10:30pm ET Update> The university has now fired Rich Rodriguez.
In short, the above says Arizona will honor their contract with Rich, paying him out. In other words, he is being terminated "without cause".
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USA Today reported tonight that Arizona AD Dave Heeke is considering firing Rich Rodriguez.
From the USA Today report:
The University of Arizona is weighing whether to fire football coach Rich Rodriguez, two people with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. Those people spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The firing likely would be attributed to the Wildcats’ poor finish to the season, losing four of their last five games, and be done without cause, giving Rodriguez his full $6.3 million buyout. A decision on Rodriguez’s future at the university could come soon.
Beyond the on-field performance, however, the school also has been dealing with a troubling allegation behind the scenes that led them last fall to hire an outside law firm to investigate Rodriguez for potential workplace misconduct, according to the people with knowledge of the probe. Though no misconduct was determined by the probe, which Rodriguez cooperated with fully, a former administrative assistant subsequently has threatened to file a lawsuit against him.
Read more from USA Today here.
Our understanding of the situation is that this is fully related to the allegations and has little if anything to do with on field performance; however we are told Heeke and Rich are not perfectly aligned.
As always stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
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