Yep, I went for the cheap joke right in the headline.
This fall we officially will not see the return of the entertaining Rich Rodriguez to the sidelines, but rather on the renamed CBS Sports Network as a studio analyst and color commentator. On gamedays, Rodriguez and his delightful country twang voice will be teamed up with play-by-play man Dave Ryan. Love him or hate him, (as an MSU alum, I’m definitely a fan) there really is no denying that Rich Rodriguez is charismatic and him in the booth providing his insights might very well be a good fit.
This football season will not be Rich Rod’s debut on the broadcasting side of things. In February, he served as an analyst for CBS Sports’ National Signing day coverage. Easily the highlight of that day was the very awkward interview with his newly hired replacement, Brady Hoke. Despite the extreme tension, I give Rodriguez credit for not stepping out during that interview and handling it pretty well. Like most, I’m sure after watching it you were somewhat disappointed Rich Rod did not use live television to cut a Macho Man-like promo on Hoke, but rather showed some professionalism. How he dealt with that situation is probably a large part in why he’ll be employed by them this football season.
I think almost everyone expects Rodriguez’s broadcasting career to be short, with a return to coaching coming as soon as the 2012 season. For Pammy Award enthusiasts, let’s hope that Rodriguez’s likely brief stint will provide some gems like Mike Leach gave us last fall.
