West Virginia is a different job than it was when Rich Rodriguez ran the football program from 2001-07.
But he’s a different coach, too.
It’s part of how Rodriguez approaches the profession - both with himself, his staff and his players.
“If I was the same coach that I was in 2007 then I didn’t follow my own guidelines for my players and my staff about getting better every day,” he said.
Yes, the landscape has changed and with it, the goalposts have as well but Rodriguez has adjusted to it. Over his three seasons in his most recent stop at Jacksonville State, Rodriguez led the Gamecocks in the transition from FCS to FBS and an 18-4 record over the past two years including the Conference USA Championship this past season. That earned Rodriguez Coach of the Year honors.
“I’m really proud of what happened at Jax State, the players and the staff we had there. We went from a 1-AA team to a 1-A team and nobody has ever done that and went to two straight bowls and won a conference championship in their second year and played some pretty good football,” he said.
The recipe for Rodriguez is an easy one. Find good players and coach them hard.
“That formula has not changed and I think that’s the key to our success,” he said. “We’re going to find really good players that want to be at West Virginia then they’re going to play really hard then we’ll win.”
At West Virginia, Rodriguez will obviously have more ammunition to work with leading a power four program and has received assurances that the football program wants to win.
And win at the highest level.
That has been evident by the financial commitment to the program as well as the announcement by Athletic Director Wren Baker that West Virginia will be at or near full revenue sharing when that comes into play after the House settlement.
“Wren and everybody here associated with President (Gordon) Gee and the board are committed to us having a seat at the table and trying to win,” Rodriguez said. “They’re not just trying to compete; they want to win and we’re used to winning here so that to me was extra appealing.”
Every place provides unique challenges but there’s certain principles that need to be in place at every stop. Rodriguez is still very much involved with the x’s and o’s side as he still enjoys the football side of things and will continue to call plays.
But there also is a reliance on his coaching staff because there is a lot more to do the job than simply what’s happening on the field such as fundraising and NIL.
“I’m going to put together a great staff and fortunately we have the means to put together a great staff that can take some of that burden off me in all these aspects,” Rodriguez said.
You have to adapt to have success and Rodriguez has shown that over the years.It’s just another step in his maturation as a head coach and one that has made him so successful along the way.
“Every decision we’re going to make is to help us win,” he said.
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