Rich Rodriguez is not going down without taking a few public swings of his own.
The stunning news surfaced overnight, that Arizona had fired Rodriguez as its head football coach nearly a week after an outside law firm wrapped up an investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct levied by Rodriguez’s former administrative assistant. In announcing the dismissal, the university acknowledged that the probe could not substantiate the claims but that leadership had become “concerned with the direction and climate of the football program” as a result of some of the findings.
In his own statement, Rodriguez, who claimed he learned of his dismissal via email, acknowledged that the woman’s complaint “included a single truth -- in the past, I had a consensual extramarital affair with a woman who is not affiliated with the University.” Rodriguez added that he “will vigorously fight these fabricated and groundless claims” contained in a $7.5 million lawsuit his former assistant is set to file.
Rodriguez was fired without cause, meaning he’s entitled to the buyout of just north of $6 million that’s laid out in his contract. Per that contract, Rodriguez was also set to receive a $3 million retention bonus if he was still the Wildcats head coach in March.