As we are all well aware by now, newly hired University of Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez has come under heavy fire for a myriad of confused and muddled accusations.
Depending on whom you believe, Rodriguez may or may not have deleted or destroyed all types of files and documents, from class attendance numbers to financial scholarship specifics.
Rather than overindulge the tabloid mentality that has brought this situation to the inflated bit of gossip that it’s become, I say we cut to the heart of the matter: does Rodriguez deserve to be given the benefit of the doubt, or do we go through an embarrassing carousel of change like Notre Dame did when they hired George O’Leary only to find his resume so full of holes the lies were just too numerous to overlook?
For those of us who love Michigan football, I don’t see that we have a choice. If Rodriguez doesn’t receive our full support, then we’re setting him up to fail. And, if the program ends up in a state of decline, we’ll all suffer.
That being said, not everything that’s gone on since Rodriguez took the helm has been in line with Michigan tradition. His first and greatest transgression recently reached a conclusion with the Jan. 11 hiring of Scott Shafer as defensive coordinator. For the record, Rodriguez, who joined Michigan on Dec. 17, 2007, fired all 16 members of Lloyd Carr’s staff and then only re-hired running backs coach Fred Jackson.
Now I’m sure Shafer has all the skills necessary to be a successful coach, as witnessed by the fact he’s been at it since 1993, but he’s not a Michigan man. You want someone who’s well versed in the ways of the Wolverines? How about last season’s secondary coach Vance Bedford.
With a total of 22 years in the coaching ranks, Bedford was in his second stint with Michigan before Rodriguez began his structural re-building. Bedford was employed by Michigan from 1995-98 and for the 2007 season.
Bedford’s bowl appearances at Michigan include the 1995 Alamo Bowl, the 1996 Outback Bowl, the 1997 Rose Bowl and the 1998 Citrus Bowl. Also, who could forget Lloyd Carr’s final game, a 41-35 victory over Florida in the Capitol One Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Some of Bedford’s other accomplishments include serving as defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears from 1999-2004. For Oklahoma State, he was the defensive coordinator in 2005-06 and defensive backs coach in 1993-94.
Now it may seem easy to take shots from afar like all those brave souls out there sending anonymous, passive/ aggressive e-mails, but I’ve got an actual point here. In his book, Bo’s Lasting Lessons, former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler says about his 1989 retirement announcement: “The only condition I had when I left was simple: only one guy is leaving and his name is Schembechler! Everybody else stays.”
The reason for this was simple: Schembechler had created an atmosphere that was conducive to fostering both success and tradition. He also understood how to judge the character of a man, a quality that’s hard to come by in the average individual but common to those who are truly leaders.
In an earlier part of the same book Schembechler (pg. 90) also states, “Don’t hire people looking to jump somewhere else. Hire the ones looking to work hard where they are.”
If Rodriguez appreciates and understands Michigan football the way everyone else in his position has, from Bump Elliot to Gary Moeller, why has he removed so much of what makes this program the life-changing event it’s become to so many diehard fans like myself?
At best he’s starting a new tradition, while my intuition tells me there was nothing wrong with the one we had.

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