Rich Rodriguez: Clothes Donation Nice, Wins Would Have Been Nicer

The University of Michigan decided that it no longer had use for head football coach Rich Rodriguez and firing him on Jan. 5. In turn, Rodriguez has decided that he no longer has use for his Michigan garb, donating 432 items of Michigan apparel to a Salvation Army store in Wayne, Mich.

Innocent enough, it seems, for Rodriguez to clean out his closet of maize-and-blue items that reminded him of disappointing times. But is there more to be read into the donation?

Rodriguez infamously pleaded to retain his job at Michigan’s annual team banquet, citing a Josh Groban song as his inspiration to continue growing into a Michigan man. The appeal fell on athletic director Dave Brandon’s deaf ears. Whether Rodriguez feels spurned by being shown the door or not, his donation can easily be perceived as an ireful demonstration.

As for the Michigan residents that will get Rich Rod’s unwanted Michigan apparel at a discounted rate, they’d all swap it for a few more wins in Rodriguez’s tenure. By going 15-22 in three seasons in Ann Arbor, Rodriguez became Michigan’s least successful football coach.

While Rodriguez provided Michigan with plenty of dubious firsts—first Michigan team (2007) to not earn a bowl bid since the 1965 season, first Michigan team (2007) ever with a losing record, first major violations committed by the Michigan football program (2008-09)—fans only wanted him to repeat what coaches had done before him: win.

They just wanted a new culture, a conference championship and renewed hope of winning a national title. After three years, all Rodriguez has to give Michigan is three lost years and a trunk full of hand-me-downs.

It took all of nine days for Rodriguez to purge his home of Michigan paraphernalia and dump it off at a Salvation Army to be resold. Obviously there isn’t much to do with hats, t-shirts and jackets emblazoned with emblems of a former employer that shooed you out the door; especially one that you have no previous ties with.

But wasn’t there as quieter way to do this? Couldn’t a few friends or family members have spread the plunder to multiple stores as to not draw any attention?

Such foresight didn’t pass through Rodriguez’s mind. Foresight didn’t aid Rodriguez when he renegotiated his contract at West Virginia in 2007, four months before he dropped the university off at the corner on his presumed ride to the top.

Foresight didn’t come into play when Rodriguez allowed his players to practice beyond NCAA weekly hour limits. The allegations came from Michigan players and the NCAA investigation began in August 2009. Rodriguez initially denied wrong-doing and then accepted responsibility—spread among him and others, of course—after the NCAA found the program at fault.

Rodriguez’s penchant for controversy should have his future as college football head coach in jeopardy. With the potential backfire of Rodriguez’s questionable clothing donation not included, the coach has found precarious situation after precarious situation to nest in. What football programs are willing to take on such uncertainty in exchange for potentially high rewards is yet unknown.