Seventeen years after his successful tenure as West Virginia’s coach ended, native son Rich Rodriguez is on the verge of returning to the helm of the Mountaineers, multiple media outlets reported on Wednesday.
After firing Neal Brown following a 6-6 regular season, West Virginia set its sights on bringing back Rodriguez — currently Jacksonville State’s coach — and a deal is expected to be finalized soon, per ESPN.
Rodriguez led the Mountaineers to a 60-26 record and three consecutive 10-win seasons during his seven seasons (2001-07), including a 2006 Sugar Bowl win over Georgia, but it had a sour ending after an upset loss to Pitt in 2007. The Mountaineers would’ve earned a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game with a win, but instead, he left to coach Michigan and was embroiled in a legal battle over a buyout.
Since Rodriguez left, West Virginia hasn’t been nationally ranked since 2016 and has only one 10-win season after joining the Big 12 in 2012, so his return could return the Mountaineeers to local and national relevancy.
The 61-year-old Rodriguez hasn’t matched the success he found in Morgantown, W.Va., going 15-22 in three seasons at Michigan. He then coached Arizona with mixed results, posting a 43-35 record over six campaigns.
More recently, Rodriguez has guided Jacksonville State to 9-4 records the last two seasons, including a Conference USA title this season.
In 18 seasons as a FBS head coach, Rodriguez is 136-91, a .599 winning percentage.
West Virginia will face Memphis in the Frisco Bowl next Tuesday. Offensive coordinator Chad Scott is serving as interim head coach.
–Field Level Media