The National Michigan nightmare is OVER!

Michigan AD "Captain" Billy Martin, the sailing enthusiast who was flailing about like a drunk having seizures during a clumsy coaching search, with seemingly only a puncher's chance of pulling his ass out of the fire, landed that punch...

WVU's Rich Rodriguez will be the new head coach of the Michigan Wolverines. From the West Virginia Gazette Mail...

The Rich Rodriguez era at West Virginia ended early Sunday afternoon, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

In an early afternoon meeting with his football team, Rodriguez announced he was leaving to become the head coach at Michigan.

Rodriguez walked into a scheduled 1:30 p.m. meeting with his team and emerged 10 minutes later without comment and walked briskly back to his office. Shortly thereafter the players began to file out of the meeting room, somber-faced and generally without comment.

Rodriguez reportedly met with Michigan officials this past Friday in Toledo, Ohio.

Landing RichRod is not a grand slam. But when factoring in his relative youth, his successful track record at a school in the middle of nowhere, and is rightfully acknowledged as an offensive guru, it's a its a 3 run home run!

Considering Michigan also poached WVU hoops coach John Belein earlier this year, should we be calling the so-called Harvard of the West the Michigan Mountaineers?

I'm thinking the state of Michigan is now as hated in West Virginia as it is in Ohio.

More as it develops..

Update 2:50 pm: In the Detroit News piece about the RichRod hiring, I found what Rodriguez's mentor, former Michigan assistant and long-time WVU coach, Don Nehlen, had to say about the Michigan job...

"I think it's tremendous. There are very few Michigans. When you coach at West Virginia you walk on water in West Virginia, but when you coach at Michigan, you walk on water, period. There's a difference. Some people around here don't want to believe that."

Nehlen then adds...

"These opportunities don't come around very often. Rich has found a place that's just special. If you're a football coach it's a dream come true. I'm certainly not belittling West Virginia. It's just different at Michigan."

Could you ask for a better sales job than the one Nehlen gave RichRod? He's essentially saying Michigan is one of the few coaching gigs that you don't turn down, it's a destination gig, not a stepping stone. Captain Billy owes Nehlen a couple rounds of scotch, at the very least.

Mlive is confirming that a presser is scheduled at 9 am Monday in A2 to make the official announcement.