MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
Contrary to literary myth, Robert Frost did not write the line, “You can never go home again.” What he did write was, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in.”
All of these years later, 17 to be precise, that suits West Virginia just fine, because it’s West Virginians who have always said, “Take me home,” and that’s just what they’re doing now with former and present head football coach Rich Rodriguez, as WVU athletic director Wren Baker on Thursday made official the worst-kept secret in Morgantown: Rich Rod is coming home.
Earlier in the week amidst the speculation that Rodriguez would return 17 years after leaving WVU for Michigan just days after the darkest day in Mountaineer football history, WVU President Gordon Gee offered that he had left WVU twice himself, but that he had been welcomed back, and that if Rodriguez were to return, he would do so as the prodigal son.
Not so sure Rodriguez’s return will be repentant because he had to do what he had to do. Rather, given the doldrums, perceived or genuine, WVU football has found itself in recently, today’s official return will be one of triumph.
Former head coach Neal Brown, citing the great atmosphere that existed on what had been a beautiful day at Milan Puskar, asked Mountaineer fans after a particularly difficult home loss this season, “Aren’t you having fun?”
No, they’re having fun now, and plan on having more fun. Beginning now.
Rodriguez, who coached the Mountaineers for seven seasons to a 60-26 record, four Big East titles and victories in the 2006 Sugar Bowl and the 2008 Fiesta Bowl (with a little help from a Bill Stewart pep talk) is now 61, which is not old by any means (see the new fellow in Chapel Hill), but his persona, his energy, his vision and his offense are still in his 20s and 30s. Spot the ball!
Not to ever under-emphasize what Coach Don Nehlen will always mean to WVU football, the Rodriguez years marked the most thrilling period of West Virginia football history. The possibilities were endless as we found out how close that was to being true on that fateful final day, that came just as WVU football was hitting its national stride.
Can it be that way again? Why not? Granted, while there are willing and able boosters at WVU, there’s still not money like SMU money. But didn’t SMU not so long ago receive the NCAA Death Penalty? They sure did, and deservedly so. Yet the last time we checked, the Mustangs had just entered the college football playoffs ahead of a school that goes by the name of Alabama.
Things change. But do people? That’s something you’d have to ask a whole lot of people, because even when WVU fans hated Rich Rod, that fine line between love and hate was very evident. For instance, a friend of mine who at one time called Rich Rod everything but a child of God informed me on Wednesday that “God was returning to Morgantown.”
Truthfully, his departure was not entirely his fault, but again, how do you fault a man for taking what he perceived to be a better opportunity for him and his family?
Rodriguez’s beef was with President Mike Garrison and athletic director Ed Pastilong, and it hit its peak after Rodriguez had turned down the Alabama job that Nick Saban would soon take.
Rodriguez wanted a contract update along with facility upgrades, amenities for the state’s high school coaches and more money for his assistants. Even though WVU boosters were in line to cover the bill, the university backed out on what Rodriguez believed was its end of the deal and it was hello, Ann Arbor, before his stops took him to Arizona, Ole Miss, Hawaii, Louisiana-Monroe and Jacksonville State.
People tend to remember how things did not play at Michigan and incorrectly believe Rodriguez hasn’t had success since WVU. Not true.
He invented his own offense, the no-huddle, zone-read, spread while he was still in his 20s and at one point was the youngest head coach in the country at age 24. He has been a head coach for 27 years and his teams have won 190 games. He has built and improved programs everywhere he has been the head coach, taking teams such as Arizona to heights they had never previously reached.
He was 27-10 in three seasons at Jacksonville State (Alabama), leading the Gamecocks to two conference championships, the Conference USA title game and had back-to-back nine-win seasons to start the program’s tenure as an FBS team.
The guy hasn’t had success, he brings it with him wherever he goes. In the case of Rich Rodriguez, we can say he’s actually invented it.
So, to paraphrase the great Mike Sawyers, Almost Heaven is happier than hell. The prodigal son has returned.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @MikeBurkeMDT