Pete Thamel, ESPNDec 11, 2024, 07:45 PM ET
CloseCollege Football Senior Writer for ESPN. Insider for College Gameday.
Former West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez is finalizing a deal to return to the country roads where he experienced his greatest success as a head coach, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
Rodriguez, the current head coach at Jacksonville State, has emerged as the target to be the Mountaineers’ new coach, per sources, and a deal was expected to come together in the near future.
Rodriguez, 61, spent seven seasons at the school (2001 to 2007), which included three straight 10-win campaigns and a Sugar Bowl win over Georgia in 2006. He had West Virginia on the cusp of the Bowl Championship Series title game in his final year before an upset loss to Pittsburgh. After that loss, Rodriguez left for Michigan in a tense split, including a legal battle over his buyout.
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Rodriguez is a West Virginia native, which made the bitterness of his departure sting even worse but makes his return home powerful.
As West Virginia’s search for a replacement for the fired Neal Brown unfolded, Rodriguez emerged as the favorite. He led Jacksonville State to back-to-back 9-4 seasons and guided the school to the Conference USA title this season with a resounding 52-12 win over Western Kentucky in the title game.
He would take over a school in a vastly different place than when he left nearly two decades ago, as Rodriguez dominated the Big East during his tenure at WVU. Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, West Virginia has had only one 10-win season. The school hasn’t been nationally ranked since 2016.
The return of Rodriguez was expected to bring an uptick in support, as West Virginia operated with one of the lower NIL budgets in the Big 12 during Brown’s tenure. Though Rodriguez’s departure left some divisiveness, it will galvanize a significant segment of fans and donors.
The homecoming also will give West Virginia an adrenaline jolt of relevancy, as Rodriguez’s return will be one of the buzziest and most nostalgic stories in college football in 2025. His first marquee game will be against nemesis Pitt on Sept. 13 in Morgantown.
Rodriguez struggled to find the same level of success after West Virginia. His three years at Michigan ended in infamy, as he was 15-22. He then was hired by Arizona but had mixed results in his 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.