Arizona fans breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday night when UA athletic director Greg Byrne broke the news via Twitter that Rich Rodriguez would not be leaving the Wildcats to coach South Carolina.
The tweet noted that Rodriguez "did not commit to the offer from (South) Carolina."
On Sunday before Arizona's end-of-the-season banquet at Hilton El Conquistador, Rodriguez told reporters that there were "no inaccuracies" in Byrne's tweet.
Monday, after announcing that South Carolina had hired Will Muschamp as its new head coach, Gamecocks athletic director Ray Tanner denied that he offered Rodriguez the job. Rodriguez interviewed with Tanner on Friday.
Tanner told reporters: "I can’t speak for anything that he put out, but I would tell you that it’s inaccurate."
FootballScoop reported that Tanner's claim of inaccuracy was, in all likelihood, inaccurate, saying that Rodriguez was offered the job and that the contract offer Muschamp ultimately accepted — paying him approximately $3.2 million per year — was the same contract offered to Rodriguez by the Gamecocks.
It's also approximately the same amount Rodriguez already earns per season as Arizona's coach.
For what it is worth, the financial part of the offer to Rich Rod described to me yesterday….was nearly mirror image of Muschamp’s deal.
— FootballScoop Staff (@FootballScoop) December 7, 2015
Byrne commented on the tweet he sent out on Saturday before Sunday's banquet.
"Well we obviously have tried to use Twitter to get our messaging out and use that platform," he said.
"I thought it was important for our fan base to know — from a recruiting stand-point as well — that it's flattering for coaches to have other opportunities but at the same time too that's happened a number of times in our program's history. At the same time too, it was a good opportunity for Coach Rodriguez to stay."
