MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – New West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez admitted Friday that he made a mistake when he left West Virginia for Michigan 17 years ago.
Based on the welcome he received from the thousands of fans who attended his introductory news conference on Friday, much seemed to be forgiven — except for one man who yelled at Rodriguez as he began to speak. The crowd quickly drowned out the hacker, who was led away from the campus arena.
Rodriguez scoffed and responded with a joke aimed at West Virginia’s arch-rival: “OK, all other Pitt fans can leave the building.”
The crowd, which included Hall of Fame coach Don Nehlen and former players like Avon Cobourne and Owen Schmitt, roared in response.
And so began Rodriguez’s second tour of his alma mater.
“This is really surreal,” said Rodriguez, who was emotional and paused several times during his speech. “I should never have left.
Rodriguez had a record of 60-26 between 2001 and 2007. The fan base was devastated, first when West Virginia blew a chance to play for the BCS national championship by losing to tough Pittsburgh 13-9 at home in the 2007 season finale, and again when Rodriguez was gone two weeks later for Ann Arbor.
Rodriguez, 61, who was named coach Thursday after three seasons at Jacksonville State, said he has grown both as a person and as a coach during his long career, “and especially in the 17 years since I made the mistake of leaving. “
“Honest and Real”
Rodriguez carries some baggage. His three years at Michigan, where he was fired after the 2010 season, were marred by NCAA violations for exceeding practice and practice time limits at college football’s biggest program.
He was fired after six years in Arizona in January 2018 after his former administrative assistant filed a lawsuit against the Arizona Attorney General’s Office accusing him of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. The university said it could not substantiate the claims but was concerned about the “direction and climate of the football program.” The lawsuit was later dismissed.
Without elaborating, athletic director Wren Baker said Rodriguez was “honest and genuine in owning those mistakes and the subsequent lessons he learned from them.”
McAfee opening act
In 2000, Rodriguez landed his first major college coaching job after being a Clemson assistant, and several dozen people attended his show at West Virginia in a room overlooking Mountaineer Field.
West Virginia went all out on Friday. Concession stands sold beer, a marching band played, and fans filled the stands.
ESPN personality Pat McAfee, a player and player on the 2007 team, broadcast his daily show live from the arena, including an interview with Rodriguez before the main event began.
“We’re going to win some championships and that’s what we’re going for today,” McAfee said.
Twice coach
Head coaches returning to school for a second stint are not that rare.
Scott Frost recently returned to UCF. Other coaches who have made repeat visits over the past decade include Mack Brown at North Carolina, Greg Schiano at Rutgers, Brady Hoke at San Diego State, Jeff Tedford at Fresno State, Bill Snyder at Kansas State and Randy Edsall at UConn.
Bobby Petrino was a two-time head coach at Louisville and served as coach and later offensive coordinator at Arkansas.