I take the points on RR, although I still don’t think he deserves to be lumped in with Petrino and Saban, who really are despicable. Also, if you read the Charleston and Detroit Free Press articles, they are a little subject to interpretation, and TMQ has consciously taken the least charitable interpretation to make his broader point about “super coaches”(for example, the Charleston article doesn’t say Rodriguez immediately left the building after talking to his players, as TMQ implies, and its interesting to note in the Charleston article that none of the players (all RR recruits) quoted seem to feel particularly betrayed and outraged at RR).

But I see your point about college coaching being a different type of job with unique responsibilities, and I see the broader point TMQ is making about the shifting ethics of college football. Unfortunately, because college football has become such a big business, we are likely to see more and more of this sort of thing in the future, and will probably see more program hopping by both coaches and players in the future. As TMQ points out, this sort of thing is part of a dynamic that has been leading both to higher salaries and quicker dismissals at both the pro and college levels. Its hard to imagine a coach starting out today who will have the longevity of a Paterno or Bowden.

You really are an idiot. When you absolutely suck at your job, assuming (and I really have to make some leaps of faith here) that you’re employed, when you make some mistakes, do you give your employer some money back?

If your coach was so loyal to his alma mater, given your righteousness in questioning the morals of alumns, wouldn’t he want to give back some of his 3.3 million for your abysmal season?

“Consider Rodriguez, the latest high-profile walkout. The Charleston, W.Va., Gazette reports that after Rodriguez decided to walk out on West Virginia, he spoke to his players for a mere 10 minutes — no questions, please! — before exiting through a side door and heading to the airport for a flight to Michigan. These are players to whom Rodriguez surely made elaborate promises during recruiting. In December 2006, when some recruits were hesitant to sign letters of intent with the Mountaineers owing to rumors that Rodriguez would leave, he reassured them by publicly declaring he would stay at West Virginia “for a very, very long time.” The moment there was something in it for him — a pay increase from $1.9 million at West Virginia to a reported $3 million annual salary at Michigan — Rodriguez shafted his players. The Detroit Free Press asserts that even before Rodriguez announced he was leaving for Michigan, he called Terrelle Pryor, this fall’s most sought-after high school player, and urged Pryor to enroll at Michigan rather than at West Virginia. Immediately after there was something in it for him, Rodriguez shafted his former employer.

And this is the coach Michigan wants! Someone whose word is not bond; someone who, if the Free Press account is accurate, actively tried to double-cross his previous school. Wolverines: If Rodriguez is a fiasco at Michigan, don’t say you weren’t warned. And the history of selfish coaches suggests that fiasco will come calling. Petrino, Saban, Price, Franchione, Fairbanks, Parcells — which of these guys did really well after walking out on a commitment for self-serving reasons?”

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/071218&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1

I like the TMQ’s take on this - there is good info that speaks of his weas-iality (being like a weasel):

Consider Rodriguez, the latest high-profile walkout. The Charleston, W.Va., Gazette reports that after Rodriguez decided to walk out on West Virginia, he spoke to his players for a mere 10 minutes — no questions, please! — before exiting through a side door and heading to the airport for a flight to Michigan. These are players to whom Rodriguez surely made elaborate promises during recruiting. In December 2006, when some recruits were hesitant to sign letters of intent with the Mountaineers owing to rumors that Rodriguez would leave, he reassured them by publicly declaring he would stay at West Virginia “for a very, very long time.” The moment there was something in it for him — a pay increase from $1.9 million at West Virginia to a reported $3 million annual salary at Michigan — Rodriguez shafted his players. The Detroit Free Press asserts that even before Rodriguez announced he was leaving for Michigan, he called Terrelle Pryor, this fall’s most sought-after high school player, and urged Pryor to enroll at Michigan rather than at West Virginia. Immediately after there was something in it for him, Rodriguez shafted his former employer.

And this is the coach Michigan wants! Someone whose word is not bond; someone who, if the Free Press account is accurate, actively tried to double-cross his previous school. Wolverines: If Rodriguez is a fiasco at Michigan, don’t say you weren’t warned. And the history of selfish coaches suggests that fiasco will come calling. Petrino, Saban, Price, Franchione, Fairbanks, Parcells — which of these guys did really well after walking out on a commitment for self-serving reasons?”

here’s the link: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/071218&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1

It’s the same attitude I lambasted Brian at MGoblog for having - who cares about a man’s word? Who cares about ethics? If there’s money, none of it matters?

Yes, yes, I get that everyone wants more money and that if I had a raise elsewhere, blahblahblah, but this isn’t about me. I’m not a coach that bailed on his alma mater after speaking to kids I RECRUITED for ten minutes just because I ONLY make $1.5 million dollars a year and I want more.

On the alma mater issue, its a valid point, but I think that only goes so far. Really, if he wasn’t delivering the goods, how long would it have taken the average WVU fan to turn on him regardless of how much he “loved” and had “undying loyalty” to WVU? Again, this just doesn’t feel like a Saban or Petrino situation; RR isn’t like a rat leaving a sinking ship that he is responsible for sinking. On the contrary, he’s leaving WVU at one of the programs historical high points. If they get the right coach in there to take the reigns, there is no reason they can’t build on the success he started there.

Whether or not he sucks just by virtue of association with UM (sucks) is really a separate issue.

I think the difference is that this was RR’s alma mater. A place he espoused undying love for, lifelong loyalty, etc. etc.

The other difference is that he went to Michigan. This means that he sucks by default.