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 The Eagles are on the clock. The ESPN gang is yapping about quarterbacks but the Eagles just took one in the 2nd round last year. Is a trade in the offing?
We’re two hours, ten minutes into the draft at already 18 guys gone. That’s fantastic for me as a fan of the Cowboys, who have the 22nd pick, but it’s hard to live blog at this speed!
The Eagles have traded the pick to the Carolina Panthers. The speculation is that they’re after Jeff Otah, the last stud offensive linemen, or one of the remaining quarterbacks.
Otah it is!
Scouts, Inc.: 19th
Strengths: Is a massive, mauling right tackle type. Has a huge frame with very long arms (35.3 inches). Not a great athlete but does play with good balance. He has a massive base. Will get low and uproot DL. Does an excellent job of anchoring versus the bull rush. Shows very good overall strength. Rarely loses a battle once he is locked on. Will drive his legs and create a new line of scrimmage as a run blocker. Still learning technique but is intelligent and continues to improve with more experience and coaching.
Weaknesses: Below average athlete. The more space he’s in the less effective he becomes. Lacks ideal initial quickness out of his stance and struggles to get set in time versus speed edge rushers. Struggles to reach the second level as a run blocker. Will have trouble hitting moving targets in space. Hands are smaller than ideal (9.2 inches).
Overall: Otah was born in Nigeria, came to the United States when he was seven years old and did not play organized football until his senior season of high school. He attended Valley Forge (Pa.) Military College in his first two years out of high school (2004-’05), making 17 consecutive starts at left tackle. He also averaged nearly 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Valley Forge basketball team. Otah transferred to Pitt in 2006 and made an immediate impact, starting all 24 games of his junior and senior seasons with the Panthers. He was an All-Big East first team selection in 2007. The Nigerian-born Otah lacks ideal playing experience and is still unpolished. While he is not a great athlete, he is not as slow as his combine workout numbers might indicate, as he participated despite an ankle injury. Otah is a massive mauler with the size, power and short-area quickness to develop into a good starting right tackle in the NFL, which is why we grade him as a mid-to-late first round prospect.
Rick Gosselin: 16th
Mel Kiper: 12th
A great value at the spot, presuming they didn’t give up too much in the trade. But it’s unusual to move up to take a tackle.
The Arizona Cardinals are on the clock and - what do you know — there have already been 15 picks made. Their 8-8 record, perfect mediocrity, was their best in a decade.
I absolutely despise this annoying Under Armour commercial that has run 500 times already.
They’re taking their time, not having made a choice with 2 minutes to go. Are they looking to trade? Or just having trouble deciding?
The pick is in: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB, Tennessee State.
Scouts, Inc.: 19th
Strengths: Possesses above average height with outstanding hip-fluidity for his frame and is also one of the fastest corners in this class. He has great feet and plays with good balance. Displays better technique than most small-school corners, especially in terms of his hands in press-technique. Gets decent knee bend in backpedal, explodes out of his pedal and shows exceptional closing burst. Is tall and can compete for jump balls. Can make up a lot of ground when the ball is in the air and will use long arms (32 ¾ ) to knock passes away when caught in a trail position. Reads quarterback’s eyes, aggressive and jumps routes. Has good ball skills, is a playmaker in coverage and flashes the ability to pick up big chunks of yards after turnovers. Can contribute on special teams as a kick blocker (eight in his career) and a kick returner (6 TD returns) in the NFL.
Weaknesses: Played at a small school and there is some concern about ability to make the jump to the NFL. There are concerns regarding his toughness, as well. Does not support the run as aggressively as we would like to see and he must improve his efficiency as an open-field tackler. Does not possess great upper body strength, doesn’t always use hands well and can take too long to shed blocks. Doesn’t have great bulk for frame and bigger receivers will have some success shielding him from the ball. He has soft hands and will time his jumps well when he sees the ball but it occasionally takes him too long to find the ball in the air particularly with his back turned covering the nine-route.
Overall: Rogers-Cromartie played in all of a possible 44 games during his Tennessee State career, making 38 consecutive starts (mostly at left cornerback) to close out his career. In his first three seasons (2004-’06), he recorded 121 tackles (six for losses), nine interceptions, 14 pass breakups and three touchdown returns (two picks and one fumble). As a senior in 2007, he had 37 tackles (two for losses), two interceptions (both returned for touchdowns) and 11 pass breakups. Rogers-Cromartie also was a versatile special teams standout, occasionally appeared on offense and competed on the Tigers’ track team. For his career, he had eight blocked kicks, 14 special teams tackles, averaged 23.9 yards on 36 kickoff returns and 7.3 yards on six punt returns, and scored a total of six touchdowns. An ankle sprain kept him from competing in the OVC Outdoor Track Championships in 2007. Bottom line: Rodgers-Cromartie is a playmaker who possesses a good blend of height and burst. However, he is a small-school prospect and he doesn’t have elite size or speed raising concerns about his ability to compete at the NFL level. Cromartie, cousin of Chargers’ standout CB Antonio Cromartie (first-round pick in 2006), has been one of the fastest rising prospects during the postseason draft process. He dominated his small school level of competition but his stock didn’t begin to soar until he made his mark as one of the top playmakers at the Senior Bowl. Some scouts project him as a better fit at free safety but Rodgers-Cromartie displays outstanding feet and hip-fluidity for his size, which is why we think he’s capable of playing cornerback fulltime in the NFL. Running the fourth-fastest 40-yard dash time of all the defensive backs at the combine doesn’t hurt his case, either. Rodgers-Cromartie ranks among the top-three cornerback prospects in the 2008 class and he also has upside as a kick return man, which is why we expect him to be selected in the top-20 picks overall.
Rick Gosselin: 12th
The three top cornerbacks in this draft all should go in the top 20 of the first round and all offer different looks. Mike Jenkins of South Florida is the safe pick. He’s the most polished of the three corners. A three-year starter in the Big East, he’s an instant starter in the NFL. Leodis McKelvin of Troy is the most physical of the three and the best kick returner in the draft. But he has the worst hands of the three, with only four career interceptions. Rodgers-Cromartie is the farthest away from an NFL field, because he didn’t see the quality quarterbacks and wideouts at Tennessee State that Jenkins and McKelvin saw. But two years from now he may be the best of the bunch. He’s the fastest, most athletic corner on this board and an elite playmaker, with 11 interceptions and five TDs.
Mel Kiper: 13th
After enjoying a stellar career at the Division I-AA level, Rodgers-Cromartie stood out against the big boys at the Senior Bowl practices, then wowed the NFL brass at the combine. He has the height, athleticism, recovery speed and ball skills to be an outstanding cornerback in the NFL.
A great pick here. The Cards benefited from the run on linemen and got one of the best athletes in the draft.
It was a bizarre weekend in college football, with eight ranked teams losing to teams ranked below them — seven to teams not ranked at all.
#3 Oklahoma lost to unranked Colorado, 24-27.
#4 Florida lost to unranked Auburn, 17-20.
#5 West Virginia lost to #18 South Florida, 13-21 (Thursday night).
#7 Texas lost to unranked Kansas State, 21-41
#10 Rutgers lost to unranked Maryland, 24-34
#13 Clemson lost to unranked Georgia Tech, 3-13
#21 Penn State lost to unranked Illinois, 20-27
#22 Alabama lost to unranked Florida State, 14- 21
This was on top of several other close finishes.
ESPN’s Pat Forde dubs it “Insanity Saturday” and observes that this throws the whole season out of whack.
Just that fast, the college football landscape shifted seismically beneath our feet.
Just that fast, the Red River Shootout game Saturday between Oklahoma and Texas was dropped to undercard status. For the first time in years, it’s not the marquee game in the Big 12. And for the first time in years, the league’s maligned North looks more compelling than the South. If you can believe it, the biggest game in that league next week might be unbeaten Kansas at 3-1 Kansas State — either that or 4-1 Nebraska at unbeaten Missouri.
Just that fast, the upcoming LSU-Florida showdown Saturday in Baton Rouge lost half its helium when the Gators were shocked in The Swamp by an Auburn team that had lost at home to South Florida and Mississippi State on consecutive weekends.
Just that fast, the three Big East teams that began the season in the Top 25 all have at least one loss. Louisville went down first, then West Virginia, now Rutgers. Suddenly South Florida, Connecticut and Cincinnati are the unbeaten teams in the Big East. Honk if you foresaw that in August.
Just that fast, Illinois is 4-1 and tied for first in the Big Ten at 2-0. That’s the same Illinois that went 2-10 last year, with only one victory over I-A competition.
Just that fast, we have an ACC plot twist that leaves Virginia and Boston College well out in front in their respective divisions at 3-0 in league play. Virginia was left for dead after a Week 1 blowout loss to Wyoming. Boston College was picked last in its division by at least one preseason magazine.
And just that fast, USC and LSU put that much more distance between themselves and what’s left of the pack.
The object lesson here is that no favorite is safe. Not at home, not on the road, not in league play, not out of league play. If those lessons hadn’t already been learned by Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32, and Syracuse 38, Louisville 35, they were reinforced on Insanity Saturday.
And no lead is safe. You’d think the Sooners getting up 24-7 would be enough to make Colorado quit. You’d be wrong. The Buffaloes scored the final 20 points, winning on the last play of the game — a 45-yard field goal by Kevin Eberhart.
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Underdogs aren’t scared right now, by much of anyone. Players and coaches are shrugging off past history, blowing off bad losses, not worrying about falling behind and regrouping to pull upsets nobody saw coming. Nobody’s rolling over.
I’ve seen this sort of thing in college basketball before but never to this extent in football. The bottom line, though, is that Notre Dame and Alabama and Michigan no longer have an automatic recruiting advantage over South Florida and West Virginia and Georgia Tech. There’s a wealth of talent out there and plenty of television exposure to be had in the realigned conference structure. Players would rather go to a program with less prestige and start than sit on the bench and one of the Big Boys.
A bunch of turnovers and the early exit of their star quarterback sent #5 West Virginia Mountaineers to a loss to the upstart South Florida
No. 18 South Florida is not only basking in the national spotlight, the Bulls are thriving in it. Matt Grothe upstaged West Virginia stars Pat White and Steve Slaton for the second straight year, leading rapidly rising USF to a 21-13 victory over the mistake-prone, fifth-ranked Mountaineers on Friday night.
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West Virginia (4-1, 0-1) averaged 357 yards rushing in its first four games, but only managed 188 on the ground after surprisingly opening the game throwing on seven of its first 11 offensive plays.
The Mountaineers lost White late in the second quarter after the junior quarterback was hit in the right knee on a running play. He limped off the field and remained on the sideline, but did not return.
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The victory before a record crowd for a USF home game (67,018), figures to propel the Bulls to unprecedented heights for a program that has only been in existence for 11 seasons. They moved up to the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-A, in 2001 and entered the Top 25 for the first time two weeks ago.
“It’s a big win for everybody around here,” USF coach Jim Leavitt said as he waved his left arm toward the on-field celebration. “Pretty neat stuff.”
Although many will view the result as an upset, USF is not a stranger to taking down ranked opponents. The Bulls upset Louisville at home two years ago and knocked West Virginia out of contention for a BCS bowl berth with a 24-19 upset at Morgantown last November. They moved to the brink of cracking the Top 25 for the first time with a 26-23 overtime victory at Auburn earlier this month.
In a season of stunning upsets, it may not even be surprising anymore. That’s especially true for a Florida team, where they seem to grow more top flight college football players than the other 49 states combined.
AP Photo/Chris O’Meara
The easiest path to a mythical college football national championship is to go undefeated. The easiest way to do that? Not play anybody Mark Schlabach gives his take on the teams that have the weakest opponents:
1. KANSAS: The Jayhawks’ nonconference schedule includes more cream puffs than your favorite bakery: Central Michigan, Division I-AA Southeastern Louisiana, Toledo and Florida International (all at home). Kansas doesn’t play Texas or Oklahoma in Big 12 Conference play, and the Jayhawks will face Nebraska in Lawrence, Kan., and Missouri in Kansas City.
Nonconference opponents: Central Michigan (home), Southeastern Louisiana (home), Toledo (home), Florida International (home)
Toughest game: at Texas A&M, Oct. 27
Easiest game: vs. Southeastern Louisiana, Sept. 8
Hawaii 2. HAWAII: Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan won’t have many problems putting up Heisman Trophy-like numbers against Hawaii’s schedule. The Warriors play two nonconference games against Division I-AA teams Northern Colorado and Charleston Southern, along with a road game at UNLV and home game against Washington. The Warriors’ WAC schedule includes home games against Fresno State and Boise State and road games at San Jose State and Nevada.
Nonconference opponents: Northern Colorado (home), UNLV (road), Charleston Southern (home), Washington (home)
Toughest game: vs. Boise State, Nov. 23
Easiest game: vs. Charleston Southern, Sept. 23
Arkansas 3. ARKANSAS: The Razorbacks’ slate is a perfect example of why SEC teams have a poor reputation when it comes to out-of-conference scheduling. The Hogs will get fat on a nonconference schedule that includes home games against Troy, North Texas, Division I-AA Tennessee-Chattanooga and Florida International. SEC road games at Alabama, Tennessee and LSU prevented this from being the country’s easiest schedule.
Nonconference opponents: Troy (home), North Texas (home), Chattanooga (home), Florida International (home)
Toughest game: at LSU, Nov. 23
Easiest game: vs. Tennessee-Chattanooga, Oct. 6
Indiana 4. INDIANA: In a season in which the Hoosiers don’t play Big 10 heavyweights Michigan and Ohio State, they beefed up their nonconference schedule with the likes of Division I-AA Indiana State, Western Michigan, Akron and Ball State. Indiana plays rival Purdue and Penn State at home, but travels to Iowa and Wisconsin. Thanks to the soft schedule, look for the Hoosiers to play in a bowl game for the first time since 1993.
Nonconference opponents: Indiana State (home), Western Michigan (road), Akron (home), Ball State (home)
Toughest game: at Wisconsin, Oct. 27
Easiest game: vs. Indiana State, Sept. 1
Connecticut 5. CONNECTICUT: The Huskies might have put together a tougher schedule by returning to the Atlantic 10. Their nonconference schedule includes games against Division I-AA Maine and two of the worst I-A teams — Duke and Temple. The Huskies play seven of their 12 games at home, including key Big East dates against Louisville and Syracuse.
Nonconference opponents: Duke (road), Maine (home), Temple (home), Akron (home), Virginia (road)
Toughest game: at West Virginia, Nov. 24
Easiest game: vs. Maine, Sept. 8
Navy 6. NAVY: The Midshipmen play only four Division I-A teams that finished with winning records last season: Rutgers, Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Northern Illinois. Five of Navy’s 2007 opponents won four games or fewer last season, including Duke (0-12), Temple (1-11), North Texas (3-9), Army (3-9) and Air Force (3-8).
Toughest game: at Rutgers, Sept. 7
Easiest game: vs. Duke, Sept. 22
Northwestern 7. NORTHWESTERN: The Wildcats could see a big turnaround in coach Pat Fitzgerald’s second season, thanks to a not-so-daunting schedule. Nonconference games against Division I-AA Northeastern, Nevada, Duke and Eastern Michigan (at Detroit) are potential victories. Home games against Minnesota and Indiana could bring the victory total to six, making Northwestern eligible for a bowl game.
Nonconference opponents: Northeastern (home), Nevada (home), Duke (home), Eastern Michigan (neutral)
Toughest game: at Ohio State, Sept. 22
Easiest game: vs. Northeastern, Sept. 1
Texas Tech 8. TEXAS TECH: Give the Red Raiders some credit for scheduling a pair of nonconference road games … at SMU and Rice. A home game against UTEP might be challenging, but a Sept. 29 game against Division I-AA Northwestern State will be a rout. Texas Tech plays home games against two of the Big 12 conference’s most talented teams, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.
Nonconference opponents: SMU (road), UTEP (home), Rice (road), Northwestern State (home)
Toughest game: at Texas, Nov. 10
Easiest game: vs. Northwestern State, Sept. 29
Ohio State 9. OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes won’t miss Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and the rest of their departed stars during the nonconference schedule. Not against Division I-AA Youngstown State, Akron and Kent State, anyway. At least a Sept. 15 game at Washington will be played outside the state of Ohio. The Buckeyes play two of their most difficult Big 10 games on the road, at Penn State on Oct. 27 and at Michigan on Nov. 17.
Nonconference opponents: Youngstown State (home), Akron (home), Washington (road), Kent State (home)
Toughest game: at Michigan, Nov. 17
Easiest game: vs. Youngstown State, Sept. 1
Texas 10. TEXAS: The Longhorns get kudos for scheduling a home game against TCU, a possible BCS sleeper. But the rest of the schedule sets up very well for coach Mack Brown. The other three nonconference games should be routs, against Arkansas State, Central Florida and Rice. The Longhorns play top Big 12 foes Nebraska and Texas Tech at home, along with the Red River Shootout against Oklahoma in Dallas.
Nonconference opponents: Arkansas State (home), TCU (home), Central Florida (road), Rice (home)
Toughest game: vs. Oklahoma (Dallas), Oct. 6
Easiest game: vs. Arkansas State, Sept. 1
You can’t blame the athletic directors. It’s to each school’s benefit to play weak teams — so long as they don’t lose.
Tulsa’s Jim Kragthorpe has agreed to replace Bobby Petrino as the head football coach at Louisville.
Louisville and Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe have agreed to terms on a five-year deal to become the next coach of the Cardinals, sources said Tuesday morning. The deal will pay Kragthorpe $1.1 million a year, according to an official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been completed.
Kragthorpe, who met with Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich on Tuesday in Tulsa, is expected to be introduced in Louisville on Tuesday afternoon. The Louisville Athletic Association’s board of directors was scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. ET and was expected to approve the hire.
Kragthorpe is 29-22 in four years at Tulsa after taking over a program that had lost 21 of its previous 22 games. The Golden Hurricane have been to three bowl games in Kragthorpe’s four years.
Louisville, which won the Big East and beat Wake Forest decisively in the Orange Bowl, acted quickly to replace Bobby Petrino, who left to coach the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
The football program is hosting prep players this weekend at a previously-planned recruiting event, and apparently already lost one prized recruit when quarterback Matt Simms — the brother of NFL quarterback Chris Simms and son of NFL great Phil Simms — reportedly said Monday he was withdrawing his oral commitment to Louisville.
While Cardinals running back Michael Bush announced he was entering the NFL draft on Tuesday, it remained to be seen if quarterback Brian Brohm could be persuaded to stay. Brohm, projected as a first-round draft pick by some experts, was expected to meet with Kragthorpe before deciding whether to return for his senior season or enter the draft.
Jurich and Kragthorpe have roots at Northern Arizona together. Jurich was the athletic director there in the late 1980s and early ’90s, and Kragthorpe was NAU’s quarterbacks coach from 1990-94.
Like Petrino, Kragthorpe has a track record as a strong quarterbacks coach and offensive tactician. He came to Tulsa after two years as the quarterbacks coach of the Buffalo Bills, and his Golden Hurricane teams have been prolific offensively.
While there’s always room for skepticism, as reports are wrong and coaches change their minds (witness Rich Rodriguez’ decision to stay at WVU rather than take the Bama job), but this looks like a done deal. Tulsa is a sports backwater and continuing to win there will be much harder than at Louisville.
While Mal and the gang are still hoping to land Nick Saban, the list of candidates being bandied about in the press is ridiculously long. It seems that only Rich Rodriguez, Steve Spurrier, Barry Switzer, and myself have been eliminated from consideration at this point.
Alabama coaching candidates
Candidates are presented in alphabetical order.
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Name - Barry Alvarez
Age - 59
Current position - Athletic Director Wisconsin
Overall record - 118-73-4
Career highlights - 3 Rose bowl wins
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Name - Frank Beamer
Age - 60
Current position - Virgina Tech 1987-present
Overall record - 146-79-2
Career highlights - 9 coach of the year awards / 4 conf titles
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Name - Jim Grobe
Age - 54
Current position - Wake Forest 2001-present
Overall record - 34-33
Career highlights - 1 acc title game
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Name - Paul Johnson
Age - 49
Current position - Navy 2002-present
Overall record - 28-21
Career highlights - 3 bowl games / coach of the year
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Name - Steve Kragthorpe
Age - 41
Current position - Tulsa 2002-present
Overall record - 21-17
Career highlights - 2 bowl games / 1 conf USA title
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Name - Jim Leavitt
Age - 50
Current position - USF 1995-present
Overall record - 61-39
Career highlights - First USF football coach / led team to D-I status
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Name - Mike Sherman
Age - 52
Current position - Houston Texans 2006-present
Overall record - 53-27
Career highlights - Led Packers to 3 division titles
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Name - Jeff Tedford
Age - 45
Current position - California 2002-present
Overall record - 33-17
Career highlights - 3 bowl games / pac 10 coach of the year
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Removed from search
These candidates have either refused the Alabama job or other jobs to stay with their current team.
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Name - Houston Nutt
Age - 49
Current position - Arkansas 1998-present
Overall record - 63-47
Career highlights - 1998 coach of the year / 6 bowl games / 2 sec divison titles
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Name - Bobby Petrino
Age - 45
Current position - Louisville 2003-present
Overall record - 39-9
Career highlights - 1 bowl win / Conference USA title / highest ranking in school history
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Name - Rich Rodriguez
Age - 43
Current position - West Virgina 2001-present
Overall record - 45-22
Career highlights - 3 shares of Big East title / BCS bowl / Highest rank in school history
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Name - Nick Saban
Age - 55
Current position - Miami Dolphins 2005-present
Overall record (college) 91-40-1
Career highlights - 9 bowls / 1 national title
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Name - Greg Schiano
Age - 40
Current position - Rutgers 2000-present
Overall record - 19-39
Career highlights - 1 bowl game / Highest rank in school history
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Name - Steve Spurrier
Age - 61
Current position - South Carolina 2005-present
Overall record - 156-52-2
Career highlights - 1 national title / 7 conf titles
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via Al.com
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Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe easily outpaced Rutgers’ Greg Schiano for AP coach of the year honors.
In his sixth season at Wake Forest, Grobe took the Demon Deacons (11-2) from worst to first in the Atlantic Coast Conference without their starting quarterback and top tailback. Wake Forest set a school record for victories and won the ACC for the first time in 36 years.
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The 54-year-old Grobe beat out a strong group of contenders for coach of the year, receiving 39 of 65 votes from the AP Top 25 voters.
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, who took the once-laughable Scarlet Knights within a victory of the Bowl Championship Series, finished second with 12 votes.
I should note that both are high on the list of candidates in the prolonged search to replace Mike Shula at Alabama. Either of them would be an outstanding choice, as would Navy’s Paul Johnson. Instead, the Capstone Brain Trust is holding out hope of luring Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban away from the NFL into the most thankless job in college sports.
So, the new NFL Network granted reprieve to the faithful following of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and will televise the game free to all those New Jersey folks pining to see their team take the field in the first-ever Texas Bowl on December 28th against Kansas State. For a while, it was nip-and-tuck, and no one was quite sure if they were going to have to find the local sports bar or locate someone who may be lucky enough to have this rare commodity.
Did anyone try to watch the game on Thanskgiving night? It was supposed to be broadcast to everyone, but when the game started, the NFL Network switched over to a documentary and all those turkey-eating football fanatics were left in the dark. The NFL Network, for all it’s hype, is only showing eight games this season, as well as a smattering of college bowl games. Did anyone tell the powers that be that there may be real football fans out there wanting to watch some of these late season battles?
Someone has got to be watching the store for the almighty league where they play for pay. At any rate, all you scarlet-wearing fans can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the festivities as New Jersey will be proudly represented during Holiday bowl week in the state where everything is big.
Not a done deal after all, apparantly (link to previous OTB coverage).
Rich Rodriguez is not taking that Alabama job after all.
Rich Rodriguez will remain the head coach at West Virginia, a team source confirmed to ESPN.com’s Pat Forde.
Rodriguez met with his team at 3 p.m. ET to inform them of the decision.
Rodriguez was a top candidate for the vacant job in Alabama, meeting with school officials this week. Alabama athletic director Mal Moore also confirmed that Rodriguez had removed himself from consideration for that job.
Wow. I thought the last word had been written on this one. I, for one, am glad to keep Rodriguez at WVU: I like him being in the Big East with Pittsburgh.
An article from a local paper titled Rodriguez Stays explains further:
Rich Rodriguez has spurned a multi-million dollar offer from the University of Alabama and will remain the head football coach at West Virginia University. Rodriguez made the announcement during a team meeting this afternoon. Players roared in approval upon hearing the news.
Numerous media outlets, including ESPN and many in Alabama, had stories over the past 18 hours citing sources within the Crimson Tide athletic department that claimed a verbal agreement had been reach between Rodriguez and Alabama officials to become the new coach at UA. But WVU officials made a counter offer to Rodriguez, who holds a 49-24 record in his six seasons leading the Mountaineers, and the 43-year-old from Grant Town, W.Va., agreed to the new extension on Friday. Details for the new contract were not yet revealed. A press conference will take place at the Puskar Center at 5:30 p.m.
Rodriguez reportedly had received a seven-year contract offer from the University of Alabama in the neighborhood of $2.1 million per year.
I’d hate to be a Crimson Tide fan right now - that’s got to be worse than someone turning you down. I was suprised that Coach Rodriguez had taken the job myself - it just didn’t seem like a good fit for him. My guess is that he used the ‘Bama offer to coax WVU into giving him a better offer. I think that he’d rather be at WVU, since he has a track record there, and is less likely to be fired like Mike Shula was.
So the Alabama coach search continues, and West Virginia fans can rejoice that they are not losing their highly successful coach.
One wonders how the media got this one so wrong - there must have been something to the rumors of Rodriguez signing, but it must not have been as finished as they said. I know I was shocked when I read the headlines about Rodriguez staying, wondering at first if they were old news that had been superceeded by the Alabama hiring job. I haven’t seen them get it this wrong in a while.
One wonders about the damage this may do to his reputation, though. Rodriguez told his team he wasn’t leaving, and then negotiated with another program. While he is ultimately staying, I wonder if he will lose any respect because of this.
UPDATE (James Joyner): Brandon apparently found the story right before I did; we both wound up posting the ESPN story. The substantive comments from my post:
A shame for Alabama but quite likely the right move by Rodriguez. I always think coaches who leave jobs at big-time programs they came up in, like Steve Spurrier and Florida, wind up regretting the move.
There are plenty of great candidates out there and, with Miami having stayed in house, Alabama will have its pick.
I should note, for those coming to this page without context, that I’m an Alabama graduate (PhD, 1995) and a big fan. But I’d be just as happy with Navy’s Paul Johnson or Wake’s Jim Grobe as with Rodriguez. And neither of them would be leaving their home to take the job.
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