God...we think we have it bad with our front office. Imagine having to deal with Ed Pastilong....AD for WVU. If he isnt fired over this...WVU is about to take a huge stride backwards..... "Mr. Rodriguez, both at the top of his program's prestige and other colleges' candidate lists, made what he considered relatively simple requests. However, his employers considered them "gun-to-the-head" demands because he already had the Michigan offer, said one source close to the administration. All agree that the details separating the two sides had nothing to do with Mr. Rodriguez getting richer. In separate meetings with Athletic Director Ed Pastilong, Chief of Staff Craig Walker and, finally, late Saturday night with newly installed President Mike Garrison, he asked the university to do the following: • Allow at least an additional $100,000 in bonus money for his assistants. • Allow scholarship players to retain possession of textbooks at the end of each term, which meant they could have sold them, as apparently happens at other programs. • Waive a $5 ticket fee for each high-school football coach attending Mountaineer home games, a fee that generates an estimated $5,000 for the university each season. • Hire seven graduate assistants and a new recruiting coordinator, to ease the duties performed by secondary coach Tony Gibson. "You could do them in 15 minutes," Mr. Reynolds said of the wish list. Those supporters, who pledged millions last December for the six-year, $1.9 million-per-year contract that helped to keep Mr. Rodriguez from accepting the University of Alabama coaching position, offered to absorb the additional costs. Their offer was denied." They are about to lose a BOAT LOAD of donations to the program. http://postgazette.com/pg/07352/842541-144.stm
Its stories like that that make me glad U of L has an AD like Tom Jurich. He knows what he's doing and is one of the best in the country. Its no wonder FSU among others have tried to wooh him away from Louisville recently. Its a shame. The Big East will definately miss him.
Interesting... Um, yeah ... he just did that last year. What other programs are violating NCAA rules by essentially paying cash to ahem "student-athletes" Gee... I pay a helluva lot more than $5 to attend Mountaineer home games (but no biggie - although if this was the straw that broke the coach's back then ) I would honestly have no problem with that. Now, I am definately not a big Ed Pastilong fan, but c'mon ... THESE were the reasons that Coach Rod left???
I think Ed has a long...long history of nickle and diming WVU athletics. Im sure these arent the only reasons Rich Rod left...but he may have felt that these reasons are the ones that broke the camels back. Regardless..and FAR MORE IMPORTANT here is the possible loss of millions to the program. What kind of coach will want to be part of a program in the midst of alumni and donor turmoil.
Yeh....Doc Holliday. Hes been tabbed as a possible WVU head coach even before Rich Rod if Im not mistaken.
I have to say that it sounds to me like the problem was that in 2006, Rich demanded concessions or he'd go to Alabama. In 2007, Rich demanded concessions or he'd go to Michigan. If what RR asked for is allowable under NCAA rules (my only question is the books), it's reasonable enough on its own. There is a problem if he has to go looking for other jobs to get this sort of stuff, but it's also a problem when your coach goes looking for other jobs after every season. I think in the end, it's clear there was a HC-AD problem and it was also clear that schools with deeper pockets were going to keep making a run at RR until he took one of them up on it.
The guys on College Football Live reported that these issues he left over, were the same ones brought up last year and promised to be taken care of when he signed last year. So, my understanding is that these concessions weren't new, but promises left unfulfilled by the AD from last year.
Rich had no intentions on leaving. He said he was going to leave if he didnt get that money...Pastilong called his bluff and rich got pissed and left... Thats the real reason, I' have sources close to the WVU football program Rita Rodriguez (Riches Wife) is contemplating a Divorce because she caught him with a cheerleader earlier this season. And I guess this was the final straw Thats the truth people, My sources have never been wrong in what they've told me
Yeh..Morgantown is supposedly fully aware of Rich Rods affair with the cheerleader...supposedly she had or is having his kid. Anyways...between the Pitt loss...Rich Rod leaving...the nutty search for a new coach....the lack of fans going to Arizona....it hasnt been a great month to be a Neer.
This thread predated me here by five years, but as a wvu fan, it was an interesting read. I will say that as someone who lived and worked in the Morgantown area for seven years, Rich Rod was a much nicer and easier guy to deal with as a customer than Don Nehlan was. Always high energy and friendly. Much shorter than I would have guessed.