Just when I thought things were calming down on the Rich Rodriguez front, more allegations against him are popping up. Just to get you up to speed; a few weeks ago when Rodriguez took the Michigan job, his former employer, West Virginia,
filed suit against him for the 4 million dollar buyout in his contract. The buyout clause requires Rodriguez to pay $4 million to WVU over a two-year period, with one-third of the total due 30 days after his employment's termination. His resignation was effective Dec. 19. Rodriguez claims the suit is bogus because West Virginia "did not maintain their end of the contract by not fulfilling all of its terms". Obviously the University denies these claims.
Well now news out of The Charleston Gazette suggests that not only is the University upset about the money, now they have come to realize that
Rodriguez has either destroyed or took with him to Michigan all the files he has on the players for West Virginia.
According to multiple sources, several people in the Puskar Center reported seeing Rodriguez and at least one member of his inner circle, video coordinator Dusty Rutledge, in Rodriguez’s private office shredding paperwork on Dec. 18. That’s the day he returned to clean out his office after being introduced as the Michigan coach at a press conference in Ann Arbor the day before. At the time, those who say they witnessed it either did not know what was being destroyed or paid it little attention to it until the files were discovered missing more than two weeks later.
While the files in Rodriguez’s office held a wide range of information, those that were discovered missing from the weight room office were more specific. Those included every aspect of strength and conditioning progress made by players under former strength and conditioning coordinator Mike Barwis, who along with most of his immediate staff followed Rodriguez to Michigan after the Fiesta Bowl. Those files included the progression made by each player in every specific area, from bench-press totals to 40-yard dash times. The files even included pictures of the players at different points in their careers.
If this is true then Rich has a ton of explaining to do. Those records are West Virginia University property, it is like you or I quitting our job and taking with us all of the documentation that our company
PAID us to do over the number of years we worked at the place. I use to think highly of Mr. Rodriguez and thought he was an upstanding coach, but now the truth is coming out. And to think he is doing this to his own alma mater. What does that tell you? He'd sell anyone out for a few extra bucks and to climb up the ladder. Michigan...are you sure this is the coach you want?? Are you sure this is the guy you want representing your University or when something better comes along, will he spurn you like he did his own state, his own school? What I do know is if I were Rich Rodriguez, I would not step foot in the State of West Virginia ever again.
