What does this mean?

It took me all night to digest the article below and what it may mean to WVU. First of all don't think that the article lets Rodriguez off the hook for his faults in this mess. He played Alabama for a raise and improvements a year ago and was willing to do it again this year with Michigan. At some point the athletic department was going to stand up and say no. As in many game situations it appears that Rodriguez had never contemplated a plan B. The plan was keep bulling ahead on the same gameplan which meant throw a fit and leave.

However, it is crazy for WVU fans to continue to vilify coaches as they are fleeing like rats off a sinking ship without ever stopping to wonder why so many want out. Beilein was a crook that hated West Virginia. Rodriguez was a money whore. But what about Shelly Poe, or the swimming coach, or Nikki Izzo-Brown, or Whit Babcock? These were all successful coaches and administrators that were willing to get out of dodge ASAP. Izzo-Brown was the only soccer coach ever for WVU women. You think she just decided that she wanted to move to Michigan because of the night life? Each of these situations are different, but all ended the same; with a WVU job search. Hell, this blog is less than a year old and this will be the fourth coach of WVU men's major programs we've covered.

From what I can gather the Beilein and Rodriguez sagas both ended in very similar manners. First it is no question that both have huge egos. However, most D-I coaches are funny like that. I think it is the power and the worship from fans. Maybe. Anyway, both ended with the coaches basically in a non-communication with the athletic department after many confrontations. Both ended up leaving for a wash money wise after the buyouts. According to most fans it was completely the fault of both of them. Yet here's the thing with Rodriguez. He left over some very small things. He also tried to hold the athletic department hostage for a second straight year only Pastilong called his bluff this time. Rich may not always be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but isn't that saying something about the relationship, or lack thereof, that Rodriguez was doing this again a year later? If there is no relationship, no give and take, then Rodriguez is going to follow his gameplan win or lose as we have seen over and over. He isn't going to start passing in the fourth quarter against 10 men fronts when he hasn't all game and he isn't going to quit fighting for what he wants including going to the well of "I'll leave." Good or bad that is who he is.

The other troubling aspect of that article besides all the people leaving the athletic department is that donors are speaking out and speaking about withholding donations. The money guys like to stay quiet. But they also REALLY know what is going on. For them to speak out means they think something is rotten in Denmark. The other aspect is that WVU doesn't have hundreds of bigtime donors. Losing 5 millionaires that love sports isn't a big deal for Ohio State, but it is for WVU.

This is actually the first test for the Garrison administration as it's been pretty smooth sailing up until now. Hardesty took some heat from the Alabama flirtations last year as he was an easy scape goat since he was on the way out. Not so easy now. And Pastilong and Parsons aren't going down without a fight even if that is the way Garrison would lean. Pastilong has been at WVU for almost 30 years and if you know anything about the state it's that he didn't get where he is without some damn good connections. Taking out the AD or Mike Parsons might be more than Garrison wants to bite off right now even if that is something he wanted to do. However, if there aren't going to be any shake-ups in the athletic department than some fences better get mended pretty quickly and someone needs to keep Mike Carey, Marlon LeBlanc, Craig Turnbull, Sean Cleary, and Linda Budette out of the state of Michigan for the foreseeable future.