Dear Coach Rodriguez

[illcat]

Columbia puts him in an area he loves, would have put him in front of 80,000 fans every home game, would have paid him handsomely, would have put him in an area that he could hit the ground recruiting, would be able to deliver bigger and better facilities, would have gotten a lot more exposure and not screwed over by the conference. He turned it down but hell, why wouldn't he at least listen?

Lute turned down Kentucky, arguably the most storied program in the country, to stay here. I don't recall people calling him disloyal back then. He turned them down twice. Had this happened in this day and age he would have been clobbered on the message boards and social media. I don't see that RR has been shopping himself around. Programs being interested in him doesn't mean he's looking to get out, and neither does listening to what they have to say. He hasn't misled the fan base ("oh, I'm not interested in anything else right now," etc.)

What is true is that winning cures all. Expectations are up from usual and they should be. I don't think very many programs can deal with the amount of injuries and a no-bye week schedule without losing some games, so he gets a pass from me for this year. Part of that is the heart the team showed in the last three games when people were saying they had quit. Now if the program regresses in the next couple of years, then yeah there's a problem. But it's one more game then on to 2016, so lets go from there.

The people who were saying Byrne should fire RR dont understand that it would be a stupid move to have done so. You do that and you've crippled your future because you're paying RR for the next few years and that's going to severely limit what you can pay a new coach. He also would have gotten a pro-rated share of the retention monies.

Good Post!

[Fishclamps]

If people are gonna bitch about/praise RR, can we please just keep it to one thread, preferably stickied since this same dumb shit is gonna come up nonstop till hes no longer our coach?

[Sid]

Columbia puts him in an area he loves, would have put him in front of 80,000 fans every home game, would have paid him handsomely, would have put him in an area that he could hit the ground recruiting, would be able to deliver bigger and better facilities, would have gotten a lot more exposure and not screwed over by the conference. He turned it down but hell, why wouldn't he at least listen?

Lute turned down Kentucky, arguably the most storied program in the country, to stay here. I don't recall people calling him disloyal back then. He turned them down twice. Had this happened in this day and age he would have been clobbered on the message boards and social media. I don't see that RR has been shopping himself around. Programs being interested in him doesn't mean he's looking to get out, and neither does listening to what they have to say. He hasn't misled the fan base ("oh, I'm not interested in anything else right now," etc.)

What is true is that winning cures all. Expectations are up from usual and they should be. I don't think very many programs can deal with the amount of injuries and a no-bye week schedule without losing some games, so he gets a pass from me for this year. Part of that is the heart the team showed in the last three games when people were saying they had quit. Now if the program regresses in the next couple of years, then yeah there's a problem. But it's one more game then on to 2016, so lets go from there.

The people who were saying Byrne should fire RR dont understand that it would be a stupid move to have done so. You do that and you've crippled your future because you're paying RR for the next few years and that's going to severely limit what you can pay a new coach. He also would have gotten a pro-rated share of the retention monies.

Good Post!

I agree as well, great post! The guy was asked to interview because they saw value in Rod and wanted to see if he would be a good fit? How many interviews did Cracker get? The guy is full of shit and not desired & that speaks volumes. Coach Rod has value and explored the opportunity that presented itself, big fucking deal. Coach Rod choose to stay at the U of A and now it's time to move on. Being pissed at someone for taking a look at a new opportunity is comical. The OKG argument is a freaking joke as well. The coaching staff encourages recruits to take visits, but once you decide on pledging your commitment to Arizona both parties agree you have done your due diligence (visits) and your commitment should be strong as oak. Big difference...and one other thing.......

Fuck asu!

[RazorsEdgeAZ]

Quick note on the pro-rated retention amount. Prorate no longer part of that contract.

It's actually worse than that now. if AZ terminates RR without cause or is terminated with cause as a result a of physical or mental
disability before March 2018... RR is entitled to FULL amount. Not pro-rated. FULL

Other side, if RR had left, he would have not received a dime. First 25% payout is in March

[Scummy Dick Douglas]

Columbia puts him in an area he loves, would have put him in front of 80,000 fans every home game, would have paid him handsomely, would have put him in an area that he could hit the ground recruiting, would be able to deliver bigger and better facilities, would have gotten a lot more exposure and not screwed over by the conference. He turned it down but hell, why wouldn't he at least listen?

Lute turned down Kentucky, arguably the most storied program in the country, to stay here. I don't recall people calling him disloyal back then. He turned them down twice. Had this happened in this day and age he would have been clobbered on the message boards and social media. I don't see that RR has been shopping himself around. Programs being interested in him doesn't mean he's looking to get out, and neither does listening to what they have to say. He hasn't misled the fan base ("oh, I'm not interested in anything else right now," etc.)

What is true is that winning cures all. Expectations are up from usual and they should be. I don't think very many programs can deal with the amount of injuries and a no-bye week schedule without losing some games, so he gets a pass from me for this year. Part of that is the heart the team showed in the last three games when people were saying they had quit. Now if the program regresses in the next couple of years, then yeah there's a problem. But it's one more game then on to 2016, so lets go from there.

The people who were saying Byrne should fire RR dont understand that it would be a stupid move to have done so. You do that and you've crippled your future because you're paying RR for the next few years and that's going to severely limit what you can pay a new coach. He also would have gotten a pro-rated share of the retention monies.

Good Post!

I agree as well, great post! The guy was asked to interview because they saw value in Rod and wanted to see if he would be a good fit? How many interviews did Cracker get? The guy is full of shit and not desired & that speaks volumes. Coach Rod has value and explored the opportunity that presented itself, big fucking deal. Coach Rod choose to stay at the U of A and now it's time to move on. Being pissed at someone for taking a look at a new opportunity is comical. The OKG argument is a freaking joke as well. The coaching staff encourages recruits to take visits, but once you decide on pledging your commitment to Arizona both parties agree you have done your due diligence (visits) and your commitment should be strong as oak. Big difference...and one other thing.......

Fuck asu!

You are confusing listening to interest from other programs with actively interviewing (seeking) a job. RR showed an active interest in leaving UA for a shitty SC job. Try to spin that any way you like. Programs reach out to coaches agents to gauge interest all the time, and you almost never hear about it. When it gets to the point that a coach is interviewing for a job and the whole public knows about it, there is serious interest on the part of both parties at that point.

If RR was never serious about the job he could have shot it down or quelled the rumors several days ago. Instead you hear from him only after he supposedly turns it down (or they never offered).

[whatisee]

Are you girls still arguing about this?

He's the coach for at least another couple years, and then we'll have to look for a new one.

[Macho Grande]

Are you girls still arguing about this?

Now that you bring it up, it looks like everyone had been done with this thread since Sunday, until you bumped it again.

[Chicat]

Are you girls still arguing about this?

Now that you bring it up, it looks like everyone had been done with this thread since Sunday, until you bumped it again.

He's the coach for at least another couple years, and then we'll have to look for a new one.

Couple of years? You confident with that prediction?

[azcat49]

Are you girls still arguing about this?

Now that you bring it up, it looks like everyone had been done with this thread since Sunday, until you bumped it again.

He's the coach for at least another couple years, and then we'll have to look for a new one.

Couple of years? You confident with that prediction?

Not if he doesn't win, go plus .500 in conference and fix that damn defense. Gloves are off at his request.

[UALoco]

So he's got to beat ASU and go to a big bowl game next year or we should fire him...

He is one year away from doing that so...

That means he has to go to a big bowl game and beat ASU every other year or he's fired...that sound's reasonable for a school that has never done that and will never be able to do that.

[azcat49]

I am good with 8 or 9 wins, 5-4 in conference with a plus .500 record VS ASSU. We are after all spending 3M a year for the guy and unloading 6M in retention dollars on him.

Its just business Loco, just business. Top tier bowl comes with the record so not as fixated on that result.

[Harvey Specter]

So he's got to beat ASU and go to a big bowl game next year or we should fire him...

He is one year away from doing that so...

That means he has to go to a big bowl game and beat ASU every other year or he's fired...that sound's reasonable for a school that has never done that and will never be able to do that.

It seems like we are a year away every season... except for ASU, when BEFORE every season we are going to deifinitely be better because they have to recover from (insert season here). And then in 3 out of 4 seasons, after the game, it's "Graham inherited a much better hand, but NEXT season..."

I am with Azcat49... winning record in conference, win our 3 gimmes, beat ASU, and don't get embarrassed in any of our losses. I am not sure that adds up to a "big" bowl game, although it should add up to a REAL bowl game.

That would mean 2 for 5 against ASU, 2 winning conf records in 5 tries, and a career 0.500 record in P12 play. I don't think that's unreasonable for a 5 year stretch from a coach with a salary in upper 1/3 of the conference. Especially when you consider what his 5-year record looks like if he DOESN'T achieve those 3 objectives.

Nothing personal. It's just business. My opinion and expectations are NO different than they were BEFORE ntSC refused to pay him more as a Plan C choice than he is making now. Wonder what kind of numbers they were willing to offer Herman or Smart? (For all the slurpers out there chirping about how 'we have a coach who is really in demand!)

[MrMeow]

I also like azcat49's "gloves are off at his request". Bingo. Time to step it up RR. Nothing personal, just business.

[ASUHATER!]

I also like azcat49's "gloves are off at his request". Bingo. Time to step it up RR. Nothing personal, just business.

Sure seems personal to you after all the mouth frothing you've had the last few days.

[Chicat]

So he's got to beat ASU and go to a big bowl game next year or we should fire him...

He is one year away from doing that so...

That means he has to go to a big bowl game and beat ASU every other year or he's fired...that sound's reasonable for a school that has never done that and will never be able to do that.

We'll never be able to have a .500 record against ASU and go to significant bowl games? Nice pessimistic approach. Should we bring back MackoStoops?

[Harvey Specter]

So he's got to beat ASU and go to a big bowl game next year or we should fire him...

He is one year away from doing that so...

That means he has to go to a big bowl game and beat ASU every other year or he's fired...that sound's reasonable for a school that has never done that and will never be able to do that.

We can't beat ASU every OTHER year? When did u become a Cat fan... 2001?

The previous 3 coaches were fired... Mackovic destroyed us, but erase Stoops' first 2 seasons and his next 4 were pretty much a carbon copy of the RR era to date. Tomey had a better PAC conf record overall, and was >0.500 3 times in 4 seasons.

Why exactly are we paying him $3MM per, with a fat buyout and big retention pool? For the privilege of having a coach that was held in high regard before my kids were born? I don't care what he did for somebody else, only what he's done for us since he's been on our payroll.

[UALoco]

So he's got to beat ASU and go to a big bowl game next year or we should fire him...

He is one year away from doing that so...

That means he has to go to a big bowl game and beat ASU every other year or he's fired...that sound's reasonable for a school that has never done that and will never be able to do that.

We can't beat ASU every OTHER year? When did u become a Cat fan... 2001?

The previous 3 coaches were fired... Mackovic destroyed us, but erase Stoops' first 2 seasons and his next 4 were pretty much a carbon copy of the RR era to date. Tomey had a better PAC conf record overall, and was >0.500 3 times in 4 seasons.

Why exactly are we paying him $3MM per, with a fat buyout and big retention pool? For the privilege of having a coach that was held in high regard before my kids were born? I don't care what he did for somebody else, only what he's done for us since he's been on our payroll.

Been a fan since '88 and my bro started going to UA and I followed. Count up all the seasons where we beat ASU and went to a good bowl (lets say any of the new year's bowls or even the tier 2 bowls like the holiday bowl) and then divide that by all of AZ's football seasons. I bet that averages to less than 25%. I have a life so I won't do that calculation. I'm just sayin'...RR did a decent job by producing 8-4 seasons the first two seasons an then took us to the P12 championship. Ok..we had a horrible season but we were still 6-6...not 2-10 or something like that. Nobody was happy with this season but do we put RR on hot seat? I would say if we have another bad season, we mix things up like get a new DC, especially if our offense still has output. If RR is not willing to make the change, then we depart ways. If he shows the willingness to re-think things, we give him another season. The way I figure, RR has exceeded expectations 3 years and missed expectations 1 year. That is batting .750. Not bad. Another bad season, he is at .600. When he falls below .500, we let him go. Y'all act like we are Alabama..we are not. I'm a season ticket holder and live in Phoenix...I think my UA creds are up there. BearDown and I'll see you in New Mexico...no, you won't make it...yeah.that is what I thought.

[Harvey Specter]

So he's got to beat ASU and go to a big bowl game next year or we should fire him...

He is one year away from doing that so...

That means he has to go to a big bowl game and beat ASU every other year or he's fired...that sound's reasonable for a school that has never done that and will never be able to do that.

We can't beat ASU every OTHER year? When did u become a Cat fan... 2001?

The previous 3 coaches were fired... Mackovic destroyed us, but erase Stoops' first 2 seasons and his next 4 were pretty much a carbon copy of the RR era to date. Tomey had a better PAC conf record overall, and was >0.500 3 times in 4 seasons.

Why exactly are we paying him $3MM per, with a fat buyout and big retention pool? For the privilege of having a coach that was held in high regard before my kids were born? I don't care what he did for somebody else, only what he's done for us since he's been on our payroll.

Been a fan since '88 and my bro started going to UA and I followed. Count up all the seasons where we beat ASU and went to a good bowl (lets say any of the new year's bowls or even the tier 2 bowls like the holiday bowl) and then divide that by all of AZ's football seasons. I bet that averages to less than 25%. I have a life so I won't do that calculation. I'm just sayin'...RR did a decent job by producing 8-4 seasons the first two seasons an then took us to the P12 championship. Ok..we had a horrible season but we were still 6-6...not 2-10 or something like that. Nobody was happy with this season but do we put RR on hot seat? I would say if we have another bad season, we mix things up like get a new DC, especially if our offense still has output. If RR is not willing to make the change, then we depart ways. If he shows the willingness to re-think things, we give him another season. The way I figure, RR has exceeded expectations 3 years and missed expectations 1 year. That is batting .750. Not bad. Another bad season, he is at .600. When he falls below .500, we let him go. Y'all act like we are Alabama..we are not. I'm a season ticket holder and live in Phoenix...I think my UA creds are up there. BearDown and I'll see you in New Mexico...no, you won't make it...yeah.that is what I thought.

Making a "good" bowl every other year is a tall order.

Where we disagree... I pay zero attention to our inflated win totals vs. historical standard, and find the "# of bowl games!" Standard a joke in the current environment.

We play one more game per year... we play a complete joke of a non-con schedule annually (that was not the case historically) with 3 automatic wins... And today any team with a pulse that isn't flatlining should make a bowl (especially with 3 automatic wins to start every year).

I think Tomey had a more successful first 4 years than RR, although RR's best certainly wins the prize. And by your standards, Mike Stoops exceeded expectations in the final 3 full seasons he coached here. Regular season records of 7-5, 8-4, 7-5... and 15-12 in conference play (5-4, 6-3, 4-5).

I guess we had a bargain that should never have been fired.

[chiefzona]

If RR admits that Casteel is garbage and fires him, he admits that he is garbage and he cannot do that. You all should know that by now.

[MrMeow]

If RR admits that Casteel is garbage and fires him, he admits that he is garbage and he cannot do that. You all should know that by now.

Beyond Casteel, it appears to me players are not very well coached. In halftime interviews RR often says something to the effect of, "we just have to execute better". Crisp execution is a product of good coaching, and the lack of consistently good execution was apparent in most games (where the opposition was not of the cupcake variety). In many games, especially the blowouts, the Cats looked like the Keystone Cops. In the Utah game the execution was consistently good, so it seems the potential was always there.

RR is a tremendous tactician and in-game coach, however, it appears the necessary details of a well coached team are lost somewhere. In any organization, blame or credit starts at the top.

Chief, you are closer to the action. I would appreciate your comments.

[Chicat]

Every coach who is losing at halftime or whose team is not playing well says they just need to execute better, because every coach is confident that they've done the job during the week to implement an unbeatable game plan and to instruct the players on how to execute it. Absolutely no one says, "We really didn't do a good job of coaching this week" during a halftime interview. Maybe after the game they'll say something like it's on us as coaches to put the players in the best position to win, but during the game it's always about executing the plan put in place during the week.

Chief, you are closer to the action. I would appreciate your comments.

[RazorsEdgeAZ]

RR is a top half of Pac12 paid coach. He's finished lower half of Pac12 3 out of 4 years. ONE conference winning record in SEVEN seasons in a FBS conference. RR is also 1-6 against his school's chief rival in FBS.

16.7% in having a winning FBS conference season. 16.7% in beating his FBS rival.

Casteel is as high as 2nd highest or low as 4th highest paid DC in the Pac12. AZ defense has been at bottom or near bottom of Pac12 3 out of 4 years. Just as troubling and maybe more troubling is Casteel has received a raise every year he's been at AZ AND those raises have been approved by Greg Byrne.

Just as odd to me is Casteel is the highest paid assistant on AZ yet AZ's offense is annually highly ranked in college football every year (Calvin Magee). Yes, I'm aware of RR's involvement in the offense.

I believe how you compete in league play counts more towards compensation than does going to a bowl game. When a team can go to a bowl game and the school boasts going 4 straight years (hype, marketing, passion trigger) AND the team goes 3-6 in league play, then it really is a business.

Their job security should include being judged on that.

[MrMeow]

Every coach who is losing at halftime or whose team is not playing well says they just need to execute better, because every coach is confident that they've done the job during the week to implement an unbeatable game plan and to instruct the players on how to execute it. Absolutely no one says, "We really didn't do a good job of coaching this week" during a halftime interview. Maybe after the game they'll say something like it's on us as coaches to put the players in the best position to win, but during the game it's always about executing the plan put in place during the week.

Chief, you are closer to the action. I would appreciate your comments.

Of course, but the execution has still been consistently poor.

[Chicat]

Playing essentially 7 DBs against teams that run the ball well due to injuries and a gimmicky system you're married to for no apparent reason is not an issue of execution.

[MrMeow]

Playing essentially 7 DBs against teams that run the ball well due to injuries and a gimmicky system you're married to for no apparent reason is not an issue of execution.

The poor execution wasn't isolated to defense. It was on both sides of the ball. As to the DBs, they executed poorly too.

[Chicat]

Playing essentially 7 DBs against teams that run the ball well due to injuries and a gimmicky system you're married to for no apparent reason is not an issue of execution.

The poor execution wasn't isolated to defense. It was on both sides of the ball. As to the DBs, they executed poorly too.

We were third in the PAC on offense while oftentimes playing 2nd and 3rd stringers at key positions like QB and RB and with key injuries on the o-line and without a recruited center.

It's an interesting perspective you have. That it's only coaching during the week before a game that predicates success or failure. Not injuries, the schedule, or the scheme. In my experience, results have everything to do with multiple factors. Not just one.


Shoutout to whatisee for the thread bump!

[Merkin]

Defense was also awful in 2014, bottom 20 in the nation.

Difference being Wilson and Solomon were pretty much healthy in 2014 and could keep the O on the field longer. With Wilson really banged up, and Solomon with concussion issues 2015, the backups couldn't maintain the offensive momentum those two could.

Another big loss on offense in 2015 was Carter Wood being lost for the year, and Caymen Bundage having to take over at center. What a failed experiment that was.

Jerrard Randall, great runner, but absolutely no touch on the ball. Brandon Dawkins is going to be a good QB, but wasn't quite ready.

[MrMeow]

Playing essentially 7 DBs against teams that run the ball well due to injuries and a gimmicky system you're married to for no apparent reason is not an issue of execution.

The poor execution wasn't isolated to defense. It was on both sides of the ball. As to the DBs, they executed poorly too.

We were third in the PAC on offense while oftentimes playing 2nd and 3rd stringers at key positions like QB and RB and with key injuries on the o-line and without a recruited center.

It's an interesting perspective you have. That it's only coaching during the week before a game that predicates success or failure. Not injuries, the schedule, or the scheme. In my experience, results have everything to do with multiple factors. Not just one.


Shoutout to whatisee for the thread bump!

You assume (wrongly, which is often the case with assumptions) that I attribute our poor performance only to poor execution. I don't. I do not disagree that multiple factors came into play. Actually, it's obvious to anyone that it did. I have watched a lot of football over more years than I would like to admit. I've seen enough consistently good execution to know the opposite when I see it, and I saw poor execution ... all over the place. In the Utah game I saw excellent execution. Same personnel difficulties you cite as reasons for losses and blowouts. I've seen a lot of football where subs execute just as well as starters, although they may not have the same raw abilities (strength, speed, athletic ability, etc.) ... but they execute well. I question the coaching quality. I'm not convinced it's all that good. Simple as that.

[azgreg]

Another big loss on offense in 2015 was Carter Wood being lost for the year, and Caymen Bundage having to take over at center. What a failed experiment that was.

And Caymen won team offensive lineman of the year. What does that tell you. smh

[illcat]

If the Cats beat assu once or twice in the next couple of years and finish .500 all sins will be forgiven.

[Harvey Specter]

If the Cats beat assu once or twice in the next couple of years and finish .500 all sins will be forgiven.

If we go 0.500 the next 2 seasons, then those are sins that should not be forgiven IMO. But you might be right - maybe he'll even get a raise and extension.

[Bangkok Wildcat]

Dear Coach,

Not so casual fan here. First off, I wanted to start out by saying that I like you a lot. You seem like a really personable guy and your offensive system is pretty exciting and fun to watch. That being said, your defense is a joke and your recruiting hasn't been stellar, but I digress.

I'm writing you today to let you know that I'm glad you're still our coach. That being said, if you don't get at least 9 wins next year: with one against ASU and one in a pretty good bowl game, I hope you are unceremoniously fired.

You see, I'm an Arizona football fan so I'm not expecting conference or national championships. I do expect though for you to recruit halfway decent players, win more than you lose in conference, and not to flirt with every open job out there. You've failed pretty much at all three.

So good luck in the bowl game. After we win, I don't want to hear anything from you until spring ball. Then next season you need to win and stay loyal to the your current employer. If you can't, there's the door. Try not to fall into a saguaro or any prickly pears on your way out of town.

Sincerely,

- A Fan With No Patience or Forgivenness Left

BRAVO - I am giving you a standing O right now.

I am not sure how we could have had a number of disagreements in the final stages of this ordeal... because quite candidly, your statement above could not more aptly capture my feelings at this juncture.

I might even be a bit more lenient. I will be satisfied with 8 wins in the regular season, with us being at least competitive in all our losses (No blowouts). We make a good bowl game and I can deal with a loss... just so long as we don't embarrass ourselves.

Well done, Chi.

+1 as well on both perspectives....Bear Down