Reports out of Ann Arbor are that West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez will be the

new head of Wolverine football, replacing longtime coach Lloyd Carr when he retires after next week’s Capital One Bowl. It’s a great deal for Rodriguez but is he the right fit

for Michigan or was he simply a big enough name to pacify a rabid pack of booster and alums?

For Rodriguez, taking the Michigan job is a no-brainer. He went from being the coach

of a dominant team in one of college football’s weakest conferences to being the head coach of one of college football’s elite and prestigious programs. Rodriguez doesn’t exactly leave the cupboard bare. Back next year will be quarterback and ‘08 Heisman candidate Pat White, Steve Slaton will likely return to improve his draft stock after a

less than stellar junior campaign and true freshman Noel Devine is one of college football’s best young talent, if not the best. Given that USF, Louisville and Cincinnati will both lose senior quarterbacks, Ray Rice is likely

bolting Rutgers for the NFL and UConn isn’t likely to repeat the magic it created in ‘07, West Virginia will likely be posed for another Big East Title.

For Michigan though, concerns will be abound. For one, there is the offense that Rodriguez is accustomed to running at West Virginia, the spread. It works when you have a lightning quick, shifty quarterback like Pat White taking the snaps but will be far less effective with “Big Tex” 6′6″ sophomore Ryan Mallett at the helm, a quarterback with little to no mobility. That may not be an issue for very much longer, as the AP is reporting that Mallett is considering transferring. This isn’t good for Michigan — at all. Mallett was the best quarterback prospect in last year’s class, the kid has a rocket arm and tremendous upside and Michigan was, frankly, lucky to get the kid from Texarkana and to let him walk because he doesn’t jive with Rodriguez’s system is bad news for this program.

Will Rodriguez adapt his offense to the talent he has or will he make the talent adapt to him? We’ll wait and see.

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