Top 10 most hated head coaches in college football heading into 2017
By Zach Bigalke
Rich Rodriguez never could pull off what Harbaugh has so far in Ann Arbor. Even before then, however, he had already developed a reputation among college football’s hated coaches. Rodriguez has bounced in and out of coaching gigs. He spent nearly a decade as a head coach at the lower ranks, first at Salem in 1988 and then seven more at Glenville State from 1990 to 1996.
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Rodriguez, though, really made his reputation as the offensive coordinator for Tommy Bowden at Tulane and Clemson. He finally got his chance to join the ranks of I-A coaches in 2001, when his alma mater West Virginia hired him.
The Mountaineers won all or part of the Big East title in four of Rodriguez’s seven seasons in Morgantown, and finished second in the conference twice more. He toyed with the chance to take over Alabama in 2006 before moving on to Michigan a year later. The acrimonious departure burned many bridges at the university from which he graduated.
The time with the Wolverines ended poorly, as Michigan went 15-22 in his three seasons. Fired to placate an embittered UM fan base in 2010, Rodriguez moved on to Arizona in 2012. He could be on his way out of another job as the fans in Tucson become increasingly disenchanted with Rodriguez’s results. If the Wildcats don’t return to winning ways in 2017, another fan base might turn completely against the coach.