JUST IN: Former Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez headed back to West Virginia

A reunion 17 years in the making...

Matt Lounsberry | 2 Hours Ago

Greg Bartram-Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

Seventeen years after leaving West Virginia to become the head coach at the University of Michigan, Rich Rodriguez is headed back to the place it all began.

According to multiple reports, Rodriguez is set to return to his alma mater and lead the Mountaineers into the 2025 season. The 61-year-old played defensive back for West Virginia from 1981-84, got his coaching career started their as a student assistant in 1985, before getting his first head coaching opportunity with the Mountaineers in 2001.

Rodriguez led West Virginia to three 11-win seasons and at least a share of four Big East Conference championships during his seven seasons in Morgantown. Rich Rod led WVU to three Top 10 finishes over his final three seasons, and were one win away from playing for a BCS National Championship in 2007 before suffering an upset loss to rival Pitt in their regular season finale.

Rodriguez's tenure in Morgantown was best remembered for the spread offense and dazzling quarterback play from Pat White during that three-year stretch of consecutive 11-win seasons from 2005-07. The Mountaineers have not won 11 games in a single season since Rich Rod's departure for Michigan following the 2007 season.

Rich Rodriguez and Pat White at West Virginia

Nov 8, 2007; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez (right) hugs quarterback Patrick White (5) after defeating the Louisville Cardinals 38-31 at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, WV. White scored the game-winning touchdown on a 50 yard run. / James Lang-Imagn Images

In Ann Arbor, Rodriguez's tenure with the Wolverines was seemingly doomed from the start. Several of Michigan's boosters and high-ranking officials scoffed at the idea of a head coach without ties to the University leading the football program, and doubt only multiplied after Rodriguez led Michigan to a program-worst 3-9 record during his first year in 2008. Rich Rod would last only two more seasons, a 5-7 campaign in 2009 and a 7-6 record in 2010, before he was fired and replaced by Brady Hoke.

Over nearly two decades and between three head coaches since Rodriguez's departure, West Virginia has never been able to achieve at the same level of success that it enjoyed under his leadership. Likewise, Rich Rod has not enjoy the same level of success as a head coach since leaving his alma mater for Michigan. Perhaps, 17 years later, a return to happier times is in store for both the program and the head coach following their reuniting.

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