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Published Jul 8, 2025
Rodriguez keeps a focus on the present to build culture
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Keenan Cummings  •  WVSports
Managing Editor
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@rivalskeenan

West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez believes in what he’s doing.

That’s a necessity to find success at the college level and there’s some things that are part of his program that he believes are essential to reaching that point.

“There’s certain things that culture-wise or program-wise that you got to adhere to no matter where you’re at, what you’re doing or who you have with you,” Rodriguez told the In The Gun Podcast. “But there’s also things you’ve got to adapt to. The same way as a coach.”

Rodriguez believes he has made significant changes to his approach as a teacher over the course of his career and demands that his players continue to learn and improve as well.

The veteran head coach demands that his coaches and players learn and understand the culture of the program and that won’t change whether it’s the first year or tenth year in the program.

“Or whether a guy’s in his first day in the program or he’s been here for four years. And that’s not always an easy thing for guys to adapt to, “he said.

One key part of that is how Rodriguez places an emphasis on the singleness of purpose. Which is focusing on the job in the moment and making it the most important thing at that time.

That means that the practice or the play in the moment is what takes priority.

“The next practice is the most important thing in the world to us. That next play in practice is the most important thing to us. And when that’s over, then something else takes importance,” Rodriguez said.

And that’s the approach that Rodriguez believes will help set the Mountaineers up for success.

“When we go and practice or we go in the game, that very next play is the world to us,” he said.

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