Rich Rodriguez: "I'm a Michigan Man"...because They Paid The Most?

During a pep rally held at the University of Michigan yesterday, Rich Rodriguez—the oft maligned coach of UM's beloved Wolverines—boldly declared to over 700 fans, "I am a Michigan Man".

He went on to say, "A few years ago I left my comfort zone, a place where I played. I’m not from Michigan—as many people have said—and as close as that place was to my heart, a terrific school, had great fans, we were fortunate to build a great program. I was comfortable there. My wife went to school there, I went to school there, my brother went to school there. I was from there."

This comment can only leave one to wonder, why leave? That sounds like the perfect situation for a coach. No one ever questioned, or had the right to question, whether or not he was a "West Virginia Man". Quite obviously, Mountaineer blood ran through his veins. He had everything going for him there, and his leaving remains a mystery to this writer.

Perhaps it was his ambition, his drive to succeed on the biggest stage that lead him to become a Wolverine. However, many fans of both teams loudly mused that it was his desire for a bigger paycheck that lead him to stray. ESPN reported that Rich was set to make $2,521,000 this past season; about $500,000 more than he made at WVU. While this may seem a significant jump, one only needs to remember that he once refused the Alabama job to refute such claims. In fact, according to the Birmingham News, Bama had offered Rich upwards of $2.75 million a year—only to see him quite fully reject the contract.

If money were all Rodriguez cared about, why wouldn't he take the Bama job?

Rich said of being a Michigan man in his speech yesterday, “I asked earlier…what is a Michigan man? How do I become a Michigan man?"

His answer was this: "...If you work hard and you're passionate, you give everything you got to the cause, which is having the best football program in America, to developing young men so they represent you the right way on and off the field and you’re a good guy and you have good guys around you and you believe in the university and it’s ideals, then you can be a Michigan man."

Overlooking what may have been the run-on sentence of the century, he seems to have his values in the right place. A lot has been said of Rich these past few years, but no one has argued his commitment and work ethic. He's not the prototypical "Michigan Man" in the vein of Bo and Lloyd... but his ability to persevere through what may be the most negative press given to a current coach must not be forgotten.

As a Buckeye fan, I absolutely love to beat UM come November. However, ruining their season is a hell of a lot more fun than kicking a dead horse. Accordingly, I sincerely wish the best for Michigan and Rodriguez. I have a feeling that 2010 could be a breakout year for the distressed team, and perhaps they'll find that fire that seemed so promising in early 2009.

Rich ended his speech with this, "I can forgive but I’ll never forget, I can promise you that.”