Tucson Citizen.com
AG's Wildcat Report - Dispatches on the Wildcats, from Anthony Gimino

Rich Rodriguez: No assistants hired this week

by on Nov. 26, 2011, under Arizona football
Rich Rodriguez

Rich Rodriguez tries on a sombrero during a halftime ceremony. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

New Arizona Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez said no assistants coaches will be hired this week as he goes through the process of putting together a staff.

“I’m hoping the week after next, I will have half the staff taken care of,” Rodriguez said, meeting with the media at halftime of the game against Louisiana. “Within three weeks, we should have them all.”

He said he has been making recruiting phone calls but likely won’t head out on the road as a contact period begins Sunday. He said he doesn’t want to use his one home visit to recruits not having a coaching staff in place and an assistant to accompany him.

Rodriguez said he will consider retaining some members of the current coaching staff.

“It has to be the right fit,” Rodriguez said.

“It has to be a guy who can fit in to what we want to do offensively and defensively. But there are a couple of spots I am open too, I should say, and a couple of guys on the staff I am interested in talking to.”

If he knows he will retain a certain assistant, then he can go ahead and deploy that assistant on the recruiting road, as the coach is already under contract.

Arizona has 16 known commitments, although most have been in wait-and-see mode as the Wildcats went through the hiring process. Rodriguez said the scholarship offers to committed players will be honored, but there is bound to be attrition as players change their mind based on, if nothing else, the change in schemes.

“I’ll be honest with them,” Rodriguez said.

“The thing that happens sometimes in recruiting that creates bad feeling is when you’re not honest. If a guy calls and says, ‘Do I really fit what you do?’ and he doesn’t and I say, ‘Yes,’ I’m not being fair to him.

“But if I think he’s a good player and he can fit in any system or scheme I will tell him that as well. Being honest — and being brutally honest at times — is hard in recruiting. But it’s worked for me in the past, so I will continue to do that now.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 26th, 2011 at 4:14 pm and is filed under Arizona football. Tags for this post: . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

RSS feed for this post (comments)
  • http://www.college.com Jamesames

    It has to be the right fit,” Rodriguez said.
    “It has to be a guy who can fit in to what we want to do offensively and defensively.

    He never was a right fit for Michigan, and should have taken some of his own advice. He just didn’t understand what school he was coaching for. Good Reddens! Go Blue! Congrats to Brady Hoke!!!!!
     

    • Tom B

      Congrats to Brady Hoke with Rich Rod’s guys!!!

      • http://www.college.com James

        That’s even worse! What a coach who did not know how to utilize that talent.

        • Rene A

          Michigan resisted his style of offense but the record reflects that each year they performed better under his system.
          Let’s leave the Michigan whinning in Michigan.

          • http://www.college.com James

            Good Luck Wildcats!

    • Zona21

      James you’ll never know until Hoke recruits his own guys, but in my opinion you Michigan fans should be thanking Rich Rod for the great season your having! His recruits and his style of play! We ZONA are in great hands! Let the RichRod era began! Fear the Rod! Bear Down!

  • Wolverine Fan

    Rich Rod is a good person, but he proved to be a gimmicky offensive-minded coordinator who neglected defense and special teams. Rather than own up to his many mistakes, he attempted to blame others and circumstances for his self-induced disastrous time at Michigan.

    Rich Rod wants to claim credit for U of M’s success this year under Hoke, but he did not hire an NFL caliber defensive coach in Greg Mattison, he did not have his players prepared technique wise and mentally to compete, and he did not respect and/or understand Wolverine tradition, like the importance of beating Ohio State.

    If Rich Rod doesn’t get a good defensive coordinator and special teams coach, Wildcat fans can look forward to high scoring shoot outs, losses against upper tier competition, and excuses and pleas for more time for his foundation years.

  • Jim

    I’m a Michigan fan. Rich Rod didn’t succeed at Mich for the most part due to the Alumni. Look what he did at West Virginia. That so called gimmick offense will be successful for Zona. Wildcat nation you are in good hands

  • Jim

    Hey “Mich Fan” one of his D coordinators was in the NFL with the Broncos for several years. It sure wasn’t the defense that beat OSU today 43 37. It was D Robinson running that gimmick offense. Like it or not, those were his kids

  • Wolverine Fan

    The alumni didn’t help, but if Rich Rod had won the alumni would’ve come around.
    Hoke and Mattinson got better results from Rich Rod’s recruits than Rich Rod and his former Bronco coordinator.
    The defensive improvement with the same personnel this season speaks for itself like the drop off in defense with many returning defensive players from Lloyd Carr’s final year in Rich Rod’s first season.
    OSU stepped up its game this season against Michigan.  Rivalry games tend to do that.  OSU has some talent on the offensive side of the field.
    The lingering apologies and support for Rich Rod from a fraction of the Michigan fan base is amazing.
     

  • Bret

    This debate will go on, but we’ll never really know whether Brady Hoke is winning because of RichRod’s recruiting or because he is utilizing the talent better. Frankly, I have a hard time believing the curmudgeonly Lloyd Carr left the program stocked with talent. Appalachian State, anyone? I also have no doubt that the stuck-in-1974 Michigan alums would be very difficult to deal with. At any rate, RichRod has got a pretty sweet deal in Tucson. Win 8-9 games a year, shake some hands, get offered the keys to the city.

  • section 17

    Well for all you so called Michigan fans it’s time for you morons to grow up and go away. I’ve been a died in wool Maize & Blue Michigan fan for longer than any of you fools have been alive. I’ve done volunteer work at UM for years and have had season tickets to the Big House for many years. I would suggest that you so called  fans read Bacon’s “Three and out” but I’m sure none of you Wal-Mart wolverines can read. You people who love Fred Hoke and hate Rich Rod have no morals, as long as you win you think you are right. To you people I say be happy you have Fred Hoke and I can’t wait until you lose four or five games next year under his stupidity. There are quite a few of us former UM fans who have switched to Arizona so enjoy the three stooges coaching staff and your lying AD David Brandon.

    • The-bills

      I have lived in The Ann Arbor area all my life and was a big UM fan. However, the way most of these so called Michigan fans really disgust me. Rodriguez was never given a chance in Ann Arbor, but many of these elitist snobs will say he was welcomed from the onset…which is the furthest thing from the truth. RR tried to get the team on the winning track and was beginning to do so. It was unfortunate that Lloyd Carr told players on his way out that he would sign their transfer papers so that they could leave the program. The brainwashed fans at UM choose not to believe that Carr, a so-called Michigan Man, would do this…but he did and has not denied it when Bacon’s book came out. The fans of Arizona are lucky to have this person as their coach. He will work extremely hard to build your program and I can only hope that AZ and Mich will someday meet in the Rose Bowl soon. To all the Michigan people reading this…watch out for another long losing streak to Ohio State.

      • dano

        Your right you are not a fan of Michigan and you never were a fan of Michigan.

  • dano

    Rich Rod was a terrible fit at Michigan.  His defenders can say all they want.  I watched him take over a system and flush it down right away.  So many players left early for the NFL or transfered.  
    And to cap it off he put a storied program on probation.    His offenses are a gimmick. He recruits these small fast players that can’t take a pounding.
    Maybe he will do better out there.  Good luck. 

  • section 17

    You didn’t read the book did you Dano, or you would know it was all Lloyd Carr’s  fault they are on probation. It was his staff that screwed the paperwork up they did everything in their power to discredit RR. It takes more to be a fan than just wanting them to win games. For one of the ” elite programs “  they didn’t get behind RR , and most of it was Lloyd Carr’s fault. The whole bunch from the president on down  looked the other way, while he was made to look bad. Maybe if  Carr had lifted his hand to help instead of hinder it would have worked out. If Bo had been alive  none of this would have happened he would have put people in their place, and a good man wouldn’t have been trashed. I’m glad your still a fan, but we’ve moved on to a better place…………. GO CAT’S !!!!!!!!!!

  • section 17

    Oh yeah! Those small players looked pretty good Saturday didn’t they. I don’t hear anyone complaining now, and who recruited Dennard for quarterback when nobody else would. I believe it was RR.  Hoke can take all the credit he want’s, but there are a lot of us who know better!!!!!!!!

  • NewWildcatFan

     Section 17 and The-bills are dead on.I’ve been a Michigan fan my whole life and a season ticket holder but after the way they treated Rich Rodriguez and after the way the “great” Lloyd Carr undermined the program for the sake of his own ego and petty self interests my passion is gone.  The Michigan program should be ashamed itself and thank goodness for John U Bacon’s book “Three and Out” for shinning a light in the dark corners of the program to reveal the truth about what really happened. Arizona is the big winner here and Michigan is the long term loser.  They are winning this year with Rich Rodriguez players, a very favorable schedule and a version of his spread option offense.  It’s laughable to me that after 3 years of hearing how the “gimmicky” offense that won’t work in the Big Ten no one is complaining about it now!  And as Section 17 said no one is complaining about all the “small” players that supposedly can’t play in the Big 10.  They look pretty good now that they are juniors and seniors.  And Denard continues to climb the NCAA and Michigan record books running that “gimmicky” offense.Not to let the facts get in the way of a good story but let’s also not forget the current staff inherited 19 starters (tied in the Big 10) off of a 7 win team AND the league MVP at QB.  They are benefiting from the first upperclassmen filled roster since 2007.  For example, in the middle of last season they had to play 12 true freshman and 7 of them were on the defensive side of the ball.I also hope one day Arizona faces Michigan in the Rose Bowl and I hope the Wildcats run them off the field.BEAR DOWN!!

  • NewWildcatFan

    Section 17 and The-bills are dead on.I’ve been a Michigan fan my whole life and a season ticket holder but after the way they treated Rich Rodriguez and after the way the “great” Lloyd Carr undermined the program for the sake of his own ego and petty self interests my passion is gone.  The Michigan program should be ashamed itself and thank goodness for John U Bacon’s book “Three and Out” for shinning a light in the dark corners of the program to reveal the truth about what really happened. Arizona is the big winner here and Michigan is the long term loser.  They are winning this year with Rich Rodriguez players, a very favorable schedule and a version of his spread option offense.  It’s laughable to me that after 3 years of hearing how the “gimmicky” offense that won’t work in the Big Ten no one is complaining about it now!  And as Section 17 said no one is complaining about all the “small” players that supposedly can’t play in the Big 10.  They look pretty good now that they are juniors and seniors.  And Denard continues to climb the NCAA and Michigan record books running that “gimmicky” offense.Not to let the facts get in the way of a good story but let’s also not forget the current staff inherited 19 starters (tied in the Big 10) off of a 7 win team AND the league MVP at QB.  They are benefiting from the first upperclassmen filled roster since 2007.  For example, in the middle of last season they had to play 12 true freshman and 7 of them were on the defensive side of the ball.I also hope one day Arizona faces Michigan in the Rose Bowl and I hope the Wildcats run them off the field.BEAR DOWN!!

«
»