The West Virginia football program has been searching for a proven identity in recent years. It won’t have that problem with Rich Rodriguez returning to the sidelines in Morgantown.
Rodriguez prides his football teams on toughness and playing with a hard edge.
That is engrained into all of his teams and that physical element made the Mountaineers a team that few wanted to play during his first tenure atop the program. It took some time to firmly establish, but by the 2005 season, West Virginia had become one of the most physical football teams in college football.
“They want to have a seven-on-seven drill, we want to have a fistfight,” Rodriguez said.
That is exactly the approach that his teams embodied each and every game.
It’s an identity that is very much woven into the fabric of the people of the state of West Virginia, something that Rodriguez understands all to well considering his roots in the Mountain State. West Virginians work hard and want a football team that reflects those same qualities on the field.
There won’t be any problem with that with the product that Rodriguez will be putting onto the field.
Now that doesn’t guarantee success, but Rodriguez experienced plenty of it during his first go-around atop the football program. He has already done it at a high level and has proven the ability to lead the Mountaineers on the field. Regardless of personal feelings, that much is indisputable.
From 2001-07, the Mountaineers were 60-26 and won at least eight games in every season after his debut campaign. If you remove his first year where the program finished with his only losing record at 3-8, Rodriguez was 57-18 during his time in Morgantown over the next six.
The program won at least 10 games in three consecutive years from 2005-07 and West Virginia was at the epicenter of the college football world and the cusp of playing for it all.
Now, that was a long time ago – but it’s clear that Rodriguez still is producing as evidenced by leading the Jacksonville State football program into their transition to FBS. Over his three years, Rodriguez led the Gamecocks to a 27-10 record and won nine games in all three of those seasons.
The 2024 campaign saw Rodriguez lead Jacksonville State to a convincing 52-12 win over Western Kentucky for the school’s first Conference USA Championship and he was rewarded by being named Coach of the Year in the league. His football teams were again known for that trademark toughness.
It was the same message he told the West Virginia team in his first meeting.
"“People have asked me, what’s hard edge mean? That means you’re going to be mentally and physically tougher than anybody and everybody that you go up against. You’ll be mentally and physically tougher than anybody you play, or you won’t be playing,” Rodriguez said. “If you’re going to sit up in your seat and you’re eager to get after somebody’s ass, you’re going to be just fine. If you’re going to play fast, you better be in shape, right? We’ll be in shape. Most of the time, we’re going to get after their ass.”
Now, there’s no guarantee that Rodriguez will have the same success in his second stint in Morgantown. Reunions have happened elsewhere across college football, and it’s not led to results.
But Rodriguez understands the fabric of the state and the challenges of the job. It’s a unique situation in Morgantown and Rodriguez certainly understands what it takes to win here.
And how to go about it when it comes to a product that the fans can certainly take pride in weekly.
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