Tide lands Rodriguez for salary of $2M
Coach leaving West Virginia after 6 years to replace Shula
Friday, December 08, 2006
By PAUL GATTIS
Times Sports Staff
paul.gattis@htimes.com
The University of Alabama has a deal in place to make Rich Rodriguez its new football coach.
The Crimson Tide reached a deal in principle with the West Virginia University coach through his representatives, sources close to the search told The Times on Thursday night.
Rodriguez is expected to receive a salary worth approximately $2 million per year.
An official announcement is expected this morning. No news conference had been scheduled Thursday night.
The agreement comes 11 days after Mike Shula was fired after four seasons.
Rodriguez received a job offer from Alabama on Thursday morning. He and his wife, Rita, met with Alabama athletic director Mal Moore on Tuesday in New York while attending ceremonies surrounding the College Football Hall of Fame inductions.
Rodriguez, 42, is leaving his alma mater and his home state. He is a native of Grant Town, W.Va., and his wife is a native of Jane Lew, W.Va.
Known as "Coach Rod" in his home state, Rodriguez is an offensive innovator who will be expected to put a lot of points on the scoreboard each Saturday. His Mountaineer teams featured a no-huddle, spread offense that still emphasizes the running game.
His star quarterback, sophomore Patrick White, is a native of Mobile.
Rodriguez is 49-24 in six seasons at West Virginia - including 21-3 over the past two seasons. Last season, he led the Mountaineers to their third straight Big East Conference title and upset Georgia 38-35 in the Sugar Bowl.
He has also been the head coach at Salem and Glenville State. He has a career record of 94-60-2 over 15 seasons.
Rodriguez's assistant head coach is offensive line coach Rick Trickett, who coached at Auburn University under Terry Bowden from 1993 to 1998. It's common for assistant coaches to follow the head coach to new jobs.
West Virginia will play Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1. BamaMag.com reported on Thursday night that Rodriguez will not coach in the bowl game.
Rodriguez was in Jacksonville, Fla. - site of the Gator Bowl - on Thursday but would not address questions about the Alabama job.
Alabama will play Oklahoma State in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 28. Interim coach Joe Kines is expected to coach the Tide in that game.
Rodriguez has been high on the Tide's list since it dismissed Shula following a 6-6 season. Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban was the Tide's top target, but he opted to remain with the Dolphins.
The Miami Herald reported on its Web site Thursday that Alabama had offered Saban, the former coach at Louisiana State University, a package worth $57 million. The Herald cited Dolphins players as its source.
Such a package would be unprecedented in college football. Saban had been in talks with Alabama but informed his team Thursday that he was not leaving.
"Every word of that is a complete fabrication," John McMahon, a member of the University of Alabama System board of trustees, said of the Herald's report. "That's a total lie. (The board) would never approve it."
Added Finis St. John IV, chairman of the trustees' athletic committee: "It's a total fabrication."
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