If his defense on the football field was as good as his defense before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions, Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez's job may not be so tenuous.
Rodriguez, whose team is starting to collapse for the third straight year, finally received a little good news with Thursday's announcement from the NCAA.
Rich Rod was found not guilty on the charge he "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance," the harshest of Michigan's five violations for abusing practice- and training-time limitations.
Rodriguez and the university had argued vehemently against that one charge to the NCAA and ended up getting it reduced to "failed to monitor," which is considered less severe. It also helps restore his credibility to a degree and brings much-needed closure to an ordeal that became a distraction for the Wolverines over a year ago.
"I'm glad the process is over," said Rodriguez, who still faces similar allegations from when he coached at West Virginia. "It no longer can be used as kind of a thing that's hanging over the program from a negative recruiting standpoint.
"There were reputations on the line. We fought for the things that we thought we should fight for. We agreed to mistakes that were made. We fixed the mistakes in a hurry. Now we get to move on."
Let's make this much clear: Rodriguez won't lose his job because of this whole NCAA-violations mess. Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman even said during a news conference, "I'm proud how our coach has handled all this, as well as his players."
In reality, there are a lot of programs around the country that could be found guilty when it comes to fudging some aspects of the practice-time limits.
Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon had previously said he didn't think the violations justified firing the coach, even when the failed-to-promote-an-atmosphere-of-compliance charge was still included.
"Where we stand today is even in a more positive position than we were then," Brandon said Thursday.
That doesn't mean Rodriguez is off the hot seat. Presumably, far from it.
He's still third-and-long, which is only good if you're going against Michigan's defense.
The Wolverines won their first five and were ranked No. 18 before a current three-game losing streak, which has brought back memories of last year when they lost seven of their final eight after a 4-0 start.
Rodriguez has lost as many Big Ten games in 2 1/2 seasons (4-16) as Michigan did the previous nine years (56-16). In those 20 conference games under Rodriguez, the Wolverines have allowed at least 40 points six times, and at least 30 points 15 times.
That from a program that had been built on proud defense for decades going back to when the late Bo Schembechler took over as coach in 1969.
Michigan, however, now ranks No. 106 nationally in total defense, No. 89 in points allowed and No. 117 in pass defense. Penn State rolled up 435 yards and 41 points last week with a third-string, walk-on quarterback.
It's not just that they've lost some games here lately. It's how they've lost them, with this absolutely clueless defense.
When asked about the direction of the program, Coleman said it's ultimately going to be Brandon's call. Brandon has said repeatedly he won't announce a decision on Rodriguez's future until after a postseason review.
"Wins and losses matter," Brandon said. "So does the management of your staff, so does the pipeline of recruits, so does the academic performance of your student-athletes, so does the academic performance of your prospective student-athletes, so does the conduct of your student-athletes.
"We still have a season to play. We still have several important games to play that will be great tests for our football program. Let's just go play the games.
"Let's let our coach and our players be focused on the task at hand. And then, at the end of the season, we'll review and see where we've gotten better and where we need to improve."
Michigan needs one victory in its final four games -- vs. Illinois, at Purdue, vs. Wisconsin, at Ohio State -- to become bowl-eligible for the first time in Rodriguez's three years. That would seem to be the bare minimum he needs -- but some think it could, or at least should, be more.
If Brandon is looking for progress, he won't find any with the defense. It appears to be getting worse.
Injuries have been part of the demise. A suspect secondary entering the season is now relying heavily on true freshmen after being depleted by season-ending injuries to starting cornerbacks Troy Woolfolk and J.T. Floyd.
Some of the defensive woes can be attributed to recruiting mistakes during former coach Lloyd Carr's final years and now with Rodriguez.
Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson, who has declined interview requests from the media for several weeks, is getting much of the blame. One would think Robinson and the defensive staff should be able to get more out of their personnel, even with all the inexperience.
It's so desperate that Rodriguez, whose expertise is offense and special teams, finally relented and started devoting more of his time this week to the defense.
He knows, like everybody else, he's going to get run out of town if he can't get it fixed, and fixed soon.
Nov. 4, 2010
