West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez Cracks List of Best CFB Coaches of Past 25 Years

West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez hopes the best days of his career are still to come, but his past is worthy of recognition as well.

Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde included Rodriguez on his list of the best college football coaches of the past 25 years.

Forde ranks Rodriguez at No. 22 on a list that is topped by West Virginia native Nick Saban.

Below is what Forde said about Rodriguez: 

“It’s ironic that RichRod’s only losing tenure to date came at the school where that was least likely to happen. Going 15–22 at Michigan is hard to do—but so is winning 70% of your games at West Virginia, 55% at Arizona and 73% at Jax State. In his first stint at WVU, Rodriguez took the Mountaineers to the brink of playing for the national championship in 2007 before suffering a crushing upset loss to rival Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale. He then made two fateful decisions, turning down Alabama (clearing the way for Saban) and going to Michigan. Rodriguez showed his staying power—and ability to evolve beyond being on the cutting edge of the spread offense—by rebounding from that tenure.”

And while Rodriguez’s placement can be argued, the recognition only further his potential future candidacy for the College Football Hall of Fame, something that he now meets the criteria for based on a recent adjustment to the win percentage bar.

Asti: Rich Rodriguez Now Has Compelling Case for Hall of Fame

More about Rodriguez’s career so far: 

Rodriguez, a West Virginia native, currently holds a 190-128-2 overall coaching record. He experienced most of his success while leading the Mountaineers from 2001-2007. At WVU, Rodriguez won four Big East titles and was named conference Coach of the Year twice. He added a third Coach of the Year honor in the Pac-12 in 2014 with Arizona.

No matter how many games he won and trophies he lifted, Rodriguez’s first WVU tenure was tainted by the way he left – bolting for Michigan following the infamous 13-9 loss to Pitt, a defeat that cost the Mountaineers a trip the BCS National Championship Game.

After his departure from WVU, Rodriguez spent three lackluster years at Michigan and six seasons with Arizona, highlighted by winning 10 games and a trip to the Fiesta Bowl in 2014. Most recently, he led Jacksonville State through a successful transition from FCS to FBS and won the 2024 Conference USA title before leaving to return to West Virginia.

Find more coverage of Rich Rodriguez at WV Sports Now.

For a related story, Mike Asti looks at Rich Rodriguez’s case foe the College Football Hall of Fame.