We Don't Need No Torches or Pitchforks.... yet.

After a late night of reports that our beloved Coach Rich Rodriquez was on the next flight to Alabama, this is a refreshing start to the day.

The Charleston Gazette - 103:
Rich Rodriguez walked into his Cheat Lake home at roughly 12:30 a.m. today, flipped on ESPN and found out that he was going to be Alabama’s next football coach.

And what a shock that was to him.

“Where do they get this stuff,’’ Rodriguez wondered, his voice sounding both bewildered and exhausted after a long day of travel.

Just where do they get this stuff?

In Rod We Trust(ed)

With all of the news swirling tonight about Coach Rod, someone in Alabama has clearly invested some time in welcoming Rod...

Welcome to the University of Alabama, Coach Rodriguez



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Apparently these folks have been know to be wrong about these things...

Welcome to the University of Alabama, Coach Spurrier!

Hello. This is your wakeup call.

What is the Athletic Department and the Administration thinking? In the past week, I have heard Rod mention a "lifetime contract" on more than one occasion. He even joked about it at the press conference following the win over Rutgers.

Rod commented that with a lifetime contract they can't fire you, so they have to shoot you. Then he quipped that there are a lot of guns in WV.

Hello! Read between the lines.

The Charleston Gazette - 103: "On Sunday, Rodriguez was said to be miffed that in the midst of all of the rumors concerning Alabama’s interest in him that no one from WVU had stepped forward even to open a dialogue with the coach."

No wonder he is talking to Alabama! We (WVU Admin) had better get on the same page.

Will he stay or will he go?

Judging from all of the "reports" and "rumors" the WVU faithful know as much tonight as we did a month ago. The only different is that instead of worry about Coach Rod becoming a Tarheel, we're worried about him becoming a faux Bear Bryant.

I, like most Mountaineer fans, have debated the events of the last few days. Here are five things that I have pondered:

1. WVU fans too often react with their hearts rather than their heads. Face it, some folks act as though Coach Rod has just walked into their homes and punched their wife in the face. I have actually been told, "if Rod leaves, he's already dead to me." Wow! Those are harsh words for a guy who coaches football.

2. If someone tells me they wouldn't consider moving to Tuscaloosa for $3 Million a year they are lying.

3. How will Alabama react to a 3-8 rebuilding season? I doubt they offer a contract extension.

4. After losing to Beilein to NC State I don't think... oh wait, nevermind.

5. If we can't keep Coach Rod, a Grantown native, an alum, a former walkon turned scholarship player, who can we keep? In this day of coaching musical chairs are we meant to only be a stepping stone?

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As an aside, I find it interesting that Rita Rodriguez is playing such a crucial role in this drama. Afterall, it was her that tearfully called Coach Rod on Friday and got him all fired up enough to call Talkline from Lakeview. And apparently, it was Rita who was keeping track how long they met with the Alabama folks today.

BamaOnLine.com - Report: Moore meets with Rodriguez:
Rodriguez, Moore and UA president Dr. Robert Witt are in New York for tonight's National Football Foundation awards banquet.

'It was an informal meeting,' Rodriguez told espn.com.

When asked how long the meeting lasted, Rodriguez turned to his wife, Rita, and said, '25, 30 minutes. How long did it last, Rita?'

'Ninety minutes,' Rita Rodriguez said.

'Oh,' Rodriguez said. 'Well, we didn't talk about anything specific. We didn't talk about plans or facilities or anything.'

According to the report, Rodriguez refused to speculate on what would happen next.

A Sign of the Times

From West "by God" Virginia to West "F*ckin" Virginia. Apparently, not everyone approves?

Football Madness! at 850 & 620 THE BLOG:
Rich Rodriguez has said that he’s going to stay at West Virginia forever, or at least as long as they want him to stay, which means that he’ll stay in Morgantown as long as they’re willing to pay him a lot of money, forever. Maybe they should just guarantee Rodriguez a cut of the very popular “West F*ckin Virginia” sweat shirts we saw Saturday night at Mountaineer Field? I love a classy crowd.

I said this during a similar issue during Maryland basketball games, if the school can’t eliminate this type of classless behavior, networks like ESPN should simply stop showing West F*ckin Virginia home games.

If you ask me, as an ACC homer he's just jealous. Afterall, given the sad state of football in the ACC, and, most important, the apparent Coach envy that the ACC has with Rodrizuez and Beilein, how can you blame the guy?

Let's Go Bowling!

After bursting Rutgers' BCS dreams in triple-overtime, WVU has accepted an invitation to face off against the ACC Champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Toyota Gator Bowl on Jan. 1, 2007.

This will be WVU's 3rd trip in four years to Jacksonville.

Let's Go Mountaineers!