If You Hadn't Heard, Michigan Finally Found A Coach

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images / Chris Trotman

Similar colors, but a completely different program. Rich Rodriguez accepted the vacant head coaching position in Ann Arbor Sunday afternoon, less than 48 hours after sitting down to interview for the job. As Ivan Maisel says, it was a no-brainer move, even if it does require him to lose a little sleep over leaving his alma mater:

"Earthquakes have the Richter scale. Coaching moves have the newly developed, very scientific Petrino-Saban scale. Rodriguez's decision to leave barely caused the needle to move. This move is justifiable, even if Rodriguez, 44, had to leave home to make it."

Rodriguez will be bringing another spread offense to the Big Ten. Right now, the personnel at Michigan does not fit it, and it doesn't help that all of their best players (likely) will be leaving. I'll be curious to see how this impacts the current recruiting class, as well as where he plans to take the program in the future. One thing is for sure: Keep an eye on Ryan Mallet. With the spread on the way, he could be transferring in a flash.

UPDATED: It's long been thought that Terrelle Pryor is a virtual lock to sign with Ohio State in February, but if Rich could steal him away it would be a great first step in bringing a new system to Ann Arbor. Coach Rodriguez actually spoke with Pryor about his switch to Michigan before the media knew about it, and Pryor has since commented. Reported by the Detroit Free Press:

"He called me this morning and told me before he announced to anyone. He said he's keeping the same offense that he had at West Virginia because it's all he knows. I love that offense. I told him I was very interested."

Pryor, who listed Florida, Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon and West Virginia as his favorites to attend as of Sunday, told Superprep.com to “add Michigan to my list” following his conversation with Rodriguez.

"He's excited and so was I," Pryor told rivals.com. "Michigan was on my early list, and now their right up there again. He's a great coach and I like his offense."

The article also speculated on the belief that Mallett could be on his way out. One thing that is for sure is that it's going to be an interesting couple months leading up to NSD. At this point, where Pryor signs is up in the air, it appears.

Rodriguez's hiring at Michigan is a double-edged sword for Big Ten fans. On one hand, Rich is a great, great coach and he could excel at Michigan even more than he did at West Virginia. Seeing the Big Ten preforming at the top-level is always fun. On the other hand, he'll be coaching at Michigan. Yuck.

Also included with the links below is Terrelle Pryor's profile at Rivals.com. Check him out.

Link: Michigan Lure Hard To Resist
Link: DFP | Add Michigan To My List
Link: Terrelle Pryor's Rivals Profile