When West Virginia’s head coach, Rich Rodriguez left to coach Michigan instead, a lot of fans were mad. After all, less than a year before that, he made it sound like he was dedicated to being with the program for a long time.

Rich Rodriguez, back when he coached at WVU, Image: Newscom

And he still hasn’t apologized for leaving the way he did. Should he have to though? At least one writer thinks so.

Rodriguez recently said,

“It was painful last year and it’s still painful now. But I still have to be honest and say that I’m glad I did it. That’s nothing against West Virginia or anyone there, but I felt the time was right. I just wish it hadn’t gotten so personal.’’

At the end of the day, coaching is a job. You wouldn’t expect an employ to turn down a better job and then say he’s sorry about it. I think what rubs people the wrong way here, though, is that Coach Rod seemed to be letting down a program that he promised to help. To many, it just seemed like a sneaky way to leave.

What do you think - should Rodriguez apologize?

Coach Rod, the new Michigan head coach, is being sued.

Who’s doing the suing? Why, none other than his former coaching assignment, West Virginia. According to Rich Rodriguez’s contact, the school is set to collect a $4 Million buyout over the next two years, since he left the program on his own accord.

Also according to the contract, one third of that total cost (or, over $1.33 Million - OUCH) is due 30 days after his resignation, which went into effect on December 19th. That means Coach Rod has until January 18 (give or take) to shell out that chunk of change.

By suing him before that 30-day grace period (gees, even some credit cards give you longer to come up with the money!), West Virginia is saying that they don’t think Coach Rod intends to honor his contract and pay out the money.

Really, he’s done nothing legally wrong…yet. Usually, you’d wait until AFTER the due date passed to file suit. So, this means that West Virginia must have VERY good reason to believe that he’ll not pay up.

I’m not a fan of buyout clauses…although I do understand why they exist. That $4 Million will likely go toward bonuses for the interim coach and the new head coach when one is named.

Will this lawsuit hit the courts or will he pay the resignation “fine”? We’ll see in a few weeks!

AP Photo: Tony Ding