January 30, 2008

Rich Rodriguez? The Governor Is on Line Four.

News broke yesterday that Rich Rodriguez's attorneys have filed a $1.5M letter of credit in the federal court in West Virginia that has jurisdiction over his buyout lawsuit. According to RichRod's attorneys, that's the most he could possibly owe in liquidated damages for breaching his contract with WVU. Since the school alleges he owes $4M, both sides seem to be treating the filing as a settlement offer.


On one hand, this is the first indication that RichRod accepts that he does owe the university part of the buyout. This is a major admission as he made vague claims early on that the contract was invalid and that he wouldn't owe anything. On the other hand, if I'm West Virginia I probably think "in for a penny, in for a pound" and redouble my efforts to collect the entire $4M.


Mark Schlabach of ESPN has an interesting article about the weird relationship between RichRod, his AD, the president of the university (who was already facing calls for his resignation on the academic front) and the Governor of West Virginia. The Governor, Joe Manchin III, apparently would call RichRod directly to discuss football and the program. That's strange, but it doesn't rise to the level of invalidating RichRod's employment contract.

Let's also remember that West Virginia University is a state-owned public university. Technically, Gov. Manchin was RichRod's boss. It would be weird for the Undersecretary of Education to get frequent calls from President Bush about his job performance, but he does sit at the very tippy top of the chain of command for all federal employees. In West Virginia, I'm sure the governor occupies the same position.

In the end it appears that RichRod was always frustrated that West Virginia was not Michigan. It didn't have the same financial resources or well-heeled boosters. They didn't overpay their assistant coaches. And, remarkably for a school whose students and alumni care about nothing more than football, football wasn't always the top priority. Throw in that humiliating loss to Pittsburgh that cost WVU a title shot and RichRod just couldn't handle it anymore. Unfortunately, that frustration is going to run him between $1.5M and $4M of his own money. As Michigan will find out, people don't often perform as well when their new job actually costs them money.

10 Responses:

Anonymous said...

Interesting analysis, but probably quite far from an accurate description of real events. I, a Michigan fan, have been collecting as many of the articles, blogs, and comments as I can related to the Google alert term "Rich Rodriguez." When the furor surrounding this matter dies down, as surely it will, I plan to write a book based upon what I have gathered. The title? "A**h*l*s"

J-Red said...

I should have been more clear that I definitely blame both sides for the way this played out. As a human being, I can fully understand that when your working environment becomes intolerable, you need a new working environment. Fortunately, most of us don't sign documents stating that we'll owe $4M if we find we dislike our working environment.

J-Red said...

And I'm having difficulty seeing what part of my post is "quite far from an accurate description of real events."

He definitely filed the letter of credit. His attorneys definitely said it was the most they thought he could owe under the contract. His attorneys definitely indicated that it was a settlement offer.

The Governor definitely called RichRod on occasion. RichRod definitely took the Michigan job.

Which part did I get wrong?

big tuna said...

How about this:

As Michigan will find out, people don't often perform as well when their new job actually costs them money.

Am I supposed to believe that RR will suck at Michigan because he is bitter about having to pay? Not even the crazed WVU fans are claiming that. Of course they just say he sucks as a coach, period.

J-Red said...

I don't think effort will be the problem. I think he'll be depressed that he's working so hard to pay off an old debt. That kind of pressure trickles down.

Yes, I'm using my student loans to make a prediction about high-powered football coaches.

big tuna said...

Haha, I don't think it quite works the same way. I think Michigan and RR will work something out where RR still sees some cash in his pocket and he will be as motivated as ever.

Martin's bank gives coach credit

Sarah said...

That picture disturbs me.

J-Red said...

Finally, a WVU grad shows up to comment.

Sarah said...

Coach Rod is a good example of what can happen when you change your state motto to "Open for business."

bad tuna said...

Can't blame a guy in a bad situation for getting a better job.

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