Rich Rodriguez Fired: What Will It Mean For Michigan's 2011 Recruiting?

According to reports Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez was fired after his third season with the Wolverines ended in an embarrassing 52-14 loss to Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl on January 1. 

The report comes after Rodriguez met with athletic director Dave Brandon earlier Tuesday, but is no surprise as speculation has been rampant over when, not if, Rodriguez's tenure with the program would come to an end. 

In his three years with the Wolverines, Rodriguez posted a record of 15-22, with the 2010 season his only year with a winning record. 

While his departure was to be expected, the implications for the Michigan football program should be huge. 

No doubt the school's recruiting efforts will be immediately effected by this, but while in most cases the loss of a head coach is construed as a negative, that might not be the case in this situation. 

Michigan currently has the 28th ranked recruiting class with 14 commitments of which only six have received a four-star grade; the Wolverines have no five-star prospects committed. 

Four-star running back Dee Hart, one of the top prospects in the nation, has already decommitted and switched to Alabama. While it's unclear exactly what his reasoning was, you can assume that uncertainty about the coaching staff played a role. 

While Rodriguez has earned the reputation as an excellent recruiter, bringing in top 15 classes each of the last three years, recruits caught on to the idea that things weren't working out this season and as a result Michigan has struggled to bring in prospects at its usual rate. 

Of course now the speculation will turn to who will replace Rodriguez as head coach and most experts will point to Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, a former Michigan man. 

Harbaugh has understandably shied away from questioning about his coaching future, but unless he decides to take his talents to the NFL, where he has experience as the quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders in 2002-2003, the opening at Michigan is surely at the top of his list. 

While it's too early to tell exactly how things will pan out, whomever becomes the new head coach at Michigan could bring with him a positive effect toward recruiting.

If anything, Rodriguez's dismissal is a good thing for the program in that it should quickly alleviate concerns about the direction of the program. 

It's no secret that those within the program, as well as potential recruits, had serious doubts about Rodriguez's ability to lead the program back to the prominence.

A new coach with a new plan is just what the football program needs, and recruits will quickly catch on to that.

With so little time left until National Signing Day and most of the nation's top recruits already off the market, it will be tough to significantly improve the Wolverines' 2011 recruiting class.

The first order of business for the next head coach will be ensuring that those prospects who've already committed stick with the program.

That will come down to whom the next head coach is and how quickly he's in place, which should be resolved rather quickly in the same manner that Urban Meyer's departure at Florida was quickly followed by the hiring of former Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

Stay tuned for news and predictions about potential Michigan decommitments and recruiting targets.