Rich Rodriguez
Arizona Wildcats head coach Rich Rodriguez likes doing things with speed; from running a no-huddle, spread offense to clearly being on the career fast track.
That was until he took the job at Michigan. He was never met with open arms and for a variety of reasons did not mix well with the program. Ultimately, he was shown the door after three fairly unsuccessful seasons, and it may have been the first time he had to pump the brakes on his career.
Rodriguez took last season off from coaching and delved into television work for CBS Sports. Besides having analyst duties, he wanted to clear his mind and use the year as a bridge to get ready for his next coaching job.
“I wanted to take the year for the first time in 26 years to reflect on what we were involved in coaching: what we did good, what we did bad and what we could do better going forward,” Rodriguez said.
“I think it really helped me as far as having a clear package going forward.”
He now finds himself trying to build up an overall mediocre program in Arizona. Some have called it a “sleeping giant,” but the results and history show the Wildcat football team to be more “asleep” than anything else.
Rodriguez, though very early in his tenure, has shown more signs of that coach that was at West Virginia rather than the one at Michigan, where he just couldn’t get things right from the start. So far, Arizona he is undefeated. After knocking off a solid non-BCS team in Toledo, they stunned No. 18 Oklahoma State this past weekend in Tucson and sit with a 2-0 record.
The Pac-12 conference is also on an upswing. Under Larry Scott, the league has been progressive and has just launched a new television network devoted to the conference happenings. With many of the football teams in the Pac-12 taking care of business this past weekend, UCLA and Oregon State also had upset victories. That’s something Arizona’s new head coach does not think is a coincidence.
“I think it’s the commitment from the institutions towards their athletic programs, toward football in particular, towards facilities-wise, and they are putting more money towards coaching staffs.
“The Pac-12 is in a good place now, but in three, four years it’s going to be in an even better place.”
The “RichRod” era at Arizona is not only off to a great start, but it just feels like a fantastic fit. The Wildcats host South Carolina State this Saturday, which will be the last tune-up before the Pac-12 slate kicks off with a road visit to Oregon the following weekend.
Rodriguez continues to preach fundamentals and discipline, a recipe that has worked so far.
“Our process is going to be the same. We won’t talk about the end result as much with our players. ‘What are we doing today to make us the best program in the country.’
“It seems like coach-speak or simplistic, but really when you build a program that’s the first thing you got to do and you got to adhere to that every day.”
Arizona native Matt Minkus is the host of the 110 Sports Podcast, a show that pays homage to one of the most repeated cliches in sports: “Giving 110 percent.” Excerpts of new shows will be available at www.Lindyssports.com every Wednesday.