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News -
Big Ten
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Sunday, 16 December 2007 00:00 |
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Michigan’s search for a coach to replace the retiring Lloyd Carr ended on Sunday with the hiring of West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez, an offensive innovator who helped develop the same shotgun-spread offense that gave Michigan fits in losses to Oregon and Appalachian State this season, played defensive back at West Virginia from 1981 to 1984 and, as coach, led the team to B.C.S. bowl berths in two of the last three seasons.
The Mountaineers, with assistant coaches Bill Stewart and Calvin Magee assuming the head coaching duties, will play Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2. Les Miles, the coach who led Louisiana State to a berth in the National Championship Game against Ohio State on Jan. 7, had been regarded by many observers as the top candidate for the Michigan job. Hours before the Tigers defeated Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference Championship game on Dec. 1, Miles, a Michigan graduate, denied an ESPN report that a deal with Michigan was imminent. He went on to sign a one-year extension with L.S.U. Rodriguez will be introduced Monday at a news conference in Ann Arbor. Carr will conclude his 12-year Michigan on Jan. 1, when he coaches the Wolverines against Florida in the Capital One Bowl. |
