🔮 What If Wednesday
What If Rich Rodriguez Had Taken the Alabama Job in 2006? By The Redshirts One phone call. One “yes.” One alternate college football universe.
In December 2006, Alabama was down bad.
They had just fired Mike Shula. The Bear Bryant days were decades behind them. The once-proud program was spiraling — and they were desperate to get back on top.
Their first choice? Rich Rodriguez.
And for about 48 hours… it looked like it was done. Reports flew: “Rodriguez to Bama.” He was offered the job. He even told people in West Virginia he was leaving. Then suddenly — he wasn’t.
Rodriguez turned Alabama down. And everything changed.
🌀 Let’s Rewind
In 2006, Rich Rodriguez was the hottest name in coaching.
He had turned West Virginia into a Big East monster with his high-octane spread offense. Pat White. Steve Slaton. That iconic all-blue uniform set. It was revolutionary stuff.
And Alabama? They were looking for exactly that spark. Modernize the offense. Recruit the South. Resurrect the dynasty.
If Rich Rod says yes… we never get Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa. And here’s how it might’ve unfolded.
🧩 The Ripple Effects
1. The Alabama Dynasty Never Happens
Let’s be real — Rodriguez was a great innovator, but not a program builder. There’s no way he builds the culture, the machine, the empire that Saban did.
He might’ve gone 9–4, 10–3, maybe even snagged an SEC title — but there’s no 2011 dominance. No Tua-to-Smitty. No Heisman factories. Alabama becomes… Auburn with a slightly better PR team.
2. Nick Saban Stays in the NFL
No Alabama offer? No perfect landing spot? Saban might’ve stuck it out in Miami — or taken another NFL gig. And if he does return to college, it’s somewhere else entirely. Texas? Notre Dame? UNC?? The sport loses the greatest dynasty it’s ever seen.
3. West Virginia Becomes a National Power
If Rich Rod never leaves, he returns a loaded 2007 WVU team with Pat White, Steve Slaton, and Noel Devine. They probably don’t lose to Pitt. They make the national title game. And honestly? They could’ve won it.
Rodriguez might’ve turned West Virginia into the Oregon of the East — a program with flash, speed, and top-10 staying power.
4. Michigan’s Identity Never Breaks
Remember: Rich Rod didn’t take Bama… …but then left WVU a year later for Michigan.
And that marriage was doomed from day one. Wrong fit. Wrong scheme. Wrong everything.
But if he’s in Tuscaloosa instead? Michigan maybe hires someone like Les Miles. They stay traditional. They stay Big Ten. Maybe Jim Harbaugh never returns. Maybe he never needs to.
5. The SEC Looks Very Different
No Bama dynasty means:
Urban Meyer might’ve stuck around at Florida
Georgia might’ve won earlier
LSU might’ve been the team of the 2010s
Ole Miss might’ve had a playoff berth Okay, maybe not that last one — but you get the idea.
🧠 Final Thought
This is the single greatest “almost” in college football history.
Rich Rodriguez was one press conference away from taking the Alabama job. If he had, we may never have heard of Mac Jones. We might’ve remembered West Virginia the way we remember Clemson. And Nick Saban might be a 9–8 NFL coach yelling at a special teams coordinator.
Instead, Alabama said no. Then said yes to Saban. The rest is history.
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