Today the University of Michigan introduced its new football coach to the world, Rich Rodriguez. The self-proclaimed “Leaders and Best” went south of the Ohio River to poach Coach Rod from the West Virginia University Mountaineers. Sporting a 60-26 record in his 7 seasons at WVU, Rodriguez is a proven coach in Division I football. Though his record in “big” games hovers more around the .500 mark with the signature win of his tenure coming over Georgia in a bowl.
So what does this mean for the Wolverines? They’ve snagged themselves a good coach after, what most people would call, a bungled search process over the past month spawning a highly entertaining Lester Miles courtship and a short-lived Greg Schiano affair. But aside from Coach Rod (sounds kind of like a porn-star nickname doesn’t it?) being a good coach, is he the “right” coach and a good fit for the Wolverines? Time will tell, but on the surface, it leaves you scratching your head a little.
Michigan has long been a team with a punishing running game, pro-style passing attack, and strong defense where they dare you to line up and out-physical them to win. This season saw UM ripped by Oregon and upset by App State running spread attacks and I think the Rodriguez hire reflects the current world view of being enamored of the spread offense with a mobile quarterback. There are two gotchas here though for the Wolverines: 1) defense, not offense has been the problem and unless the defense is fixed, it doesn’t really matter what offense you choose to run and 2) UM’s athletes have been recruited for the pro-style, power offense, not the read/option spread. Can you imagine the statue that is heir-apparent quarterback Ryan Mallet running the read/option spread? Didn’t think so…
I hope, for the rivalry’s sake, that the good folks in Ann Arbor study the experiment that was Bill Callahan’s tenure at Nebraska. Changing the offense dramatically won’t yield the high level of achievement coveted by the Wolverines, it will lead to disaster. However, Coach Rod is a winning and smart coach, so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he’ll adjust the offensive scheme to his players, recruit into the system he’d ultimately like to run, and will take steps to shore up the once proud defense back to its normal killer form.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years. Again, for the rivalries sake, I wish for a strong and competent competitor in Michigan. I hope they don’t try to do too much too soon and sink next season.
