That didn’t take long.
Earlier Tuesday night, a report surfaced that Arizona was weighing whether to fire Rich Rodriguez as head coach ahead of a lawsuit expected to be filed this week. Not long after, the university confirmed that it has parted ways with Rodriguez.
“After conducting a thorough evaluation of our football program and its leadership, both on and off the field,” athletic director Dave Heeke said in a statement, “President Robbins and I feel it is in the best interest of the University of Arizona and our athletics department to go in a new direction.”
Rodriguez was investigated this past fall by an outside law firm for “potential workplace misconduct” that led to a sexual harassment/hostile workplace claim being filed by a female who was a former administrative assistant in the athletic department. That investigation reportedly did not find any wrongdoing on Rodriguez’s part.
In a letter addressed to “Students, Faculty and Staff” explaining the decision, President Robert C. Robbins confirmed that "[t]he investigation, which concluded on December 28, 2017, found that the original specific harassment allegations against Mr. Rodriguez could not be substantiated based on the evidence and witnesses available to it.” However, the university’s leadership, during the course of the investigation, became “concerned with the direction and climate of the football program.”
That led to what the president described as “a difficult decision... [but] the right decision.” That decision came despite the fact that the woman, after her initial claims that she was sexually harassed by Rodriguez on multiple ocasions, “declined multiple requests from the University to participate in the investigation into her allegations.”
The school also confirmed that they will honor the separation terms of Rodriguez’s contract, meaning the coach will receive a buyout in the neighborhood of $6.3 million.
In six seasons with the Wildcats, Rodriguez went 43-35. This past season, UA went 7-6 in what turned out to be the coach’s final season with the program.