On Monday, former WVU football kicker and current ESPN College GameDay analyst Pat McAfee played a viral clip of Rich Rodriguez that made the rounds after the Mountaineers opened practice to the media last Friday. During the segment, McAfee – who played for Rodriguez at WVU from 2005-2007 – offered some insight on to what exactly was going down in the video, which shows Rodriguez letting loose with multiple expletives. But an off-handed comment near the end of the segment focusing on the Rodriguez clip showed Pat McAfee tossing some shade towards former WVU coach Neal Brown, even if it wasn't meant with much malice.
During McAfee's own expletive-laden explanation of the Rodriguez video – which he believes stemmed from an equipment manager not "spotting the ball" quick enough during practice – he suggests that the equipment manager might be left over from Brown's tenure, and insinuating that things will be run a bit differently for the West Virginia Mountaineers under Rodriguez than when Brown was at the helm.
"He's going to learn. This ain't Neal Brown's operation, he might have been a little bit of a carryover," McAfee said.
RICH ROD IS ALL THE WAY BACK #PMSLive https://t.co/BlXaK64l9G pic.twitter.com/h5ysM0s2BJ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 11, 2025
McAfee also took some time to highlight that he thinks the Mountaineers will be back on track this season under Rodriguez, and should really have things rolling right after a couple years under Rodriguez's leadership.
"But the West Virginia Mountaineers – maybe this year, with what I'm seeing. Maybe this year. I'm thinking two years whenever we get the full culture in there," McAfee said.
It's not the first contrast that has been pointed out when it comes to Brown and Rodriguez's coaching styles. During spring practices, linebacker Reid Carrico – who played under Brown in 2024 before returning under Rodriguez this season – pointed out that there is quite a bit of difference in the tempo of a Rodriguez practice.
"It's been a bit of an adjustment. Coach Rod runs practice a bit more up-tempo," Carrico said.
Brown coached the Mountaineers for six seasons from 2019-2024 before being relieved of his duties following last season, going 37-35 and leading the team to four bowl games, with a postseason record of 2-1 (he was fired before the 2024 postseason appearance). Meanwhile, Rodriguez's first tenure at WVU lasted seven seasons from 2001-2007 resulted in a 60-26 record, taking the program to six bowl games (including two BCS bowls) and recording a postseason record of 2-3 (he left for Michigan before the 2007 postgame appearance).