Asti: Winning Only Option for Rich Rodriguez in Second WVU Tenure

Rich Rodriguez will get a second chance at WVU. Something never guaranteed to anyone after a bitter breakup has now been offered to Rodriguez. And while most fans, even those who aren’t over how things ended 17 years ago, believe he can win at WVU again, the pressure on him to win, win big and do it right away will be immense.

No matter what anyone wants to believe about where Rodriguez was on the pecking order of candidates, WVU director of athletics Wren Baker would not have hired him if he didn’t believe he will win.

Winning cures all. If the Mountaineers win, the donors and fans will be happy and the program and school will flourish, just like what happened during Rodriguez’s first tenure. But if West Virginia doesn’t win, the dark vibes and ugly atmosphere that existed during Neal Brown’s time as head coach will return, and maybe to an even nastier level based on the polarizing nature of the Rodriguez hire in the first place.

Everyone agrees Brown was a great man and a great ambassador for the university and football program. But at this point, everyone also agrees he simply didn’t succeed at his No. 1 priority – winning. Brown didn’t win enough. Brown didn’t win big games. Brown didn’t spark fear into his opponents like Rodriguez’s West Virginia teams once did. Brown did so much well but he just didn’t win enough, and unfortunately for him, winning is what matters most of all.

“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Rich Rodriguez and his family back home,” said Baker in the press release to officially announce the hiring of Rodriguez. “Coach Rodriguez understands what it takes to win at West Virginia, and I believe he will pour his heart, soul and every ounce of his energy into our program. I am convinced Coach Rodriguez wants what is best for West Virginia, WVU and West Virginia football, and I am excited about the future of our program.”

That statement says it all. Baker is putting his chips to the middle of the table with the hope, and more so the expectation, Rodriguez will.

And of course, Rodriguez will have every opportunity to win. With the financial backing being promised, the extreme hype that will lead into the kickoff of the 2025 season, the support of every notable alum imaginable and the hunger of fans who just endured one of the worst six-year stretches in WVU football history, Rodriguez will have only himself to blame if he doesn’t win.

I think Rich Rodriguez will win at WVU. But he better win at WVU. With the financial backing he's going to get and the hype to ignite his second chance, if he doesn't win in a wide open Big 12, it would be completely on him. The WVU fans demand a winner above all else and deserve…

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) December 12, 2024

He’s certainly capable of winning and knows how to build a program. Despite not being a fit, he eventually had Michigan on the right track before being fired there. While his Arizona tenure ended with controversy in its own right, he did lead the Wildcats to their best season of this century to date, and of course, he ushered in a new winning culture at Jacksonville State and made then a conference champion in only their second year at the FBS level.

Detractors will bring up that his greatest success was two decades ago, he didn’t win at Michigan no matter the excuse, his Arizona run saw him drop from 10 to seven win seasons and a championship in Conference USA may not translate to the Big 12. And while those are valid points, there’s also enough support, and the right kind of support, to suggest a good coach like Rodriguez will be able to win in a wide open Big 12 with access to the College Football Playoff.

If Arizona State, Iowa State and programs with significantly worse history and fan fare can contend in the this Big 12, there’s no excuse for WVU with Rodriguez as head coach again to struggle to find their place in this new era of college football.

For a related story, WVU donor Ken Kendrick says Wren Baker was not pressured to hire Rich Rodriguez.