Alabama interviews Saban

Dec 6, 2006 06:11 PM CST

Alabama Coaching Update

By Eric Richey and Rob Lehocky

Fox 10 sports has learned that Miami Dolphins Head Coach Nick Saban will be interviewed Wednesday by Alabama.

A source close to the situation told Fox 10 sports that a plane of an Alabama Board of Trustees member flew to Miami to meet with Nick Saban. The source went on to say that Saban has issued a list of demands that must be met before he would consider the Alabama job.

Miami Dolphins Senior VP of Media Relations Harvey Greene told Fox 10 Sports today that, "We are not commenting on any rumors."

Alabama Director of Media Relations told Fox 10 sports, "Mal Moore's in Tuscaloosa today, and he's heading the search."

http://www.fox10tv.com/Global/story.asp?...=menu489_5

W.Va. prepared to spend on facilities to keep coach happy
JOHN RABY
Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - West Virginia University plans to spend millions of dollars to upgrade its football facilities to ensure that coach Rich Rodriguez, who's been mentioned as the front-runner for the job at Alabama, stays in Morgantown.

"We want him to stay," WVU athletic director Ed Pastilong told The Associated Press on Wednesday evening. "He's the one that can make that call. We're hoping it continues."

Pastilong and Rodriguez met Wednesday to discuss several issues including the Mountaineers' upcoming Gator Bowl appearance, but the Alabama job wasn't mentioned, Pastilong said.

Rodriguez and Alabama athletic director Mal Moore talked informally Tuesday in New York, where they attended the College Football Hall of Fame dinner. Rodriguez was there with WVU linebacker Jay Henry, a finalist for the Draddy Trophy as college football's top scholar athlete.

Pastilong was in New York at the same time attending Big East meetings.

Media reports said Moore and Rodriguez did not discuss the Crimson Tide head coaching job, vacated when Mike Shula was fired on Nov. 26 following a 6-6 season.

Rodriguez, who is 49-24 in six seasons at West Virginia, said last week he planned on being at WVU the remainder of his career "if they'll have me." He is a West Virginia alumnus and a former Mountaineer football player.

"We want to make sure Rich has the resources so that he can recruit well, so that his student-athletes can condition and train well, and we also want to have the facilities in place so that people who come to our games are comfortable," Pastilong said. "And we've been fortunate to be able to accommodate those situations."

Rodriguez didn't immediately return telephone messages left at his office Wednesday.

In June, Rodriguez signed a seven-year contract that pays him $1 million this year with $50,000 annual raises after that. His base salary is $150,000. He'll also collect $600,000 in deferred compensation in December 2011 if he remains as coach.

The agreement included $125,000 more to pay assistant football coaches and plans to renovate the team's athletic building, the Milan Puskar Center. The renovation plans, including a study center and locker rooms, were contingent on support from private fundraisers, the university had said.

"There are some situations there that Rich would like improved and we're going to improve them," Pastilong said. "That project's going very good. It's on track and I'm pleased to say that will be done in the near future."

About half of the funds for the $2 million study center have been raised. Fundraising for the $4 million locker room renovations, which include a redesign and expansion, is just getting started, Pastilong said.

The university recently installed new turf in its indoor football facility and in October opened a 3,000-square-foot area dedicated to the history of Mountaineer football.

The turf at Milan Puskar Stadium, installed in 2002, also will be replaced next spring with a more updated version.

"The technology has advanced so much and it is so much superior to the turf of five or six years ago that we just want to do that to accommodate our student-athletes," Pastilong said.

Also, about 350 club-level seats are being added to the stadium as "part of our expansion and opportunities to generate revenues to continue the facility improvement," he said.

Rich was at the WVU/NC State game tonight literally surrounded by donors, heh. Methinks we're in decent position. To pull the rug out from all these people now would just be unbelievable. I guess anything can happen, though.

Alabama readies offer to Rodriguez
Miami tries to make bid for WVU's coach

Thursday, December 07, 2006
By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

While Alabama administrators were toiling in Tuscaloosa toward a future with Rich Rodriguez, Miami tried to enter the picture yesterday by seeking permission to interview a coach whose days with West Virginia appear to be numbered.

Hurricanes athletic director Paul Dee telephoned West Virginia counterpart Ed Pastilong and said he intended to speak to Pastilong's coach, making Miami a late entry into a process in which Rodriguez is expected to receive a lucrative contract offer from Alabama today.

Alabama athletic director Mal Moore returned to Tuscaloosa County Regional Airport yesterday afternoon and told a Birmingham News reporter there that "both sides are working on each end" toward a deal. Moore declined to say if an offer was already extended, adding, "Just give us some time."

Time on that clock ticks to an end today, when Crimson Tide officials are expected to try to complete an agreement that will double the $1.1 million Rodriguez earned this year on the Mountaineers' extension through 2013 he signed in June.

Meantime, the question remained whether West Virginia officials made a concrete counter offer in an attempt to keep the alumnus and native son who steered the 13th-ranked Mountaineers to their most successful five consecutive seasons in the program's 114-year history.

Rodriguez consistently has said he long planned to coach his career at the alma mater where he returned in 2001, but his relationship with the administration seemed to sour the past 10 months.

He wanted a new academic center and the locker-room renovations promised in the contract extension that he forged acrimoniously with West Virginia officials last winter and spring.

Pastilong told The Associated Press that half the $2 million for that study-center project have been raised, though the effort for the $4 million locker-room work has yet to begin.

Asked if West Virginia planned to make a proposal to keep Rodriguez, President Dave Hardesty's office issued a statement on Hardesty's behalf: "WVU and [the state of ] West Virginia greatly respect and admire Coach Rodriguez's coaching skills and abilities, and we hope he stays here as we continue to grow our program."

Pastilong, who met with Rodriguez yesterday before the coach left for Charleston to attend the West Virginia-North Carolina State basketball game, told the AP:

"We want him to stay. He's the one that can make that call. ... There are some situations there that Rich would like improved, and we're going to improve them. It's on track, and I'm pleased to say that will be done in the near future."

(Chuck Finder can be reached at cfinder@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1724.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06341/744249-144.stm

Here's another article I found on the Syracuse Scout Board.



Rodriguez deal could reach $3.1 million

Jacob Messer
Daily Mail sportswriter

Wednesday December 06, 2006

Alabama and West Virginia fans soon will know which college football team Rich Rodriguez will coach next season.

Rodriguez and his wife, Rita, met with Alabama President Robert Witt and Crimson Tide Athletic Director Mal Moore for 90 minutes Tuesday at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, the site of the 49th annual College Football Hall of Fame Ceremony.

"It was an informal meeting," Rodriguez told Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com.

"We just discussed the facilities and what the nature of the situation was," Rodriguez told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in another interview. "It was a very good meeting, but nothing really serious. We learned a lot about each other.

"I have got a good job. But I respect Coach Moore and I wanted to listen to what he had to say."

Rodriguez, whose to-do list for the remainder of the week includes fundraising, recruiting and attending the WVU-North Carolina State men's basketball game tonight at the Charleston Civic Center, reportedly wants an offer -- if one is forthcoming -- to come soon because he doesn't want the discussions to interfere with those aforementioned activities.

Maisel reported that Alabama will make a decision within the next 72 hours, after Moore discusses it with Witt and influential boosters.

However, Moore told The Tuscaloosa News last week that there is "no timetable" for hiring the Crimson Tide's next coach.

NCAA officials must clear Rodriguez before Moore can hire him because Alabama still is on probation for violations on Feb. 1, according to Maisel.

Moore made an unsuccessful attempt to reach WVU Athletic Director Ed Pastilong on Tuesday to request permission to speak with Rodriguez.

The Daily Mail couldn't reach the Mountaineer coach for comment.

"(He) left a voice mail," said Pastilong, who hasn't spoken with Moore. "I called his office to confirm it was him who left the message, but I never got called back.

"That's irrelevant now."

Rodriguez, a WVU graduate who played defensive back and on special teams for the Mountaineers, has a 94-60-2 record in his coaching career, including a 49-24 mark at his alma mater.

He previously was a head coach at Salem (1988) and Glenville State (1990-96) and an offensive coordinator at Tulane (1997-98) and Clemson (1999-2000). He also served as a volunteer assistant at WVU (1989) in between his stints at Salem and Glenville State.

"We're pleased with him," Pastilong said of Rodriguez, a two-time Big East Conference Coach of the Year (2003 and 2005) who has led WVU to three league titles and five bowl berths in six seasons. "We hope he stays."

The decision could be a financial one.

There are reports that Alabama will offer Rodriguez a seven-year contract worth $22 million to replace Mike Shula, a former Crimson Tide quarterback who was fired on Nov. 26 after he compiled a 26-23 record in four years at his alma mater.

That is $3.14 million per year or three times as much as Rodriguez currently makes.

Rodriguez signed a seven-year contract with WVU in June. It will pay him $8.65 million if he remains at WVU through the 2012 season. He will receive $1 million this year with a $50,000 raise each year after that.

He also will receive $600,000 in deferred compensation -- $100,000 per season -- if he remains at WVU through the 2011 season. He receives none of that money, however, if he leaves before then.

When Pastilong was asked whether he was confident that Rodriguez would stay or worried that WVU would lose its coach, the Mountaineer athletic director responded, "I would probably be better off not answering that."

Not a good sign. Somebody traveled from Birmingham to Morgantown on a lear jet. Presumably Bear Force One. Hopefully it was the search committee who will be returning empty handed.


http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N321A.../KBHM/KMGW

Rod is Jacksonville today meeting with officials from the Gator bowl...so not sure what the plane is all about


Jackson

Shannon Panther Wrote:Not a good sign. Somebody traveled from Birmingham to Morgantown on a lear jet. Presumably Bear Force One. Hopefully it was the search committee who will be returning empty handed.


http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N321A.../KBHM/KMGW

WVU's new coach will be Watson Brown? ;-)

Jackson1011 Wrote:Rod is Jacksonville today meeting with officials from the Gator bowl...so not sure what the plane is all about


Jackson

Just pure speculation but maybe to pick up his family.

Or to pay WVU the $2 mil buyout.

Shannon Panther Wrote:Not a good sign. Somebody traveled from Birmingham to Morgantown on a lear jet. Presumably Bear Force One. Hopefully it was the search committee who will be returning empty handed.


http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N321A.../KBHM/KMGW

It's a Books-a-Million plane. It's heading to Richmond now. They've been talking about it (joking mostly) on the WVU forum all day.

That's good to hear. Despite my desire to see Pitt beat the crap out of WVU at everything they compete in, losing coaches to other schools only reinforces the notion that the Big East is a stepping stone conference as opposed to a destination for coaches.

Pace of talks forcing Miami to decideBy Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com


The pace of negotiations between Alabama and West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez is forcing Miami to decide deciding how badly it wants to pursue him.

Miami athletic director Paul Dee has been told that if he is interested in hiring Rodriguez that he needs to make a contract offer as soon as possible, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiation said Thursday morning.

Dee received permission from West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong to speak with Rodriguez only Wednesday. However, Rodriguez has been adamant with both schools that he does not want this process to drag out. When a representative of Miami contacted Rodriguez to set up an interview, the coach asked to get an offer on the table, the source said.

Alabama, meanwhile, has not made an offer to Rodriguez yet. Athletic director Mal Moore encountered some delays in returning to Tuscaloosa from New York on Wednesday. Upon landing on Wednesday afternoon, according to The Tuscaloosa News, Moore said, "Both sides are working."

Moore returned to campus in order to discuss a potential offer to Rodriguez with university president Dr. Robert Witt. Moore also must receive a go-ahead from the NCAA, which must approve any new head football coach hired by Alabama before the program's probation expires on Feb. 1.

Rodriguez met Wednesday with West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong. Given that Rodriguez remains in contact with his two suitors, it is clear that nothing he discussed with Pastilong persuaded the coach to cut off negotiations with Alabama, Miami or anyone else in order to remain at his alma mater.

Rodriguez is 49-24 in six seasons at West Virginia. He signed a three-year extension with the Mountaineers on June 24 and has six years left on his contract, which pays him about $1.1 million annually with the possibility of more than $400,000 in additional performance bonuses. The contract includes a $2 million penalty if he leaves West Virginia before Aug. 31, 2007.

Ivan Maisel is a a senior writer at ESPN.com.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2689783

Afternoon update from Mobile Press-Register:

http://www.al.com/pressregister/breaking...tml#213075

Sources: UA has offered Rodriguez coaching job
West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez has an offer to become the next head football coach at the University of Alabama, sources close to the hiring process told the Press-Register today. The offer from Alabama Athletics Director Mal Moore to replace the fired Mike Shula was made this morning.

Terms of the contract offer were not made available, but multiple sources familiar with the situation said it is in the neighborhood of the most lucrative in the Southeastern Conference. Auburn's Tommy Tuberville is the highest paid coach in the SEC with an annual salary of $2.2 million. That is double the $1.1 million Rodriguez currently makes per season.

Rodriguez is considering the offer, according to the sources. He was scheduled to fly to Jacksonville, Fla., today for a Gator Bowl function. A West Virginia official said the flight was scheduled to leave Morgantown at 11:30 a.m. Central Standard Time.

His answer is expected soon, perhaps as early as today. He did not immediately return a call from the Press-Register.

On Wednesday, West Virginia Athletics Director Ed Pastilong met for two hours with Rodriguez to discuss upgrades to the Mountaineers athletic facilities. "We want him to stay," Pastilong told The Associated Press.

Rodriguez, 43, has his alma mater to a 21-3 record the last two seasons and a berth in the Jan. 1 Gator Bowl against Georgia Tech.

A source close to the process said today that Moore decided late Wednesday he could not wait until after the NFL season to speak directly to Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban about the Alabama vacancy.

Saban was considered by many as Alabama's top choice for the job left vacant when Moore fired Shula on Nov. 26. The Dolphins complete their NFL season Dec. 31 at Indianapolis.

- Thomas Murphy and Neal McCready, posted at 11:45 a.m.

there are over 2,500 people right now on the WVU rivals board. Why do I have the feeling that not much work is getting done in offices all across the state of WV today, heh. I wish Rich would make up his mind and say something!!

If money were the only aspect to consider in the Alabama position, then WVU could not even begin to compete. West Virginia is the poorest state in the USA and doesn't have that kind of money. But there are so many other factors involved for Rodriguez...
1. West Virginia is home, and he has a lot of ties to the state
2. WVU is his alma mater, and no matter how long he coached anywhere else he would still be a Mountaineer
3. Uprooting his family in the middle of a school year would be a huge burden on his kids

I don't think money is the overriding factor here. But then again, I've been mistaken before. This may turn out to be a lot like the flirtation that Petrino had with Auburn a few years ago, with the exception that Alabama's football coach isn't there to wonder what is going on behind his back. I think Rod will stay, but we shall see.

Saw this bama creation on the CUSA board. I suspect its a nightmare for Eer fans.