Now that Rich Rodriguez is officially the West Virginia football head coach and the Frisco Bowl is behind the program, it's time for Rodriguez to fill out his staff at WVU. Let's take a look at some of the names that could potentially be an assistant at WVU next year.
Offensive Coordinator:
Rod Smith, Jacksonville State: Smith is an obvious choice for this position if he doesn't end up succeeding Rodriguez at Jacksonville State. Smith is a long-time disciple of Rodriguez, who played for Rodriguez at Glenville State in the 1990s.
He was Rodriguez's quarterback coach at WVU where he developed Pat White and at Michigan where he developed Denard Robinson. He is the current Interim Head Coach at Jacksonville State following Rodriguez's departure and served as offensive coordinator for the program's Conference USA title this season.
Kirk Campbell, Free Agent: Campbell most recently served as offensive coordinator at Michigan, where he lost his gig following pressure that came with a 7-5 finish. He was the quarterback coach in 2023 for Michigan, where he helped develop J.J. McCarthy into a first-round NFL Draft selection and won a national championship, and he recruited 4-star recruit and current freshman quarterback Jaidyn Davis to the Wolverines.
Campbell has deep ties to the region -- he was born and raised in Pittsburgh and served as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at now-defunct Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, W.Va from 2012-2016, helping take a team playing their first varsity season in over 70 years from 4-7 in 2013 to 9-2 in 2016. He is a descendant of Hal Mumme Air Raid offense coaching tree, serving under former Mumme OC Gary Goff at Tiffin in 2011. He has also served as an analyst under James Franklin at Penn State.
Jordan Davis, North Texas: Davis is the current offensive coordinator at North Texas and is a rising young star. Davis has had the North Texas offense ranked in the Top 10 in total offense in FBS in back-to-back seasons since 2023, and has Big 12 experience as an assistant at Texas Tech.
Ja'Juan Seider, Penn State: Seider also came up as a dark horse head coach candidate. Seider is a former Mountaineer who finished his career at Florida A&M. He has served as an assistant at both Marshall and WVU previously, and is currently the Assistant Head Coach, Co-Offensive Coordinator, and Running Backs Coach at Penn State. He's been named a Top 10 recruiter by multiple recruiting services in different seasons and coached the only true freshman duo since 2000 other than West Virginia’s Steve Slaton and Pat White (2005) to each achieve over 800 rushing yards in a season.
Jason Woodman, Morehead State: Jason Woodman is the current head coach at FCS program Morehead State where he went 7-5 in his first season. He spent the previous decade as the head coach right down I-79 at D2 Fairmont State, where he accumulated a 60-47 record and 1 NCAA Division 2 Playoff appearance.
Woodman has OC experience at D2 Bowie State and Power 4 experience under coaches with West Virginia ties, having served as a GA to Nick Saban at LSU and Bobby Bowden at Florida State. He is a Farmington, W.Va native and graduated from North Marion High School, the alma mater of one Rich Rodriguez.
Offensive Assistants/Analysts:
Pat White, Free Agent: Rich Rodriguez's most recognizable athlete as a head coach may have been White. White was the starting WVU quarterback from 2005-2008, going 35-8 as a starter and going 4-0 in bowl appearances -- he is widely regarded as the best at the position in school history, and has expressed interest at a spot on the staff. White has coaching experience as a quarterbacks coach at the FCS level, a running backs coach with USF, and an offensive assistant in the NFL.
Rhett Rodriguez, Jacksonville State: Rhett is Rich's son, and currently serves as an offensive analyst at Jacksonville State. Rhett has extensive experience in his dad's offense, playing under him at both Arizona and Louisiana-Monroe.
Blaine Stewart, West Virginia: The current staff at WVU has done an impressive job and keeping ahold of the 2025 recruiting class and earning the absolute loyalty of those currently within the program -- keeping a staff member or two could go a long way in helping continue that stability and keeping current players who could be of use inside the program.
A perfect candidate for this strategy would be Blaine Stewart. Stewart is the current tight ends coach at WVU, where he is excelled in scouting and developing tight end talent. he is son of late WVU head coach and former Rodriguez assistant Bill Stewart, and finished his playing career collegiately at Charleston (WV) for Pat Kirkland, a current Jacksonville State assistant under Rodriguez. Stewart also has NFL coaching experience with the Pittsburh Steelers.
Ryan Nehlen, West Virginia: Nehlen is the second current WVU staffers who would be a decent choice to keep around. Nehlen is a current offensive assistant and pass game specialist at WVU -- he was a two-year letterman for the Mountaineers in he 2010s, and is the son of WVU football equipment manager Dan Nehlen and the grandson of Hall of Fame and former WVU head coach Don Nehlen, who coached Rodriguez in college.
Rick Trickett, Jacksonville State: Trickett is a long-time assistant for Rodriguez, having served under him as both WVU and Jacksonville State, where he is the current offensive line coach. He is widely regarded as one of the best in the business despite being in his mid-70s, and has coached the position at multiple colleges from the D2 to FBS level, getting his start under Frank Cignetti Sr. at WVU in the 1970s.
Travis Trickett, Coastal Carolina: Trickett brings 20+ years of Division 1 coaching experience -- he has served two stints as an assistant at WVU, the first being his first-ever gig as a student assistant for Rodriguez. He is the son of long-time Rich Rodriguez offensive line coach Rick Trickett.
Clint Trickett, Georgia Southern: Currently the tight ends coach and passing game coordinator at Georgia Southern, Trickett is another son of Rick Trickett's and served and the WVU quarterback from 2013-2014. He has spent multiple stints as an assistant at the D1 level, including time inside his native state when he was the offensive coordinator at Marshall from 2022-2023.
Ryan Garrett, Jacksonville State: The current wide receivers coach at Jacksonville State under Rodriguez, Garrett also served as an assistant in a Rodriguez offense at both Ole Miss and Louisiana-Monroe, developing extensive familiarity with the coach's system.
Quinn Sanders, Charleston (WV): Sanders is currently the Head Coach at D2 Charleston (WV), where he has been named the Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year and has won the MEC Championship in back-to-back seasons. He is 27-8 as a head coach and has multiple Division 2 playoff appearances. He previously served as offensive coordinator for Charleston under the aforementioned Kirkland. He played at Charleston from 2008-2011 and has served as an offensive assistant at the school for all but one year since his playing career ended.
Garin Justice, SMU: Justice, the current assistant head coach, offensive line coach, and co-offensive coordinator at SMU, played for Rodriguez at WVU from 2002-2006. A Gilbert, W.Va native, he was the head coach at D2 Concord (WV) from 2011-2015 where he went 40-17 and secured a pair of conference titles and 1 Division 2 playoff appearance. He has been an active FBS offensive line coach since 2016, including to Power 4 stops at Miami (FL) and now SMU, who is a current College Football Playoff team.