Pay day!

What does $4 million buy in West Virginia? A whole lotta Skoal.

Michigan head coach Rich (no pun intended) Rodriguez has agreed to pony up the buyout money he clearly owes West Virginia University. Perhaps his lawyers finally convinced Dick Rod that handshakes and winks don't stand a chance in court when you've got a signed piece of paper.

What I find most baffling about this whole ordeal is that Rodriguez would take the Michigan job without any buyout assistance from Big Blue. That's unheard of. Either Rodriguez grossly underestimated how pissed off his home state's university would be over his departure, or his ego had convinced him he could weasel his way out of the buyout.

Another theory is that Rodriguez has handshake and whisper deals with Michigan now. It would certainly be in UM's interest to wrap this up before the season starts. Hard to focus on going 6-6 this season when your coach is in court four days a week.

If that is the case then Dick Rod has set himself up to get screwed over again. Folks from West Virginia are just used to getting the short end of the stick I guess.

No one comes out smelling like roses in this sordid mess. First, the obvious, I know that Rich Rodriguez is probably pulling down about $2.5 million/year at Michigan and wasn't exactly coaching for peanuts at WV. However, the number of people that have $4 million just laying around is a pretty short list. Hopefully the Michigan coach won't have to sell any of his kids.

Secondly, the University of Michigan looks like a bunch of cheap a-holes to me. I can just hear AD Bill Martin, "Buyout? That's your problem coach. Get it taken care of quick."

And finally the great state of West Virginia. There will be quite a few folks smiling and perhaps even giving a fist pump when they read the news that Rodriguez has caved. The Mountaineer fans will feel as though justice has been done and that some measure of revenge has been exacted on the traitorous football coach.

They will soon realize though that it's a wholly unfulfilling "victory" if you will. In the long run what they would rather have then a big chunk of Dick Rod's wallet, is the coach himself. Instead they're left with some guy named Bill Stewart.