Rich Rodriguez at least has a sense of humor over not taking Alabama football coaching job
Rich Rodriguez at least has a sense of humor over not taking Alabama football coaching job
"Where's my trophy in Tuscaloosa? Where's my statue outside there? Because if I had gone there you probably wouldn't have those six national championships."@WVUfootball head coach Rich Rodriguez spoke w/ @JoshPateCFB about being in running for the Alabama job back in 2006 pic.twitter.com/8zaLMCduSR — CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) April 30, 2025
Rich Rodriguez has an interesting place in Alabama football lore, a common name bandied about whenever discussions turn to college football's great "what-if" scenarios.
In December 2006, Alabama was in search of another head coach -- its fifth in six years, if you count Mike Price's legendary-for-all-the-wrong-seasons "tenure." Athletics director Mal Moore had just moved on from Mike Shula after four seasons at the helm, and Rodriguez appeared set to become the next coach of the Crimson Tide.
Only Rodriguez backed out after reportedly agreeing to a deal in principle, and someone else with deep ties to the state of West Virginia took the Alabama job: Nick Saban. Saban led the Tide back to their rightful place as the envy of every other major college football program by winning six national championships and nine SEC titles over the next 17 seasons.
Rodriguez? He stayed in Morgantown but for only one more season after taking the Michigan Wolverines' coaching job. Things didn't work out in three seasons in Ann Arbor, but he found success as Arizona's head coach by leading the Wildcats to five winning seasons in six years from 2012-2017. He's now back at West Virginia after making a few other coaching stops along the way, most recently at Jacksonville State.
Through the years, Rodriguez has repeatedly maintained a healthy and often self-deprecating sense of humor about his decision to back out of the Alabama job. It's something he reiterated again on Wednesday in a sit-down with CBS Sports' Josh Pate.
"Somebody did a story about that because obviously with Coach Saban's success, he was the greatest college football coach ever," Rodriguez said. "What I tell everybody, I said, 'Remember, I didn't go to Alabama the year before.' And some of the things that happened then that (kept) me here came up later on, too, one year later."
Rodriguez said jokingly:
"But I always tell the story: 'Where's my trophy in Tuscaloosa? Where's my statue outside there? Because if I had gone there, you probably wouldn't have those six national championships and all that."
Of that there is no doubt, but given hindsight and how his decision ultimately benefited Alabama, it's hard to be too upset at Rodriguez for spurning the Crimson Tide many moons ago.
Watch the full clip below:
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