Ohio State Football: Why the Buckeyes Want Rich Rodriguez to Keep Michigan Job

The time Rich Rodriguez has spent at the University of Michigan has not been good. Understandably, he has needed time to rebuild and mold a team to his coaching style, but going on into his third season, there doesn’t seem to be all that much improvement.

That is good news for Ohio State who will face off with the Wolverines this Saturday in Columbus.

Over the last two seasons, Rodriguez has failed to take his team to victory against OSU both at home and on the road. While that may only total up to two losses in his career, they are two huge losses for UM in one of the biggest college football rivalries of all time.

Losing to either OSU or Michigan State is like a sin for the Wolverines, just as losing to UM is a sin for the Buckeyes.

These losses have lead critics of the coach to begin calling for his possible resignation if he doesn’t continue to turn this season around.

While many Wolverine fans may want him gone, it would be in the best interest of the Buckeyes if he stayed.

Here a few reasons the Buckeyes should want Rodriguez to stay at Michigan.

His Coaching Style Causes Players to Leave

Rumor has it that Rodriguez doesn’t always have the nicest things to say to players on or off the field. There have been reports of players leaving the UM team in the last three years and transferring to other programs because of conflict with Rodriguez.

One prime example of this is OSU’s very own Justin Boren. He started his college football career at UM, but upon the arrival of Rodriguez, promptly transferred to OSU saying, "family values have eroded," USA Today reported.

If he keeps it up, eventually no good talent will want to play for him, making for a weaker Wolverine team, which is beneficial to the Buckeyes.

He’s Violated NCAA Rules

While this may not seem like a major reason for OSU fans to want to keep Rodriguez at Michigan, it actually is a very useful one.

Michigan was found, earlier this year, in violation of the rules limiting how much time players can spend on football in any given year.

According to a report from ESPN.com, several football players may have been the ones to leak the story to the Detroit Free Press, which prompted an investigation by the NCAA.

There were obviously consequences for these violations.

If Rodriguez violated the rules once, who’s to say he won’t do it again? If he does, the consequences, such as a large cutback on allowed practice time for UM, would help the Buckeyes in the long run, by allowing them more time to practice than the Wolverines.

He Can’t Win against Big Rivals

In the past two completed seasons, Rodriguez has failed to bring home a win for UM against both OSU and MSU.

These are the school’s two biggest rivals, and Rodriguez has yet to coach a team to victory against either of these teams.

Already this season, the Wolverines have once again lost to MSU 34-17.

Since this pattern continued with MSU, it is possible that it will as well with OSU. If it does, then as many are predicting, OSU should beat UM once again this season on Saturday.

With this sort of pattern with Rodriguez, the Buckeyes could face a long, happy run of wins against their biggest rival.

While all of these reasons might seem trivial or small, they are still benefits for the Buckeyes if Rodriguez remains the coach at Michigan.

For their sake, it seems his continued employment would be the best thing Michigan could do for OSU.