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Rich Rodriguez tells ESPN Alabama would’ve been ‘better fit’ than Michigan
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Rich Rodriguez was leaving West Virginia after the 2007 college football season. After leading the program to three consecutive 10-win seasons, he had the likes of big-boy programs Alabama and Michigan knocking on his door.
Despite initial interest in the job at Alabama, Rodriguez decided to take the job in Ann Arbor. For three seasons, Rodriguez was the head coach at Michigan, posting a paltry 15-22 record and collecting just six B1G wins before being terminated. It was one of the lowest points in the program’s recent history.
Now that he looks back on it, Rodriguez acknowledges that Michigan might not have been the best place to go following his time at West Virginia.
“We all have things in our lives that we would do differently if we had that opportunity,” Rodriguez told ESPN’s Chris Low. “And, sure, hindsight is always 20-20, but Alabama would have been a better fit for me than Michigan.
“But it all happened, and you live and learn.”
In the time since he was fired at Michigan, Rodriguez went on to be the head coach at Arizona from 2012-17. In six seasons with the Wildcats, Rodriguez’s teams went 43-35 with five bowl appearances and one 10-win season (2014). He was most recent the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss.
Rodriguez’s move to Michigan obviously worked out well for Alabama, which went on to hire Nick Saban and has won five national championships in the past decade.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB