If losing to Appalachian State earlier this year wasn’t enough to make University of Michigan football the laughingstock of the nation, then the coaching search is definitely the icing on the cake. Les Miles, a devout Michigan man in the prime of his career, was expected by all to take the supposed “dream job” that is the position left behind by retiring Lloyd Carr. After a National Championship bid and lucrative pay raise, Les Miles decided to stay at LSU. Then Rutgers’ Greg Schiano came into the picture. The day Michigan was expected to give him the coaching job he announced he would remain in New Jersey. Word has it that he would rather wait for Joe Paterno to die (like that will ever happen) so he can eventually take over at Penn State.

So now we’ve got West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez as the favorite. Stealing coaches from West Virginia is not something Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin is entirely unfamiliar with--after snagging John Beilein this past off-season for the basketball team (who lost to Central Michigan at home today, awesome). Rodriguez’s West Virginia teams are known for their spread offense. This would hopefully translate into the Michigan defense finally learning how to defend it. However, despite his great record and experience he has a 4 million dollar buyout clause in his contract. If we do manage to snag him, expect your ticket prices to bump up a few dollars.

Just as sure as Stein is to Jew and Chen is to China, Rodriguez happens to be one of few known Hispanics coaching in Division 1-A. It looks like diversity extends to our coaching staff as well.