Three and out : Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the crucible of college football

2011·34.5 MB·English

by  Bacon, John U., 1964-

THREE — OUT
RICH RODRIGUEZ
AND THE
MICHIGAN
WOLVERINES
E IN THE CRUCIBLE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL
I • I • I • I • I • I > I • I • I • t • I • I ■ I • I > I ■
JOHN U. BACON
$28.00
THREE AND OUT tells the
story of how college football's
most influential coach took over
the nation's most successful
program, only to produce three
of the worst seasons ever for
both Rich Rodriguez and
the University of Michigan
Three and Out is an unprecedented account from
the epicenter of one of America's greatest passions.
Shortly after his controversial move from West
Virginia, where he had just taken his alma mater
to a first-place ranking for the first time in school
o
history, coach Rich Rodriguez granted the author
and journalist John U. Bacon unrestricted access 00
CO
o
to Michigan's program. Bacon saw it all, from the
meals and the meetings, to the practices and the
games, to the sidelines and the locker rooms.
Nothing and no one was off-limits.
The result is a g ripping search into how Rodri-
guez— the inventor of the revolutionary spread
option offense, who had a reputation for turning o a
rough starts into stunning successes — fell short of 3
0)
everyone's expectations, especially his own.
Bacon's behind-the-scenes reporting shows
what really happened in Rodriguez's final weeks
at West Virginia, and how Michigan's chaotic
monthlong search suddenly settled on an outsider.
It explores why Rodriguez remained silent while
the leaders of his alma mater attacked him, and
lays out the causes and costs of a yearlong NCAA
investigation and its surprising effects on the
coaches and players.
Everyone knew Rodriguez was on trial from
the day he arrived in Ann Arbor to the day he was
fired. But Michigan was on trial, too. Would the
Michigan faithful, who cherish their past like no
others, be able to seize the future in the form of
the spread offense? Could they support an outsider
for the first time in nearly four decades? And how
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ALSO BY JOHN U. BACON
Bo's Lasting Lessons (with Bo Schembechler)
THREE AND OUT

THREE AND OUT
RICH RODRIGUEZ
AND THE
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
IN THE CRUCIBLE OF
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
JOHN U. BACON
FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX NEW YORK
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
18 West 18th Street, New York 10011
Copyright © 201 1 h y J ohn U. Bacon
All rights reserved
Distributed in Canada hy D&M Publishers, Inc.
Printed in the United States of A merica
First edition, 2011
Library of C ongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bacon, John U., 1964-
Three and out : R ich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the crucible of
college football I J ohn U. Bacon,
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8090-9466-0 (hardback)
1. Rodriguez, Rich, 1963- 2. Football coaches — United States. 3. University
of M ichigan — Football. 4. Michigan Wolverines (Football team). I. Title.
GV939.R622B34 2011
769.332— dc23
2011022040
Designed by A bby Kagan
www.fsgbooks.com
10 9 8 7 6 5
This book has not been approved, endorsed, or sponsored by a ny person or entity involved with
the University of M ichigan.