It’s been a great past few years for Bill Martin. No wait, no it hasn’t. He essentially blew any chance at landing LSU’s Les Miles a couple years ago when he too busy sailing in the Caribbean to take Miles’ agent’s calls; he hired Rich Rodriguez instead, which, wow; and now’s he’s just going to go ahead and retire (presumably so he can just sail in some peace and god-damned quiet).

(You want my ID? These microphones and reporters are my ID. Get outta here.)

His retirement’s not effective for another 10 months or so, though (September 4, 2010, to be precise), so Martin’s still got a lot of work to do. Athletic directin’, administratin’, and the timeless pastime of old rich people: gettin’ pushy with the help. Cue the incident reports!

Read more…

Remember Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez’s offer to pay West Virginia $1.5M in an effort to settle the lawsuit by the school over his $4M buyout?

(Just Call him “Sub-Prime Saddam“)

Yesterday, his attorney Marv Robon told the ASSOCIATED PRESS, “We decided we want to show the court, more than anybody else, that we are acting responsibly, that we are acting in good faith. We’re not saying we owe it. We’re trying to say that Rich is a very honorable man, and he and (wife) Rita will pay any obligations that anyone finds they’re due.’‘

Rodriguez and his wife will do the paying? Or the bank run by University of Michigan AD Bill Martin? Read more…

MICHIGAN AD SAILING MILES AWAY FROM COACHING HIRE: Last weekend, when LSU coach Les Miles was thinking of jumping ship for Michigan, where was the athletic director?

Apparently out to sea:

Michael Rosenberg of the DETROIT FREE PRESS reels in the news that while Miles was awaiting word from Ann Arbor, no one in the athletic department could find AD Bill Martin.One source said that Martin had set sail for Florida last weekend, enjoying a boat show at a Key Largo yacht club. But efforts to contact the UM AD netted nothing.

So, was it absent-mindedness on Martin’s part for fleeing the scene when Les came a-looking? Or did Bill bolt on purpose, believing that Miles wasn’t the right match?

Jim Carty of the ANN ARBOR NEWS notes that Miles’ agent George Bass tried to contact Martin on his cell phone twice, and never got a call back.And when the media tried to get a hold of Martin on Tuesday, they got the same response - nothing. A school spokesman said the AD was in New York for a football awards dinner.

Maybe his phone batteries are low. Or maybe he needs a new network.

Luckily (or not) for the Maize & Blue, there’s still time to talk, as the Tigers won’t give Miles a new contract until after the BCS title game.

If Les is no more, there’s always Plan B with Kirk Ferentz.