Rich Rodriguez and Danny Hope Are Not Best Friends
Seems Danny Hope was in a playful mood in Ann Arbor on Saturday
It seems there may be an SEC style feud between coaches brewing in the Big Ten following Purdue’s win over Michigan on Saturday morning.
After the game as head coaches Danny Hope and Rich Rodriguez were meeting on the field Hope made sure to bring over offensive lineman Zack Reckman. See, Reckman was suspended for a game earlier this season after delivering a late hit against Northern Illinois and it seems that Hope and the Boilermakers believe Rodriguez is to blame.
So Hope just wanted Rich to know that he appreciated him ratting out his player. After Michigan’s Jonas Mouton was suspended for a game early in the season for punching Notre Dame’s Eric Olsen. Rodriguez made sure to let everyone know he’d be turning in anybody he saw playin dirty.
He even pointed out a particular incident on September 19 without naming names. Well, Reckman was suspended for an incident that took place on September 19. So Hope brought Reckman over today to tell Rodriguez “Thanks, coach. We appreciate what you did.”
Rich did not take too kindly to Hope’s antics and mentioned it after the game today.
“I was a little disappointed that after the game their coach seemed to bring the lineman over like I was the reason that his lineman got suspended for that one game,” Rodriguez told reporters in Ann Arbor. “I don’t know where that came from. I talked to him on the phone and told him that wasn’t me that — this is way back when. I didn’t have anything to do with that young man getting suspended for that one game.
“As a coach you say, ‘OK, the precedent will be set,’ and that’s why I saw we’ll look at every act,” Rodriguez said in late September. “And, in fact, it’s funny you say that, I saw a Big Ten game, in the locker room as we were leaving, highlights, and it was the end of the game and a guy jumped on someone on the last play of the game and did a little of this right here. Now is that a non-football act? It probably is, so that may be turned in and see what happens.”
So Rodriguez told Hope that it wasn’t him, even though you just read him reference that play in the quote above. Rich Rodriguez would also like the folks of Ann Arbor that it wasn’t him coaching the Wolverines on Saturday against Purdue either. It was an impostor.
Fire that guy instead.
As for the bad blood between Hope and Rodriguez, I’m not sure it will escalate any further than this, but I wouldn’t mind. The Big Ten needs a new rivalry, and if it’s one that is between coaches, all the better.
Reality must be difficult for you. It was the player’s action- when he jumped on the NIU player, WWF-style- that got him suspended. No dirty play, no suspension. Coach Rodriguez is not to blame for Coach Hope’s dirty players.
Reality must be difficult for me? I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was the guy who pulled his player over and said that to Rodriguez. I just thought I was the guy writing about it.
My comment about Rodriguez had to do with him denying he ever said anything or had anything to do with it when he obviously did.
I never said who I agreed with or disagreed with.
Oh no it wasn’t you saying fire that guy either, right? Do you watch the B10 channel,? Ever heard of it even? Dinardo and other studio hos t both commented on that play ight after it happened and said the B1 will likely suspend that player as they showed the lowlight. Yesterday they said Hope was classless and reiterated what they previously said so maybe the B10′s own announcers should meet Danny and his pet thug? Stop licking Hopes rear and learn something about facts and actions.
I’d love for you to point out where exactly I said “Fire Rich Rodriguez.”
Also, if you read this original post on Reckman…
http://blogtenfootball.com/2009/09/24/big-ten-suspends-purdues-zach-reckman/
..you’ll see that I felt he deserved the suspension.
Also, where the hell am I licking Hope’s rear at? What post are you people reading?
I think what the writer of the story is pointing out is that while the Purdue lineman’s cheap shot may have warranted a suspension, Rich Rodriguez went out of his way to not only rat that player out, but then to call out Purdue’s coach at the press conference. Not only that, but he actually had the giant brass balls to deny that he was the one to rat out the player, while describing in detail the play that he saw on TV earlier in the year that led to his contacting the Big Ten. Clearly Rodriguez’s right hand doesn’t see what his left hand does.
First, the handshake stunt was poor sportsmanship. You stay classy, Hope…
However, I think this speaks to a general trend in attitude towards Michigan. When they’ve been arguably the strongest team in the Big Ten for decades (don’t forget–before sweatervest went on his current streak vs. Michigan, John Cooper and tOSU went 2-10-1 vs. Michigan for a stretch in the not too distant past) everyone wants to get their shots in at Michigan while they can, after Michigan has pounded them year in and year out. This has been a season in which we have seen a lot of “team XXX hasn’t beat Michigan at XXX since the Battle of Verdun” or variation on that (exageration intended, but you get the point).
I could go on and on with standard RichRod and Michigan defenses, but I’ll spare you. Suffice to say, the cupboard was bare when RR got to UM, Michigan is VERY young, and RR has proven that he can put together a very successful, BCS bowl caliber teams. He’s in his second year of coaching, with only one recruiting class brought in for his system. Firing him now would make all of the suffering the last two seasons in vain. Barring any significant NCAA sanctions, he won’t be fired before the end of the 2011 season.
Okay, rant over.
ps- I know this is a B10(11) blog, but not even a mention of the defacto 12th member, ND, losing to Navy…?
Rodriguez sucks
Will WVU take him back, (they can keep the money), we’ll can throw Beilein in too
I’m not a fan of Coach Rodriguez, never have been. Saying that Danny Hope is not a class act at all. I could not believe he is a head coach in the BigTen. True story while at Eastern Kentucky University, Hope, spat on a cursed out a ball boy from Western Kentucky University…is that a class act or what.
@ mistercheezle: Are you serious? This is the thing that baffles me about fans of Michigan who support RichRod. “The upboard was bare when RR got there” I think not. UM just came off a win in the Capital One Bowl against the defending national champion Florida gators. The year before that they played in the Rose Bowl. They had a tremendous QB named Ryan Mallet who RR didn’t think was good enough to stay(not sure what he is doing these days, bagging groceries I think).
The bottom line is, RR emptied the pantry at UM, and then tried to fill it with that cheap product you see over in the Big East every week. All he has shown is that he can build a team capable of winning that conference. It is now obvious that his style doesn’t work in the B10. He can’t build a D, which you need to succeed.
UM had better ship him off, or the suffering will continue.
@ IheartRichRodApologists
Yes, Michigan did have a very good team in 2006. Depending on your perspective, you might even argue that they should have played tOSU again for the NC. However, 2007 wasn’t such a good year OR team. While they did rally to beat His Tebowness, they weren’t that good of a team. To say that RR came into a team stacked with talent is patently wrong for several reasons: 1) Lloyd Carr clearly lost his zeal for recruiting, 2) Mallett was gone no matter who the new coach was going to be, and even if he did stay, he’s just one guy, 3) Michigan’s current D is a testament to the woeful recruiting and high attrition rates. Also, RR has had one full recruiting class to get his guys, while all of the holdovers that remained were recruited to fit into Bo/Moeller/Carr’s 3 yards and a cloud of dust “pro-style” offense. As you can see, RR’s scheme is very different from that. Shiping him off now makes no sense, it takes more than two years to install a drastically different offensive mindset. I mean, there’s a chance he fails, but there’s also a chance he does his thing and the next time we’re talking about Sparty and Purdon’t winning 2 straight against Michigan is sometime around the year 2050.