RichRod links and notes: Two days removed, how's the hire looking?

I think everyone can agree that the Arizona Wildcats' hire of Rich Rodriguez was a gutsy one.

We've gotten numerous comments on this blog from Michigan fans telling us they're instant Wildcat fans and will be watching closely. Personally, I've heard a lot of, "You've made a terrible mistake," from the other side of the Michigan fan spectrum.

Of course, ASU fans are giving Arizona a lot of smack-talk. But is that really a good idea?

• Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic says that Lisa Love and the Sun Devils should be worried. Whether or not this grand experiment works out, we have six months -- OK, lots of people say four or five years -- to find out. Personally, I think the Wildcats have the roster to compete immediately, and Rodriguez's system should start to solidify throughout next season.
• Arizona AD Greg Byrne got the thumbs up on the hire from head basketball coach Sean Miller, who told Byrne Rodriguez will put a little scare in the other Pac-12 coaches. Not Jeff Tedford, who Rodriguez mentioned as being a good friend during his introductory press conference. Tedford told the San Francisco Chronicle that he's excited to coach in the same league as RichRod.
• Aside from our Twitter account, we've forgotten to talk about salary. As it turns out, Rodriguez came extremely cheap. He'll be paid $9.95 million over a five-year span. His base salary starts at $1.45 million and increases each year to $1.8 million in his fifth season. There are incentives, of course, for winning Pac-12 Divisions and Championships, as well as making bowl games. Rankings also give Rodriguez incentives, along with tickets sold and coach of the year honors.
• Oddly enough, Rodriguez's salary is probably only the eighth most expensivein the Pac-12. Chip Kelly is paid $2.8 his past season, and USC and Stanford, being private, don't have their coaches' salaries public.