Rich Rodriguez is returning to West Virginia University for a second stint as the head football coach at his alma mater.
Athletic director Wren Baker announced the hiring Thursday, 17 years after Rodriguez made a hasty exit for what became a disastrous three-year experiment with the Michigan Wolverines.
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Rich Rodriguez and his family back home,” Baker said in a released statement. “Coach Rodriguez understands what it takes to win at West Virginia, and I believe he will pour his heart, soul and every ounce of his energy into our program. I am convinced Coach Rodriguez wants what is best for West Virginia, WVU and West Virginia football, and I am excited about the future of our program.”
Rodriguez, who has been the head coach at Jacksonville State since 2022, is both an architect of the spread offense and a polarizing figure in his home state. He replaces Neal Brown, who was fired on Dec. 1 after going 37-35 in six seasons leading the Mountaineers, including 6-6 this year.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be the head football coach at West Virginia University,” Rodriguez said. “My family and I are filled with gratitude to lead the Mountaineer football program again and look forward to working with the many supporters, fans, and friends to build the best football program in America! Take Me Home!”
Rodriguez, 61, will be tasked with restoring a consistent winning climate at West Virginia, which hasn’t been ranked or had back-to-back winning seasons since 2018. The Mountaineers have yet to qualify for the Big 12 championship game since joining the conference in 2012. Their best finish was a tie for second place in 2016.
Success was a standard at West Virginia under Rodriguez, who went 60-26 from 2001 to 2007 after replacing College Football Hall of Fame coach Don Nehlen. With star players such as quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton, Rodriguez led the Mountaineers to four Big East titles in five years and one of the greatest victories in school history, an upset of Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to cap the 2005 season.
However, many in the West Virginia fan base remain jaded over his long-ago exit.
Needing a win in their 2007 regular season finale to advance to the BCS national championship game, the Mountaineers lost at home to heavy underdog Pittsburgh, 13-9.
“We picked an awful time to have our worst offensive game in years,” Rodriguez said after the rivalry matchup.
Despite earning a berth in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma as a consolation prize, Rodriguez was gone two weeks later, taking some of his assistant coaches and recruits with him to Michigan.
Rodriguez has insisted the Pitt loss had nothing to do with him leaving. He has said promises made by the school’s administration were not kept and his request for more money for his assistant coaches was rejected. Rodriguez said his relationship with athletic director Ed Pastilong had disintegrated by August 2007 to the point that the two men barely spoke.
West Virginia went to court in an attempt to recoup Rodriguez’s $4 million buyout. Eventually, Michigan paid $2.5 million and Rodriguez paid $1.5 million to settle the dispute.
Things didn’t go well for Rodriguez in Ann Arbor. He went 15-22 with the Wolverines and was fired after the 2010 season. His stay at Michigan was marred by embarrassing losses and NCAA violations for exceeding limits on practice and training time at the program with more wins than any other in college football. history.
After that he went 43-35 over six years at Arizona. Rodriguez was fired in January 2018 after his former administrative assistant filed a claim with the state attorney general’s office accusing him of sexually harassing her and creating a hostile work environment. The university said it couldn’t substantiate the claims but was concerned about the “direction and climate of the football program.” The lawsuit was later dismissed.
Rodriguez spent one season each as offensive coordinator at Ole Miss and Louisiana-Monroe and went 27-10 the past three seasons at Jacksonville State, which moved from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2023. The Gamecocks have won nine games each season under Rodriguez, and this year’s 9-4 team won the Conference USA championship and is bound for a Cure Bowl matchup with Ohio University on Dec. 20 in Orlando, Florida.
Using an up-tempo offensive approach and a scheme that spreads the defense, Rodriguez has a 190-129-2 career record in 27 seasons as a head coach, including seven at Division II program Glenville State.
Rodriguez will be introduced Friday at West Virginia’s basketball arena, where ESPN’s Pat McAfee, a former kicker for West Virginia and the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, will broadcast his show live.
Rodriguez will get the chance to attempt to break West Virginia’s nine-game losing streak to ranked teams and calm some of that fan angst, especially when West Virginia hosts Pitt next year. That game against the Panthers is set for Sept. 13 — which happens to be the inversion of 13-9.