WVU is Nearing a Decision, Is It 100% Rich Rodriguez?

Wren Baker is expected to name WVU's next head football coach in the coming days.

Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

This coaching search is nearing its end for West Virginia, and all signs are pointing in the direction of Rich Rodriguez making his controversial return to Morgantown. Well, is it really that controversial at this point? It seems like much of the fan base has either decided to move on from what happened 17 years ago or understands that it's out of their control, and if he's the guy, then he's the guy.

But is there a chance that when West Virginia makes the announcement that it isn't Rich Rodriguez's name attached to the post? Certainly. As I've noted before, anything is possible in a coaching search, and all sorts of twists and turns can happen when you don't expect them to. That being said, everything I'm hearing at this moment is that it's going to be Rodriguez's job, as just about everyone has reported.

Tuesday night, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that WVU is expected to make a decision within 24-48 hours, which aligns with what I reported a few hours before, stating that significant progress had been made in the search on Tuesday evening.

West Virginia has wrapped up in-person interviews with candidates, and the belief is that WVU is set to enter the negotiating stages rather than spending the next two days deciding on who the head coach is going to be. Again, this pretty much lines up with the timeline Thamel reported. Ironing out the details of a contract can take a couple of days, so don't panic if an announcement isn't made by the end of Wednesday.

If, for whatever reason, this drags into Friday or perhaps Saturday, then there's likely some sort of hold-up in the negotiations that could throw a wrench into things.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

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