Without even touching the field, new WVU Football head coach Rich Rodriguez has created an energy shift in Morgantown.
Following the departure of six-year head coach Neal Brown in December, West Virginia needed a new source of the preseason hype that surrounded Brown and his 2023 Duke’s Mayo Bowl champions.
The Mountaineers found that source in former head coach Rich Rodriguez, who will return to Morgantown for the 2025 football season.
Rodriguez’s return quickly brought legendary figures in program history back to Morgantown. Former WVU kicker Pat McAfee heightened Rodriguez’s introductory press conference by combining the event with his award winning ESPN program, The Pat McAfee Show.
Since, Rodriguez’s return has triggered support from several of his former players, including former two-time Big East Offensive Player of the Year, Pat White, who announced Wednesday would be joining WVU’s 2025 coaching staff.
Rodriguez’s immediate impact in Morgantown has turned heads nationwide. On Wednesday, CBS Sports analyst Dennis Dodd took note of that impact, rating Rodriguez’s return to WVU at an A+ among all college football head coach hirings.
No other incoming head coach received a perfect grade in the coaching carousel, which included all 27 of the new FBS head coaching hires. Purdue’s Barry Odom and North Carolina’s Bill Belichick earned grades of A and A- respectively.
