WVU Booster Ken Kendrick Says Wren Baker Was Not 'Pressured' to Hire Rich Rod

Rich Rodriguez is indeed Wren Baker's guy.

Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

For several weeks, even prior to the the firing of Neal Brown, rumors floated around that WVU boosters were pushing for the return of Rich Rodriguez as the head coach of the Mountaineers.

Rodriguez has close relationships with some of WVU's biggest donors, including Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick. Shortly following the report from Pete Thamel of ESPN, Kendrick took to Twitter (X) to give a quick statement on the hire, suggesting it was 100% Baker's choice.

"Wren Baker is his own man and conducted a thorough search to find our new Coach. NO ONE pressured him in any way during the process. The Country Roads Trust will strongly support Rich Rodriguez just as we would any other candidate that Wren would have been chosen. Go Mountaineers!"

I can confirm this as well. This is not Kendrick just trying to cover himself and others; he's telling the truth. Baker did his due diligence and came to the conclusion that Rodriguez was the best man for the job. As good of a coach Rich Rod is, Baker is also well aware of the financial piece of his return as well. Not only do the big-money folks support him, but a vast majority of WVU fans will begin donating to Country Roads Trust to help assist the program's efforts to get back on the national map.

Other candidates were seriously considered, but Baker knew his guy was Rodriguez.

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