Rich Rodriguez is returning to West Virginia for a second stint as head coach

Rich Rodriguez is returning to West Virginia for a second stint as head coach at his alma mater.

Athletic director Wren Baker announced the hiring on Thursday, 17 years after Rodriguez made a hasty exit for what became a disastrous three-year experiment at Michigan.

“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Rich Rodriguez and his family back home,” Baker said in a 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 is the current coach at Jacksonville State, an architect of the spread offense and a polarizing figure in his home state, replaces Neal Brown, who was fired on Dec. 1 after going 37-35 in six seasons, 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 league in 2012. Its 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 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 win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl following the 2005 season.

But many in the West Virginia fanbase 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 game.

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 then-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 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 college football’s winningest program.

After that he went 43-35 over six years as coach at Arizona. Rodriguez was fired 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.

Rodriguez spent one season each as offensive coordinator at Mississippi and Louisiana-Monroe and went 27-10 the past three seasons as coach at Jacksonville State, which moved from the Championship Subdivision to the FBS in 2023.

Using an up-tempo, spread offense, Rodriguez has a 190-129-2 career record in 27 seasons as a head coach, including seven at Division II Glenville State.

Rodriguez will be introduced on Friday at West Virginia's basketball arena, where ESPN's Pat McAfee, a former West Virginia and Indianapolis Colts kicker, will broadcast his show live.

Rodriguez will get the chance to eventually break West Virginia’s nine-game losing streak to ranked teams as well as calming some of that fan angst, especially when West Virginia hosts Pittsburgh. That game is set for Sept. 13 — which happens to be the inversion of 13-9.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

John Raby, The Associated Press