A Good Man
by Maize n Brew Dave on Dec 3, 2010 12:19 PM CST
in Michigan Football
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PrintIf you've met Rich Rodriguez, it's hard not to like him. When you first meet him, Rich will shake your hand with a vice-like grip and softly thank you for supporting his players. He'll look down at the floor from time to time as he talks, and nervously shuffle his feet until he gets comfortable. Then a big grin opens up on his face and the stories start flowing. Within two minutes you realize Rodriguez is a guy you'd happily share a beer with and talk and football with. More importantly, within five minutes you realize he is a passionate educator and someone you're proud to call your coach.
In a certain sense, he is a lot like Lloyd Carr. Carr wasn't someone who could control a room all by himself and was someone who gratefully shunned the spotlight. But in more intimate settings could light up a room with a sort of folksy charm and wit. Where Carr was philosophical, Rodriguez is down-home. But they both play to these strengths and both seem to have that special talent to make the person they are talking with feel like the only person in the room.
Like Carr, Rodriguez also cares deeply about his players. There is no doubt in my mind that Rodriguez is a father figure and a role model to just about every player on this team. And these young men have steadfastly supported him and sung his praises. He is a man of faith, of family and humility. All of which are qualities we desire in what we call a "Michigan Man."
Despite this, he has never been accepted into this fraternity by a vocal portion of the Michigan fanbase. In many ways the things that make him so accessible to those who meet and know him are used as daggers for those who irrationally despise the man. His folksiness is considered being a hayseed, or worse, stupidity. Like with most prejudices, these suppositions have no place in reality. But they are there.
To me it's deeply distressing. Rodriguez is a good man, for all the reasons listed above and more. And that is what makes the current situation so miserable for those who care about Michigan Football. We want so badly for him to be successful at Michigan, but the results haven't followed. Michigan has made progress, but not the amount of progress we all expected.
There are many of us who are willing to give Rodriguez another year because we believe he is not only a good coach, but a good man. We're Rich anything like Lane Kiffin, we would've thrown him out the door after the first year. But then again, were he anything like Lan Kiffin he never would've gotten the job in the first place.
Rich is a good man. And that is why the next few weeks will be so hard on those of us who admire and respect him. A program is bigger than one man. We know that. But we want the best for both, and the thought of the program being unable to progress with a good man like Rodriguez at the helm is not just troubling, it's incredibly disturbing.
I want so badly for this to work, but I am not blind to the possibility that it won't. And if it doesn't, it won't just sting because Michigan couldn't make it work with a good man, it will sting because the good man in question was Rich Rodriguez.
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Fantastic post, articulates my feelings exactly. Rich deserves better treatment than he has gotten these past three years.
True, but
In the freep I defended him to the point I was banned. I like RR, I to wanted him to successed and I hated those that attacked him from day one.
However as one who not only is a Michigan fan, I run a business and in the end there has been may a time when I had to let a good man go.
Sometimes we just try to make someone into something they are not, no matter how hard we try we just can’t fit that round peg in to that square hole.
It’s not that RR can’t coach, it’s just that in the Big Ten there is no room for error and he has errored way too much.
Folks lets face it, for Michigan to be what it once was it takes more then a good man, it takes a great one.
Heres to finding that great Michigan Man, that he be all that we desire him to be.
Jim we’ll be seeing you shortly after the bowl.
by Darth Prophet on Dec 4, 2010 3:40 AM CST up reply actions
Awesome
I had considered writing something like this, but I doubt I would have said it nearly as well as you have.
Regardless of what anyone thinks of his ability to win games or his place going forward, he is still a man who has poured his heart into his job and truly cares about the kids he coaches. If I put any stock at all into the ridiculous, xenophobic “Michigan man” label, he would sure as hell be at the top of my list.
Go Blue!
http://www.maizenbrew.com/
Coach Rod
Coach Rod needs to know that “HE” Raises us Up. He not only is a wonderful human being, a great coach but also has a sweet loving soul.
GO Coach Rod.
Don't care of how good of a guy he is. I need a good coach
0 – 13 for big ten winning teams. Get outta here with this good man crap. Blaming the players on this defense. Saying Vince Lombardi can’t coach his guys better. Making excuses at every turn and whining. He is a dirtbag.
by d_ronii on Dec 3, 2010 1:06 PM CST via mobile reply actions 1 recs
That just goes to show...
That just goes to show how good the Big Ten is. Do you really expect anyone to win against the best teams in the Big Ten with a young squad? Can’t you wait until we have a full roster to pass judgment? I don’t think saying “the defense is young” is blaming his players. You sir, are the dirtbag. And yes, when we dominate once again, we will let you back on the bus.
Dave, great job
You’ve captured well, I think, what many UM football fans are thinking right now.
There are a lot of people who want RR gone. Yesterday isn’t soon enough for them.
I think the “Michigan Man” badge has been overused, abused and misapplied over the last several years. I’m not sure where this all started, maybe by Bo in 1989 and the Bill Frieder incident. It had it’s place. But fans and alums have used it as a tool to disqualify and push people out. The house has been divide against itself. Our rivals are absolutely loving this.
To me this “Michigan Man!” expression and romanticism is now one big joke, like “Alabama Man” from South Park, or “Baird Man” from the judicial board scene from Scent of A Woman. The current players committed to play for Michigan and for RR. They’re still All In. But we have a bunch of jerks pointing fingers saying “but not you!”. It’s ridiculous.
Rodriguez is a “Michigan Man”. He doesn’t have to want to be. He already is.
He’s 15-21 at Michigan thus far, but like it or not, he’s part of the UM family and the football program forever, even after he is fired, leaves the UM program, or retires from UM. He’ll be at future player reunions, events, etc.
To witness the lack of respect and divisiveness among fellow UM fans and alums re: Rodriguez has been a real eye-opener for me. I did not expect this at all, and I’m very disappointed by the way this has all played out.
Go Blue!
Yes, it was the Frieder thing that led to the "Michigan Man" term.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Dec 3, 2010 1:34 PM CST up reply actions
This is wearing on me!
This whole episode is really stressing me out. I love all things with U of M, especially Football. Heck, I love the M Softball team or any of the other sports. But Football has a special place in my heart.
I find it very annoying when the RR backers call people who want to see him gone as jerks or morons or idiots, etc. So you’re the beacon of intelligence because you feel you have a superior opinion? Talk about arrogant!
If 10 years ago I told you we’d have a coach we hired after Carr, who proceeded to lose the way RR has and made the defense and special teams an embarrassment and lose one sorta close game to OSU and get whipped 42-7 and 37-7 in the other two, that woulda been ok with you RR supporters? Huh?
“I want to be a Michigan Man”? What the hell kinda comment is this? That’s acceptable to you? We need to move on from this chapter in M Football right away. I’m getting pissed off at Brandon for waiting. I wish he would act and not prolong this disaster!
by SanDiegoMick on Dec 3, 2010 3:05 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
How about we return from Fantasyland
where Michigan’s 1995, 1996 and 1997 football teams were thinned out by the same attrition and lackluster recruiting of 2006-2007-2008?
Is Rodriguez smart in his word choice, music selection and eloquence. Absolutely not.
But the comparisons to Bo, Mo and Lloyd and the assumption that all things are being equal (we win because we’re still Michigan and show up to games in a winged helmet) are what they are: absurd.
I’m not satisfied with the win count either, nor 20 pt and 30 pt losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State respectively. But I understand the difference between what Rodriguez has had to go through his first 3 seasons vs. what Lloyd Carr did 1995-1997.
All I’m saying is that this “Michigan Man!” qualification dipstick used by the anti-RR “crowd” is stupid.
Go Blue!
Dear Rich,
You are a wonderful coach, and more importantly (as your musical taste implies), a wonderful human being. You deserve many, many more years of turning Michigan football players not only into perennial big ten title and national championship contenders, but also into fine upstanding men befitting the long and storied Michigan football tradition. Your values, morals, demeanor, and talents have, and will continue to, serve the UM football program well…hopefully well into the future.
Best wishes, and here’s to many more years of Rick Rodriguez Michigan football…
Signed,
tOSU Fan
by johnnyphoenix on Dec 3, 2010 5:11 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
Lol
OSU finally hires a literate football coach who gets f#$%#$ in non-conference games and look how they gloat. And why does he get f#$%#$ by non-conference games? Because his whole goal in life is to beat Michigan. That how important Michigan is to OSU. Don’t worry OSU, you’ll have plenty of reason to have a team to hate again!
dear osu fan
Since you have all this extra time on your hands, you should go and make sure the olentangy river isn’t on fire again. you know, the cesspool of a river next to ohio stadium. It’s so nice leaving an osu football game and smelling all the pollutants and chemicals rolling along side. I’m sure living in columbus you get used to that sort of thing anyway.
Oh but your probably helping to design the new skirts for your bowl game. I wonder what felon your quaterback will honor this time?
best wishes you dung ball
to coach rodriguez, a true michigan man
several people, certainly the writer of the article here, have echoed my feelings about this entire situation, probably better than i can or will. but b/c you deserve every positive and confirming word on your behalf, especially now, i’ll add to the others’.
I so want to see you get at the very least another year to demonstrate what you know is possible. you’ve worked so hard, much more than records reveal up till now, and we are—with you—starting to see the results, though i know you’ve seen much more in your players than those of us looking on.
i keep blasting the… ok, i won’t call them idiots here, people who rail against you on facebook, reminding them that it isn’t about them and no one wants those wins more than you, coach rodriguez, your staff, and certainly not more than all those players.
this is about you, the caliber of person you are, character, morals, integrity, instilling in your players all of that and more.
i, like others, so badly want to see you fulfilling your hopes, dreams and expectations for the michigan football program now and in the long years to come, taking michigan to even higher places than in the past, and we’ve had a great past. i so wish people would have a greater vision than just the immediate present, understand the process of change, time, and revamping a system to create something new and better.
someone used the term “juggernaut.” i truly believe it would happen under your leadership. you’ve got believers, coach r. you’ve got people who are standing w/ith you and your players, hoping the best for you and your family, and yes, praying for you.
it is terribly disappointing to see the way you’ve been treated in this whole situation. i expected better of michigan fans, but i definitely expected better from the michigan system.
IF you leave after this season, big if, you will be a success wherever you go, i know that. but i hope and have prayed that you will yet be given that opportunity to see your coaching expertise proven in the big house and wherever the maize ‘n blue play their opponents. i certainly haven’t given up. i want to see all your detractors proven wrong. they will be if you’re allowed to continue at michigan.
the handling of this has demonstrated a tremendous lack of character in those pulling the strings. you deserve better—so much better. i still hope we’ll all see that come to pass for you.
blessings, coach rodriguez. thank you for bringing so much good to the program, of which the scoreboard is only a small part. that, too, will back you up in time. but you need that time.
thank you for all you’ve given us so far. i’m looking forward to so much more. all the best.
"A Good Man"
I understand the love for RR, and he does seem to an upstanding human being. That said, I want my head football coach to be a prick. It is my heartfelt belief that a head football coach needs to be a prick, it is the assistants job to bond with the players the head coach needs to ensure results. Look at the best coaches in college football, they may be nice at times, but at the end of the day they are all pricks. Guys with big tempers and bigger egos. I would be more convinced of RR’s ability to bring us to the promised land if he was obstinate in the face of this controversy, if his self-confidence bordered on insanity. A football team will always resembles the mentality of its head. I want my team to be self confident a-holes, because that is what wins football games.
So fuck off and dirtbag and morons and jerks and idiots, nice , really nice. You RR backers have nothing better to do than name call. Pretty bad-ass from a keyboard!
Don’t say something on the blogs like that, that you probably wouldn’t say to my face or to whomever might disagree with you. Don’t be an internet bad-ass, doesn’t really make you one, you know? So stop that shit and be civil!
BTW, all the rebuttals I’ve heard still sound like a bunch of lame ass excuses, sorry if that stings.
Good Man?
Does a good man dump his alma mater and break his word in a contract for a better job? The way he left West Virginia will forever taint his reputation, I don’t buy the nice guy characterization he’s just another egotistical head coach who may be tolerable if he wins not worth holding onto if he doesn’t. How would all these supporters feel if Michigan was the victim of his betrayal instead of West Virginia?
Those Who Stay Will Be Champions
For all of the griping, Michigan (The University) and the fans should have known that such an abrupt change of the Football Program was going to cause a lot of carnage, and RichRod had to clean up a fearsome mess. Three years IS a long time, but doing things the right way in a tough conference is a tall order.
The simple truth is that each year has brought steady progress and next fall should bring a fair chance to assess the program. The standard should be clear- nothing less than a .500 record against conference teams or you are out the door. That should be the basement- no more racking up bowl eligibility against teams of a lesser caliber.
Finally, if Michigan wins it’s bowl game it will go a very long way toward shutting up the armchair AD’s that have been extremely unfair to the man since before he set foot on campus as coach. I would go so far as to say that many of the same people who are calling for RichRod’s head are the same ones who turned on Coach Carr.
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