One of the most despised men in the state of West Virginia is showing remorse for his controversial departure.
Former West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez stated in an interview on cbssports.com on Friday that he regrets leaving his alma mater for Michigan in December, 2007. Some of Rodriguez’s quotes were used in the Detroit News.
Rodriguez was fired from Michigan this past January after posting a 15-22 overall record in three seasons. He recorded no wins against rivals Ohio State and Michigan State and ended his short stint with an embarrassing 52-14 loss to Mississippi State in the 2011 Gator Bowl.
"I think it’s easy to go back now and say, ‘Gee, made a mistake.’ And you can say that now because of hindsight," Rodriguez said in the interview. "But at the time, some of the things I was looking to do and the opportunity that was there, you kind of make the move.
"The frustrating part for us was that we thought we battled through the tougher times to get it to this point where we had a lot of the team coming back and we thought we were getting ready to take off. But you know hindsight is always easier to look back and say, ‘It was a mistake.’ Because we did have a good thing going at West Virginia, and we really enjoyed it. As you look back at it, wasn’t the best move. Easy to say now."