Reports are swirling that Michigan's Rich Rodriguez is, unsurprisingly, out of a job. His firing comes after three ineffective years as head coach, NCAA violations regarding practice hours, and him never quite fitting in at the school. It was always going to be a long climb for him there, as he didn't just need to overhaul the roster but recruit heavily regions than Michigan typically didn't go to much in order to get players that fit his system. Never having a good defense didn't help anything either.
At a time like this, one wonders what would have happened had he jumped to Alabama when offered the job. Given what happened up in the Mitten State, it's quite possible that he wouldn't have been a good fit in Tuscaloosa either. Of course, we know the rest of the story as the coach Alabama did get is nowhere near getting a pink slip.
While Rodriguez had little direct dealings in the SEC outside of his Sugar Bowl win over Georgia and brief flirtations with Alabama, he had plenty of indirect influence. Anyone who runs the zone read option (like outgoing Florida head coach Urban Meyer and Auburn OC Gus Malzahn) tips a hat to RichRod, who didn't invent the play but certainly did a lot to popularize it. One of his disciples, Herb Hand, spent last year on Vanderbilt's staff, though it's unclear whether he'll be retained by new coach James Franklin.
Given that no SEC jobs are open at the moment, it's unlikely he'll be coming down this way for a new job. However, given that no SEC jobs stay filled for all that long these days, he just might if he decides to take a year off.