Pete Thamel of ESPN
Ex West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez is finalizing a deal to return to the country roads where he enjoyed his greatest success as a head coach, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
Rodriguez, current head coach Jacksonville Stateaccording to sources, he became a target of the Mountaineers’ new coach and a deal was expected to be completed in the near future.
Rodriguez, 61, spent seven seasons at the school (2001-2007), including three straight 10-win campaigns and a win over the Sugar Bowl Georgia in 2006. In his senior year, he had West Virginia on the cusp of the Bowl Championship Series title game before suffering an upset loss to Pittsburgh. After this defeat, Rodriguez left Michigan in a tense split, including a legal battle over his buyout.
Rodriguez is from West Virginia, which added to the bitterness of his departure but made his homecoming powerful.
When West Virginia began the search for a successor to the fired Neal Brown, Rodriguez was the favorite. He led Jacksonville State to back-to-back 9-4 seasons and led the school to the Conference USA title this season with an impressive 52-12 victory over Western Kentucky in the title game.
He will take over a school in a very different place than almost two decades ago, when Rodriguez dominated the Big East during his tenure at WVU. Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, West Virginia has only had one 10-win season. Since 2016, the school has not been included in national rankings.
Rodriguez’s return was expected to bring an increase in support because West Virginia operated on one of the lower NIL budgets in the Big 12 during Brown’s tenure. While Rodriguez’s departure has left some divisions, it will galvanize a significant portion of fans and donors.
The homecoming will also give West Virginia an adrenaline rush, as Rodriguez’s return will be one of the biggest and most nostalgic stories in college football in 2025. His first marquee match will be against nemesis Pitt on September 13 in Morgantown.
Rodriguez struggled to find the same success after the West Virginia game. His three years at Michigan ended in ignominy as he was 15-22. He was then hired by Arizona but he had mixed results in six years, going 43-35. He led the Wildcats to the Fiesta Bowl in 2014, and Arizona played in the Pac-12 title game that year and upset No. 2 Oregon in Eugene during the regular season.
