Rich Rodriguez: Why the Arizona Wildcats Hired the Wrong Man for the Job

Rich Rodriguez was desperate for a job, and the Arizona Wildcats took the bait. On Monday the school announced its plans to sign Rodriguez as its next head football coach.

Instead of waiting until the end of the season, when the entire coaching profession would be available to interview, the Wildcats settled for a guy that was essentially forced to sit out the past season because of his horrific job in Ann Arbor.

After a disastrous tenure at Michigan, in which Rich Rod recorded a 15-22 record (including a 0-3 mark against Ohio State), the passionate Michigan fanbase forced him out.

To make matters worse, he was punished by the NCAA for practice violations.

The Wolverines are still dealing with the resulting three years of probation from that punishment.

Rodriguez takes over for Mike Stoops, who was fired last month after the Wildcats got off to a disappointing 1-5 start. Athletic director Greg Byrne (who broke the news on Twitter by posting a picture of Rich Rod and his family) had more than enough time to properly evaluate every option available.

So why does it seem like a panic hire?

All of Rodriguez's success came at West Virginia, a team that played in a weak Big East conference and feasted on opponents not used to the unconventional offense his team deployed.

He went 60-26 there but left on bad terms.

After getting upset by an unranked Pittsburgh team to end the 2007 regular season, the Mountaineers were eliminated from the BCS championship game.

In the month leading up to their Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma, Rich Rod bolted for Michigan, forcing assistant Bill Stewart to coach the game. WVU ended up suing Rodriguez for breach of contract, and eventually the lawsuit was settled.

If you're counting at home, he left both major programs he coached on bad terms.

Then you hear quotes like this from Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press (via Deadspin):

"

Rodriguez's staff uses some of the foulest, most degrading language imaginable. I know coaches curse, and I'm no prude, but this goes way beyond a few dirty words. He belittles his players. This is a big part of why offensive lineman Justin Boren left the team. He felt his dignity was at stake.

"

Sounds like a great guy, eh?

If you’re a parent looking at the moral values of the coach that will be the main voice for your son the next four years, do you trust Rodriguez?

Clearly he has proven in the past that he always puts himself above his school. He hasn’t been successful since 2007. He will need at least two years to implement his goofy option offense.

Bottom line: If Arizona is successful and becomes a Pac-12 power, he will bolt for a more prestigious job. If Arizona struggles, he’ll spout off the kind of mean and insensitive comments that can break an impressionable 19-year-old kid.

This is not a man that leads by example. This is not the man you want molding young men.

Arizona just made a big mistake.