Why Rod's No Fraud: History Of Rich Rodriguez and Why He Must Stay! (Part 1)

It's sad to think that Rich Rodriguez is only eight games into his career at Michigan and yet people are calling for his head. It's sad to see that websites such as firerrod.com are already in existence. Sad to see that even highly respected writer's on bleacherreport.comn(you know who you are) and even in the Michigan newspapers are calling for him to leave.

It's sad to see such disgrace coming from fans and media and it's sad to see their lack of knowledge and logic towards Rich and this game.

Words can't describe the disappointment felt when hearing fellow Michigan fans ripping Rich, it just makes one think,"Since when are we Ohio State?"

How can people seriously ask for someone to be fired after one season? There is no class, dignity, or respect in that. What would Bo think? One could bet he would be furious that the fans are being so illogical and thoughtless to the matter at hand. Carr most likely feels some disappointment in comments made by Michigan faithful (or not so faithful) as well.

It's clear that the Michigan fan base is a very proud one, one that is proud in history and tradition. It is because of this that the fans have become spoiled and arrogant. It's long been said that Michigan had the most arrogant fan base of them all and never has it shown to be truer than this year.

After an abysmal start people just don't know what to do. People aren't used to Michigan losing, which is understandable, but to call for a man's job is outrageous.

People forget Michigan has had losing seasons before. Hell, Bo had a 6-6 season even. It's baffling to think Michigan fans could be so arrogant as to think they were invincible of sorts and would never fall from the graces of the elite.

Well guess what? Everyone, including Michigan, sees the bottom at some point. Texas, USC, Oklahoma, Florida, LSU, OSU, etc. has all seen the bottom of the barrel at some point over the last twenty years.

Look at Notre Dame last year and then look at them this year, it's night and day.

Now for those calling for Rich to be fired at season’s end you are undoubtedly uneducated about Rich Rodriguez so it's time for class, get out your notebook and pencils and get ready to learn.

Rich Rodriguez started his head coaching career in 1988 at Salem College in West Virginia. His first year there resulted in a 2-8 record. The following year the school dropped the football program leaving Rich searching for a new job.

He landed his second head coaching position at Glenville State College in West Virginia in 1990. He was the head coach of the NAIA school from 1990-1996. His first season was terrible when his team finished 1-7-1.

But improvement came as his team went 4-5-1 in 1991. Come 1992 his team finished 6-4.By 1993 his team finished 10-3 were they lost in the NAIA National Championship. 1994 they finished 8-3.In 1995 his team finished 8-2 while his '96 team finished 6-4. From 1993-1996, his teams won or shared the WVIAC conference title.

His final record as head coach of Glenville State was a solid 43-28-2 with 4 WVIAC conference titles in 6 years. Was twice named WVIAC coach of the year ('93, '94). NAIA National Coach of the Year in '93. The four conference titles won under Rodriguez were the schools first since 1959.

After the 1996 season, Rich left Glenville State for Tulane were he would take over as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for lifelong friend Tommy Bowden. In 1997 as OC Rich led the Tulane offense to a 7-4 record. In 1998, Tulane finished 12-0 and 7th in the nation.

Rich's QB Shaun King finished the season with 3,232 yards passing and 183.3 passer rating, an NCAA record which still stands. Remember Rich was the QB coach. That same Tulane team averaged 45 points per game during that season. That offense was designed by none other than Rich Rodriguez.

In 1999, he followed Tommy to Clemson, even after Tommy recommended Rich for the Tulane job. In 1999, Clemson finished an average 6-6 while in 2000 they improved to 9-3.

Here is the impact a year can do for a man:
                              
                                         1999                       2000
Yards Per Game/                   402.6                      446.5
Points Per Game/                   26.8                       36.0
Rush YPG/                            151.0                     236.4
Pass YPG/                            251.6                     210.1

Signs of a terrible coach right? Not so much. Between Tulane and Clemson his offenses combined record was 34-13.

After the 2000 season, Rich departed from Clemson and his good friend Tommy to take his third head coaching position at his Alma Mater West Virginia. His first year started off like all the others when his team finished the 2001 season at 3-8.But just like everywhere else his team improved the following year going 8-4 in 2002.

Here is the year by year breakdown of Rich Rodriguez tenure at WVU:

2001 WVU team stats (NCAA rank out of 115 teams):
Rush YPG/   181.09 (36th)
Pass YPG/ 164.64 (96th)
Total offense/ 345.73 (80th)
Scoring offense/ 21.36 (89th)
Rush defense/ 213.18 (104th)
Pass defense/ 136.73 (1st)
Total defense/ 349.91 (40th)
Scoring defense/ 24.36 (51st)
Turnover margin/ -0.73 (98th)

Final record: 3-8 (1-6)

2002 WVU (NCAA Rank out of 117 teams):
Rush YPG/ 283.62 (2nd)
Pass YPG/ 134.85 (108th)
Total offense/ 418.46 (18th)
Scoring offense/ 30.46 (30th)
Rush defense/ 121.85 (30th)
Pass defense/ 213.62 (55th)
Total defense/ 335.46 (33rd)
Scoring defense/ 23.23 (40th)
Turnover margin/ 1.46 (4th)

Final record: 9-4(6-1)

2003 WVU :
Rush YPG/ 212.46 (13th)
Pass YPG/ 156.46 (105th)
Total offense/ 368.92 (72nd)
Scoring offense/ 28.92 (40th)
Rush defense/ 131.46 (34th)
Pass defense/ 259.85 (104th)
Total defense/ 391.31 (74th)
Scoring defense/ 22.85 (44th)
Turnover margin/ 1.23 (4th)

Final record: 8-5(6-1)

2004 WVU:
Rush YPG/ 252.83 (7th)
Pass YPG/ 166.08 (104th)
Total offense/ 418.92 (26th)
Scoring offense/ 30.08 (29th)
Rush defense/ 141.08 (50th)
Pass defense/ 198.25 (32nd)
Total defense/ 339.33 (37th)
Scoring defense/ 20.50 (28th)
Turnover margin/ 0.25 (46th)

Final record: 8-4(4-2)

2005 WVU:
Rush YPG/ 272.42 (4th)
Pass YPG/ 116.50 (115th)
Total offense/ 388.92 (50th)
Scoring offense/ 32.08 (31st)
Rush defense/ 109.67 (19th)
Pass defense/ 201.08 (34th)
Total defense/ 310.75 (15th)
Scoring defense/ 17.83 (13th)
Turnover margin/ 1.17 (7th)

Final record: 11-1(7-0)*Defeated Georgia 38-35 in Sugar Bowl (BCS game)

2006 WVU (NCAA rank out of 119 teams):
Rush YPG/ 303.00 (2nd)
Pass YPG/ 158.38 (100th)
Total offense/ 461.38 (5th)
Scoring offense/ 38.85 (3rd)
Rush defense/ 93.31 (13th)
Pass defense/ 243.31 (109th)
Total defense/ 336.62 (62nd)
Scoring defense/ 21.69 (49th)
Turnover Margin/ 0.54 (25th)

Final Record: 11-2 (5-2)

2007 WVU:
Rush YPG/ 297.23 (3rd)
Pass YPG/ 159.00 (114th)
Total offense/ 456.23 (15th)
Scoring offense/ 39.62 (9th)
Rush defense/ 112.92 (18th)
Pass defense/ 188.77 (14th)
Total defense/ 301.69 (7th)
Scoring defense/ 18.08 (8th)
Turnover Margin/ 1.00 (9th)

Final Record: 11-2 (5-2)*Defeated Oklahoma in Fiesta Bowl (BCS game); Rich did not coach game.

Rich finished his career at WVU with a final overall record of 60-26 (excludes 2007 Fiesta Bowl) and a 34-14 record in the Big East. His record from 2005-2007 was an outstanding 30-6.

He won or shared four Big East titles while leading WVU to four straight January bowl games (That joined WVU with USC as the only schools to accomplish this at the time). He was also named Big East coach of the year on two occasions (’03,’05). His teams, prior to his departure, had spent 26 straight weeks in the top 25. 

When he arrived in Ann Arbor his career record stood at 107-68-2. That’s just terrible isn’t it? That’s only a 60 percent career winning percentage, but place into account the building years, and that record looks much better. His win percentage over the past three season from 2005-2007 was a stellar 83 percent.

Now questions have been raised regarding the play calling, many have said how he runs too much. Well, for those who seem to know everything, you couldn’t be more wrong. It is true that he spent the past several seasons, notably 2002-2007, as a run heavy offense.

However, from 2001 and before, he relied more on a balanced attack (Though it was still primarily run). Here is the yearly breakdown of his offensive play calls dating back to Tulane.

 1997 Tulane: 366 Passes vs. 424 Rushes (54% Run)
 1998 Tulane: 375 Passes vs. 518 Rushes (58% Run)
 1999 Clemson: 422 Passes vs. 486 Rushes (54% Run)
 2000 Clemson: 296 Passes vs. 557 Rushes (65% Run)
 2001 WVU: 355 Passes vs. 474 Rushes (57% Run)
 2002 WVU: 279 Passes vs. 714 Rushes (72% Run)
 2003 WVU: 252 Passes vs. 600 Rushes (70% Run)
 2004 WVU: 259 Passes vs. 589 Rushes (69% Run)
 2005 WVU: 193 Passes vs. 625 Rushes (76% Run)
 2006 WVU: 233 Passes vs. 590 Rushes (72% Run)
 2007 WVU: 265 Passes vs. 628 Rushes (70% Run)

Compare these to the 2008 Michigan Wolverines offensive play calls.
 2008 Michigan: 247 Passes vs. 324 Rushes (57% Run)

As you can see his pass/run ratio is down significantly. Signs that Rich, may indeed, be trying to find a more balanced, more effective offense to run with his larger pool of talent.

The issue he has had that has truly prevented him from increasing his pass plays is the lack of consistency at the QB position, forcing him to rely on the ground game like at WVU.

Isn’t it funny how everyone makes these outrageous statements talking about Rich must go, yet they know nothing beyond what they see on the T.V.

Funny how people want Rich out, even despite it is his first year at Michigan. So to further throw out numbers to assure everyone that he is the right choice let’s compare his first year at WVU to his first year at Michigan.

                         2001 WVU*            2008 Michigan*
Rush YPG/           181.09 (36th)           138.56 (67th)
Pass YPG/            164.64 (96th)          149.44 (107th)
Total Offense/      345.73 (80th)           288.00 (109th)
Scoring Offense/   23.36 (89th)              21.44 (86th)
Rush Defense/     213.18 (104th)         141.00 (64th)
Pass Defense/      136.73 (1st)             252.56 (101st)
Total Defense/      349.91(40th)            393.56(90th)
Scoring Defense/    24.36 (51st)            30.89 (96th)
Turnover Margin/   -0.73 (98th)            -1.00 (T-103rd)

*WVU rankings are out of 115 teams; Michigan’s rankings are out of 120 teams

You read this and say, “Wow, Michigan is worse than WVU.” Not so fast! While Michigan’s numbers look worse, which they clearly are, also consider the situation. It should be mentioned that WVU numbers aren’t as “good” as they look.

They got a boost on their PPG average and rush YPG average during an 80-7 victory over Rutgers were WVU rushed for 446 yards on 48 carries. Also note that in 2001, Rich took over a WVU program that had players that were already more built for the zone read attack Rich runs, as opposed to the players Rich has at Michigan, which were built more for the traditional pro-style offense of Lloyd Carr.

Also, consider the S.O.S for UM this year in comparison to that of WVU in 2001. According to NCAA.org, prior to the Penn State game Michigan’s remaining schedule ranked as 2nd toughest in the nation, while their overall schedule ranked as high as 11th.

Average time of possession for WVU in 2001 was 27:03 minutes per game; Michigan averages 26:10* minutes per game. It doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but time is time and every second is precious. Just one extra second longer on the field could very well be the difference between allowing a 70-yard touchdown pass and getting off the field. Don’t take that statistic too lightly.

*Michigan T.O.P through 9 games; WVU through 11 games

The loss of Rich has had its’ impact at WVU this year as well, which further proves of his importance and abilities as a head coach. WVU statistics have dropped in certain areas significantly since Rich departed.

While their rush attack is sitting at 10th in the country (dropped seven spots from last year’s total), it is their scoring offense that has fallen from grace. WVU finished 9th in 2007 averaging 39.62 PPG.

In 2008 (through eight games), WVU is ranked 71st averaging only 23.86 PPG. Everyone in West Virginia will admit, albeit reluctantly, that Rich is a great coach and was crucial in their team’s success. They know losing him is why their offense is where it is.

That is all for part one; stayed tuned for part two of the article to defend the name of Rich Rodriguez.

Part two will include views on Rich and his battle with WVU, issues with recruiting, relationships with his players, knowledge of traditions,why he shouldn't adjust his scheme, and some Q and A regarding issues discussed on numerous Michigan forums. It will also further explain why he is indeed a Michigan Man.