re: West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez meets with U-M

Article from ESPN



Rodriguez meets with Michigan AD about replacing Carr
ESPN.com news services


Updated: December 14, 2007, 6:52 PM ET




West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez met with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin Friday to talk about the Wolverines' coaching job, according to media reports Friday.

Rodriguez and his agent were in Toledo to talk with Martin and university president Mary Sue Coleman, according to Sporting News Radio, which cited unidentifed sources.

The meeting was confirmed to ESPN's Joe Schad on Friday afternoon by a source close to the situation.

Rodriguez, 44, was back in Morgantown on Friday after taking a flight from Ohio, and unwilling to talk about any possible interest in the Michigan job.

"Going to practice. I'm going to practice," he told the Associated Press Friday, getting into his car after a trip to Toledo.

Michigan, which lured basketball coach John Beilein away from West Virginia last April, is looking for a replacement for football coach Lloyd Carr, who announced his retirement Nov. 19 after 13 seasons.

West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong said he was unaware Rodriguez, who has a hefty buyout clause in his contract, was in Toledo.

"He has not shared that with me," Pastilong told The Associated Press.

Pastilong would not say whether West Virginia had given Michigan permission to talk to Rodriguez, citing university policy.

When asked further whether he knew Rodriguez was talking to Michigan, Pastilong said, "Rich has not mentioned anything of that nature to me. Secondly, we have a strong commitment with Rich, a strong contract. We're strongly committed to him and he's strongly committed to us.

"I think it would be unusual that he would be doing that without sharing it with us."

Michigan athletic department spokesman Bruce Madej said he was unaware of any talks.

On the day Carr announced he was stepping down, Martin said he hoped to complete the hiring process quickly.

But LSU's Les Miles withdrew from consideration before he was scheduled to meet with Martin and signed a contract extension with the Tigers.

Rutgers' Greg Schiano said last week after being contacted about the Michigan job that he was staying with the Scarlet Knights.

After a 13-9 loss to Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale knocked West Virginia out of the national championship game, Rodriguez said he wasn't going to be on the move.

"The impact of your name being thrown about is sometimes a little overrated. It probably makes for a lot of angst among families and we don't want that," he said. "Sorry but you all are stuck with me here."

Rodriguez has a 60-26 record at West Virginia. The Big East champion Mountaineers (10-2) play No. 3 Oklahoma (11-2) next month in the Fiesta Bowl.

Last December, Rodriguez agreed to a one-year contract extension through 2013 after he turned down a lucrative offer from Alabama. The extension includes a $4 million buyout clause if he leaves before August 2008. That doubles the amount from the previous contract.

Beilein had a $2.5 million buyout clause in his West Virginia contract, but under an agreement with the university he agreed to pay $1.5 million to the WVU Foundation for leaving for Michigan with five years remaining in his contract. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.