MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Rich Rodriguez admitted Friday he made a mistake by leaving West Virginia for Michigan 17 years ago.
Based on the welcome he got from the thousands of fans who attended his introductory news conference Friday in his return as football coach of the Mountaineers, much seemed to be forgiven — except for one man who yelled at Rodriguez just as he starting speaking. The crowd quickly drowned out the heckler, who was escorted from the on-campus arena.
Rodriguez took the jeers in stride, responding with a joke aimed at West Virginia’s biggest rival: “OK, any other Pitt fans can leave the building.”
The crowd, which included former West Virginia coach Don Nehlen — a member of the College Football Hall of Fame — and former players such as Avon Cobourne and Owen Schmitt, roared in response.
And that’s how the second tour of Rodriguez at his alma mater got started.
“This is really surreal,” said Rodriguez, who got emotional and paused a few times during his speech. “I never should have left.”
Rodriguez went 60-26 while in charge of the Mountaineers from 2001 to 2007. The fanbase was devastated, first when West Virginia bungled a chance to play for the BCS national championship by losing to heavy underdog Pittsburgh 13-9 in the 2007 season finale at home, and again when Rodriguez was gone two weeks later for Ann Arbor.
Rodriguez, 61, who was named coach on Thursday after spending the past three seasons at Jacksonville State, said he has grown both as a person and a coach throughout his long career, “and in particular in the 17 years since I made the mistake of leaving.”
Still, Rodriguez carries some baggage. His three years at Michigan, where he was fired after the 2010 season, were marred by NCAA violations for exceeding limits on practice and training time at college football’s winningest program.
He was fired after six years at Arizona in January 2018 after his former administrative assistant filed a claim with the Arizona 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.
Without going into detail, athletic director Wren Baker said Rodriguez was “sincere and genuine in owning those mistakes and the subsequent lessons he learned from them.”
In 2000, Rodriguez took his first major college head coaching job after being a Clemson assistant, and several dozen people attended his introduction at West Virginia in a room overlooking Mountaineer Field.
On Friday, West Virginia went all out. Concession stands sold beer, the marching band played and fans packed the stands.
ESPN personality Pat McAfee, a kicker and punter on the 2007 team, aired his daily show live from the arena floor, including an interview with Rodriguez prior to the start of the main event.
“We’re about to go get some championships, and that’s what today is all about,” McAfee said.
Head coaches who come back for a second stint at a school aren’t so rare.
Scott Frost recently returned to UCF. Among other coaches who made repeat visits over the past decade include Mack Brown at North Carolina, Greg Schiano at Rutgers, Brady Hoke at San Diego State, Jeff Tedford at Fresno State, Bill Snyder at Kansas State, and Randy Edsall at Connecticut.
Bobby Petrino twice was head coach at Louisville and served as coach and later offensive coordinator at Arkansas.