Coach Rodriguez---Risk vs Reward

As a leader, one of the most critical decisions you will make is the choice of who will lead important components of your organization.  Greg Byrne, the Athletic Director at University of Arizona, has just made a football coaching choice that will pretty much define his career.  Great leaders are not afraid of taking well-thought calculated risks and the choice of Rich Rodriguez to lead the Wildcat football fortunes is clearly risky.

On the positive side, Coach Rod led West Virginia to national prominence and came close to a shot at the BCS national championship.  He is a highly motivated and focused taskmaster that recruited most of the players who are completing a 10-2 season at Michigan.  Urban Meyer is quoted as saying, “If you hire Rich Rodriguez, you’re getting one of the five greatest minds in college football.”

However on the opposite side of the ledger you are getting a coach that compiled a 15-22 record at the University of Michigan with three consecutive losses to hated rival Ohio State.  In conjunction with that losing record Rodriguez compiled 4 major NCAA violations (excessive practice time and using graduate assistants as a full-time coaches) that were direct and overt violations of NCAA regulations.  Additionally Coach Rodriguez had numerous players transfer.  While transfers with a new coach are not unusual and are expected, the departure of All Big Ten lineman Justin Boren to arch-rival Ohio State did elicit some red flags.  As reported by Detroit Free Press’ Michael Rosenburg, “Rodriguez’s staff uses some of the foulest, most degrading language imaginable.  I know coaches curse, and I’m no prude, but this goes way beyond a few dirty words.  He belittles his players.  This is a big reason why offensive lineman Justin Boren left the team.  He felt his dignity was at stake.”  While the W and L’s were great at West Virginia, Coach Rod eventually developed conflicts with WVU president Michael Garrison that resulted in his departure to Michigan after four months earlier signing a long contract extension to stay in Morgantown.  Lawsuits followed and ultimately Michigan paid WVU $2.5 million and the coach paid an additional $1.5 million.

Without question Athletic Director Greg Byrne knows exactly what he is getting with Rich Rodriguez.  Byrne’s leadership position and career is riding on this decision.  Will Rodriguez’s successes on the field mitigate the other issues he will bring to Tucson.  Hopefully the leadership concept of “big risk, big reward” will manifest itself in Central Arizona.  The big question, "How much baggage is too much?"  The next few three to four years in Tucson may give us the answer.  Every leader needs to understand how much is enough.