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| Arizona looks like a wonderful place to live |
Former Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez finally got the defensive coordinator he wanted all along in the form of Jeff Casteel, the former head of the defense at West Virginia. Casteel's absence in Ann Arbor has been discussed ad nauseum as perhaps Rodriguez's biggest failure during his tenure as Michigan's head man. Casteel will presumably run Rodriguez's favored 3-3-5, and someone with an actual clue about how it works - not Scott Shafer and not Greg Robinson - might have a chance at being successful.
Arizona also announced the hirings of Bill Kirelawach (defensive line), David Lockwood (cornerbacks), and Spencer Leftwich (tight ends). Kiralewach was Rodriguez's defensive line coach in Morgantown. Lockwood coached WVU's cornerbacks from 2008-2011, which was after Rodriguez had left, but the two crossed paths back in 1989 when both were assistants at WVU. Leftwich was Tulsa's offensive line coach in 2010, when former Rodriguez assistant Todd Graham was the head coach there (Graham has since moved on to Pitt and now Arizona State).
These coaches join former Michigan assistants Calvin Magee, Tony Dews, Tony Gibson, and Rod Smith, along with strength and conditioning coach Chris Allen.
Do you think Rich Rod would still be at Michigan if he had Casteel from the beginning? Also, why would Casteel follow him to Arizona and not Michigan?
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous 6:34 p.m.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do think Rodriguez would still be at Michigan if he had Casteel. The 3-3-5 could have worked in the Big Ten if it were used properly, and even if it weren't as effective as Mattison's defense this year, the explosive offense probably would have made up for much of the difference. Michigan might have won another half dozen games in Rodriguez's first three years if he had a competent defense.
Casteel apparently didn't get offered enough money to come to Michigan. Plus it sounds like there were some issues between the new WVU coach, Dana Holgorsen, and Casteel.
And Barwis remains in Plynouth.
ReplyDeleteHopefully for a long time.
Arizona is a nice place to live - if you're in the north of the state. Head south were RR and Arizona U is, and you've got nothing but desert, desert, and more desert. Northern Arizona however, is very nice, pine forests, snow, and reasonable temperatures due to the elevation.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I'm glad Thunder stated that the 3-3-5 would work in the B10. I'm so sick of hearing the RR bashers saying "335 and the spread won't work in the B10". Total nonsense.
And WVU offered Casteel $10k/year more than UM did, plus a contract. You can thank Bill Martin refusing to make an equal counteroffer to Casteel for Casteel not coming here.