With a 140-character limit, Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne quelled some worries. Byrne tweeted that he sees football coach Rich Rodriguez as a long term head coach at Arizona, which put to rest the rumors of the Wildcats head coach leaving for the opening with the Louisville Cardinals.
Coach Rodriguez is doing a great job w/our FB program. We talk regularly & feel good about him being our long term HC.
— Greg Byrne (@Greg_Byrne) January 6, 2014
The quite significant comment seemed to back a tweet by Lexington Herald-Leader columnist John Clay, who reported Rodriguez was not a candidate for the opening that was created when Louisville coach Charlie Strong left for Texas.
I'm hearing this morning that Arizona's Rich Rodriguez will not be a candidate for the Louisville job.
— John Clay (@johnclayiv) January 6, 2014
That Rodriguez would be contacted by Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich never became more than rumor, but it was a much-talked-about scenario, even if going to Louisville would be sidestepping a bit. At the same time, the Cardinals football program is a step or two ahead of where Arizona finds itself, and Louisville has the money to make a substantial offer to Rodriguez.
Then again, Rodriguez has yet to see his project in Tucson through. It seems reasonable he'd leave for a bigger program should the Wildcats make some major noise in the next few years, but as of now, RichRod seems to be safely at Arizona.
Now, we see if Rodriguez will push for an extension.