8A -,Thursday, January 6, 2011
The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com
TIMELINE OF RODRIGUEZ'S TENURE*
BY: NICK SPAR
DAILY SPORTS EDITOR
INTRODUCED AS HEAD
COACH IN 2007
Rich Rodriguez's three-season tenure as coach of the Michigan
football team was a rocky one. The 15 wins he earned from 2008 to
2010 are the fewest for any Michigan coach since 1928. Digging into
the Daily archives, we bring you a timeline of events under Rodriguez
- a regime that brought one of the most prestigious programs in the
nation to one of its lowest points.
The Rodriguez era began after the
2007 regular season when he was hired
to succeed Lloyd Carr as the 18th head
coach of college football's winningest
program. And the era began on a much
more lighthearted note than it ended.
His opening line to the media at a press
conference on December 17, 2007:
"Great crowd. Mast be giving away free
hats or something."
FILE PHOTO/Daily
MISERABLE 2008 SEASON
Michigan didn't lose its 2008
opener to an FCS team like it did
in 2007 under Carr, but Rodri-
guez's first season was disastrous.
The team posted a 3-9 record - the
worst in the program' history - and
nearly outdid its 2007 Appalachian
State loss with a loss to Toledo on
Oct. 11. The Michigan PA Announc-
er's words, "Steven Threet, sacked
on the play," still resonate with
Michigan fans everywhere.
WEST VIRGINA LAWSUIT
AND SETTLEMENT
Rodriguez left his post as head
football coach at his alma mater,
West Virginia, to come to Michigan
- and with a little bad blood. The
Mountaineers filed a law suit against
Rodriguez for breach of contract.
The dispute was ultimately settled
in July 2008 when Michigan agreed
to pay $2.5 million of his buyout. But
the off-the-field trouble was only a
sign of things to come.
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FILE PHOTO/Daily
WOLVERINES DROP SIXTH
STRAIGHT GAME TO
OHIO STATE
Michigan started its 2009 cam-
paign 4-0 behind the efforts of
freshman quarterback sensation
Tate Forcier. But it lost seven of
its last eight games, lost its sixth
straight game to Ohio State and
remained without a bowl game des-
tination for the second straight year.AE FROMM/Daily
A BRIGHT SPOT: 2010 WIN
OVER FIGHTING IRISH
There were a few glimmers of
hope - like the 2008 victory over
Wisconsin and the 2009 win over
Notre Dame. And some felt Michi-
gan was a national power on the ;'.
rise after another great start in 2010
(5-0), highlighted by the last-min-
ute win in South Bend. This time,
Heisman hopeful Denard Robinson
spearheaded the Wolverine resur-
gence with a Michigan-record 502°
yards against the Fighting Irish.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
NCAA ALLEGATIONS AND
INVESTIGATION
As if the negative attention sur-
rounding Rodriguez for the poor
2008 performance wasn't enough,
allegations surfaced in August 2009
that the team violated NCAA rules
by exceeding practice time limits.
Five days removed from the start of
his second season, Rodriguez shed
a few tears at the podium trying to
defend himself.
MICHIGAN FOUND TO
HAVE VIOLATED NCAA
RULES
On Feb. 23rd, nearly six months
after the allegations and ensuing
investigation, the NCAA deter-
mined that Rodriguez and Michigan
did violate NCAA rules. The players
exceeded practice limits and over-
trained. Although Rodriguez was
not found to have "fostered an atmo-
sphere of non-compliance" like first
alleged, the program was hit with a
three-year probation by the NCAA
and reduced practice time.
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2011 GATOR BOWL
ANNIHILATION
As was thecase in2009, Michigan
fell apart late in the 2010 season dur-
ing the meat of its Big Ten schedule
and finished 7-5. The icing on the
cake was a 52-14 obliteration at the
hands of Mississippi State in the
Gator Bowl on New Year's Day. For
many, Athletic Director David Bran-
don's decision to move in a different
direction seemed tobe only a matter
of time.
FIRED
On Tuesday, the Michigan Ath-
letic Department denied multiple
reports that Rodriguez had been fired.
But Brandon confirmed the news on
Wednesday morning after a hectic 24
hours of rumors. Rodriguez and much
of his coaching staff were sent packing
after three tumultuous seasons.
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ESIGN BY ZACH BERGSON