Rodriquez out at Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Rich Rodriguez's tenure as Michigan's football coach ended Wednesday with an announcement of his firing by Athletic Director David Brandon.

Brandon and Rodriguez met Tuesday as reports swirled the coach was being terminated. Brandon made it official after the two men met again Wednesday.

Rodriguez produced a 15-22 mark in three seasons with the Wolverines, a period punctuated by a school-worst 52-14 loss to Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day. Rodriguez was 6-18 in the Big Ten and never beat arch-rivals Michigan State and Ohio State, going 0-6.

His record also includes a school-worst nine losses in 2008.

Rodriguez's Michigan run was a polar opposite of the time he spent at West Virginia where he went 60-26 from 2001-07. West Virginia sued him for breach of contract when he left and Rodriguez also found himself embroiled in rules infractions at Michigan that resulted in NCAA sanctions.

Brandon didn't name a successor. Names that have popped up include Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh, who played quarterback at Michigan. LSU Coach Les Miles and San Diego State Coach Brady Hoke, two more ex-Wolverines, also have been mentioned.