Rich Rodriguez Makes it Clear That He Will Finish His Career at West Virginia
A couple of weeks after being a part of the most disappointing outcome in West Virginia University sports history, head football coach Rich Rodriguez left to take the job at Michigan.
The “divorce” between Rodriguez and WVU was ugly and nasty in many ways and felt like a relationship that could never be repaired.
Well, 17 years later, Rodriguez is back in his old seat as the head coach of WVU and he’s made it abundantly clear that this time around, there will be no job hopping.
“If I was going to make one more move in my career, this was going to be it – at home, at West Virginia,” Rodriguez told Joe Starkey of 93.7 The Fan a few days ago. “A place that I know well, I love the people here. It just kind of worked out. Normally, coaches try to look for the next job and they don’t do as good of a job as where they’re currently at. I’ve always just tried to do as good as I can where I’m at and then not worry about it. This job came open, the timing was good. I’m very thrilled to be back home and I can finish my career at my alma mater.”
Rodriguez admitted during his introductory press conference earlier this winter that leaving WVU for Michigan was the worst decision he’s ever made professionally saying, “I made the mistake of leaving.”
Rich Rod had West Virginia on the doorstep of the national title and had built one of the most successful programs in the country. From 2005-07, Rodriguez had a record of 32-5 and ranked inside the top five each season.
There’s no telling if Rodriguez will recapture that same magic he had in the 2000s, but he’s determined to go out a winner and prove to the people of West Virginia that Wren Baker made the right decision by bringing him back.
