By MARK SNYDER
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
Michigan has a new football coach.
West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez, who met with U-M president Mary Sue Coleman and athletic director Bill Martin on Friday in Toledo, has accepted the Michigan coaching job, replacing retiring coach Lloyd Carr.
Associate athletic director Bruce Madej confirmed to a Free Press report this afternoon that Rodriguez would be the Wolverines' 17th football coach.
U-M has scheduled a news conference for 9 a.m. Monday on campus.
Rodriguez had a 10-minute meeting with his team early this afternoon, told the 11th-ranked Mountaineers that he was leaving for Michigan and went back to his office, according to West Virginia media reports.
His players had little comment but looked downtrodden.
Also, the country's top quarterbacking prospect told Superprep.com this afternoon that Rodriguez had called with similar news.
“I just spoke to Coach Rodriguez about 10 minutes ago and he told me he is going to Michigan,” the QB, Terrelle Pryor, told Superprep.com. “He said they made him an offer he can't refuse.”
Pryor, from Jeannette, Pa., told the recruiting site that he wanted to add Michigan to his list of finalists. West Virginia had been on the list.
Rodriguez's decision came after nearly two days of pondering Friday's discussion and, according to the Charleston Gazette, two meetings with West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong on Saturday.
Although Rodriguez did not comment about the U-M job at his previously scheduled Saturday morning news conference, instead talking about his team's impeding Fiesta Bowl date against Oklahoma, his lack of a denial kept hope alive for many Wolverines fans. Combined with his decision to cancel an afternoon practice, a move seemed possible.
Rodriguez made nearly $1.8 million this season, according to a recent USA Today survey of college coaches.
A 44-year-old coach who has won at least 10 games in each of the past three seasons, including two BCS bowl trips, seemed to fit many of Martin's criteria.
He recruits the Midwest well, he is young enough that he could be a long-term fixture at U-M and brings the dynamic spread offense that has thrived everywhere he has been as a coordinator (Tulane and Clemson) and a head coach (Glenville State and, since 2001, West Virginia.)
His 60-26 record at West Virginia is sterling, although procuring him appeared costly with a $4 million buyout added in a contract amendment signed in August 2007.
Carr is still expected to coach Michigan in the Jan. 1 Capital One Bowl against ninth-ranked Florida.
Martin attended the Michigan basketball game Saturday but refused comment on anything related to the search, which began officially when Carr announced his retirement on Nov. 19.
Rodriguez's acceptance would brings to an end the long and winding process to replace Carr.
Michigan had reached deep discussions with Rutgers coach Greg Schiano before he pulled out of the race on Dec. 7. There were extensive discussions between LSU coach Les Miles' representatives and U-M. Miles officially spoke to Coleman and Martin on Dec. 7, although released a statement saying it was just in an advisory capacity.
Like Schiano, Rodriguez was in his second major job flirtation in 12 months, having spurned Alabama last December.
Rodriguez also has a tenuous tie to Ann Arbor in his former West Virginia coach Don Nehlen, who was one of Bo Schemebchler's assistants before leaving to build the Mountaineers' program.
There have been 16 Division I-A coaching changes since the regular season ended and Michigan was one of three - UCLA and SMU - that had not been filled.
