There are some good points in the article. Things I've talked about like his integrity and always looking for a new position. He does deserve some criticism for running out on his team, but, as Style and George have stated, Michigan is a better opportunity than WVU.
But, here lies the rub. Michigan shouldn't just be an opportunity...it should be a destination. At least, that is how Michigan should look at it. The fact that Rodriguez jumped at the first opportunity to "move up" should be a red flag that he will easily do it again...no matter what the cost (i.e. the $4 million buyout from WVU that he could have worked out to lower
before he signed it. But, he didn't. And no one forced him to.
He is also right, in the respect that, the Michigan athletic department deserves criticism for the way they have behaved in their last 2 major hires. They used their clout to lure up and coming coaches from schools they consider of lower tiers. WVU was an easy target: recent success from young coaches in a "major" conference in the Big East; more history; more money; more recruiting clout; an aura...it's easy to see why they could take these guys from already respectable positions at another university. Michigan deserves as much criticism as Notre Dame took for ousting Ty Willingham after only 3 seasons, then giving Charlie Weis a huge contract, while using Willingham's recruits to pad his success. Now Weis ends up with a 3-9 record, with Karma kicking him in the ass.
There are points that I don't agree with, such as Michigan needing resurrected. They were 11-1 last season, and were an OSU loss away (a game which most considered the Natty, until Florida and USC derailed that logic in the bowl games) from reaching the National Championship. They were a top team at the beginning of this season, but were decimated by injuries, and a coach who knew that this was the end, and just didn't have his heart in it. They also lost 3/4 of the starting defense, and didn't retool that side of the ball very well.
The other point of contention, for me, is that a main reason he was hired was to attract Terrelle Pryor. And, while Pryor is obviously an attractive recruit, they already recruited a top QB in Mallett, and there is no guarantee that Pryor goes there, Rodriguez and the spread, or not. A mid-major might make a hire like that to get a top talent like Pryor, but schools like Michigan, USC, OSU, Florida, and ND can get 4 and 5 star recruits on their name, alone. They don't need to pull that tactic to try and attract a
high school prospect, no matter how good he might be. Pryor does not guarantee a National Championship. They still need to recruit other players. Just ask Peyton Manning and the Tennessee Volunteers how that works out.
Aside from what I have stated previously about having no association with the university beforehand, another issue I have with the Rodriguez hire, though not mentioned in the article, but brought up by someone here, is the types of recruits he will attract. Rodriguez has already shown he can get talented recruits (Steve Slaton, Pat White), but they aren't always the best character guys (Pacman Jones, Chris Henry), nor do they show the best desire or heart (falling to Pitt with the National Championship game on the line). I could give 2 shits about how a player is rated out of high school. I want
football players. Heady guys who know the game and have good character and great instincts. They can have all the talent in the world (Mike Vick, Pacman Jones), but if they don't have a brain to use it or good football instincts, then they are only going to be a fraction of the player that they could be. Talent only gets someone so far. Desire, heart, game IQ, and instincts get Championships. And, I'm not sure Rodriguez can find those players...he hasn't so far in his career.
