West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez is excited about the coaching staff that he put together.
The leader of the football program was able to snag his top option at defensive coordinator Zac Alley from Oklahoma and then built the rest of the staff with a nice mix of experienced options and young, upstarts in the industry that are on an upwards trajectory.
“I think I got a good mix of some experienced guys where I need some experience and some young guys that are going to be really good coaches that are learning the craft and can be really good with our guys,” Rodriguez said.
That last part includes a pair of former players in quarterback Pat White and running back Noel Devine, who both played under Rodriguez when he was in Morgantown the first time. And the two bring varying degrees of experience in the coaching realm.
White, who will serve as assistant quarterbacks coach, was an offensive assistant coach with the Los Angeles Chargers for two years, before working as an athlete/skill trainer and coach for the past year.
With the Chargers, he was the quarterback and wide receiver offensive assistant, providing coaching insight to each room. He helped secure the No. 2 passing offense in the NFL and a spot in the playoffs.
He also served as the pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Campbell (2022), was the interim offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama State (2021), the running backs coach at USF (2020) and the quarterbacks coach at Alcorn State (2018-19).
Devine will handle the role of offensive analyst and assistant running backs coach after previously operating DevineSpeed LLC, a speed training business where he trained numerous athletes from different sports. He also coached football at North Fort Myers High School.
But even with their experience playing for the Mountaineers, it’s what they bring to the staff that made the pair selections for the coaching staff.
“I’m not just hiring a legacy guy because he’s a legacy guy. I’m hiring because of what I think he brings to our staff and he understands not just the culture but also how we go about doing things in our program,” Rodriguez said.
The opportunity presented itself in large part because there are no limits on the number of coaches that can work with, which is a plus for all parties.
“The staff came together really well,” Rodriguez said.
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