest of us, AGREED!
However!!! Coach Rod did not throw the Pitt game, just so he would have an excuse to leave for Michigan. That's just absurd...
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5 months ago
I agree that the notion of DickRod purposely losing is far fetched but, perhaps if he wasnt so absorbed with his agent and threatening to go to Texas A&M and all the other crap maybe he would have been a little more focused.
5 months ago
Nobody with more than two brain cells thinks RR really threw the Pitt game; however, the loss to Pitt was a coaching implosion of epic proportions and his leaving was a way of disavowing any responsibility for it. While we were all very disappointed in the Pitt loss (understatement) the WVU nation was moving on as it has always done. WVU sports team have a way of laying the biggest of eggs but we always just move on. It is something we are used to doing. RR leaving was just an egotistical way of blaming everybody but himself for his mistakes and shortcomings. RR just could not face the fact that he is not infallible. His ego got the best of him.
5 months ago
The whole situation is ugly. While I am not a Rich Rodriguez fan, nor a WVU fan for that matter, let's give the guy some credit. It is his reputation after all. They lost the game as a team. His team did not play up to its potential. To say that he threw the game is absurd. His team got outplayed and he got outcoached for this one game. It happens. Just ask my beloved Buckeyes and Coach Tressel about that. You still have to play the game.
4 months ago
Good article, its refreshing to see someone from the WVU fanbase that isn't still going nuts about the whole situation. There was shady-ness on both sides, he was completely in his rights to take what amounts to a promotion in the business world, and he will be completely in his rights to pay a large portion of the 4 mil he owes.
4 months ago
This may not be a far fetched as people think. There are several rumors out there that RR has a Pete Rose " problem " & that he has sustained several massive gambling loses out in Vegas wirh some of his college buddies from Parkersburg.
4 months ago
You know, when he first left it crossed my mind that he did throw the game. For about 2 seconds before I realized "wait, this guy is a WVU alum...There's no way he threw it." I'm glad he got his money from UM and the chance to coach at a school with alot of history....and I'm happy we beat Oklahoma without him. It was such a refreshing start for the whole university to see Coach Stewart grab Pat White by the helmet and say "I love you Pat". Now as far as I'm concerned, that's the way caoching should be done. Bill Stewart is a class act, loves Mountaineer football with all his heart, and cares about each and every one of his players. I thank RR for what he did to the program, and now it's time for us to back Coach Stewart up and give him the support that we gave RR during his tenure. And as an added bonus, Stewart is alot cheaper than RR was.... Let's go Mountaineers!
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