Rich Rodriguez is back in charge at West Virginia, and he's ready to bring renewed success to the program. But despite his long-term success as a Division 1 head coach and his history in Morgantown, many aren't sold that he's going to be one of the more successful coaches at the Power Four level this season.
Last week, CBS Sports and 247 Sports put out their annual offseason ranking of all Power 4 head football coaches entering the upcoming season, and the Rodriguez's landing spot might come across as a bit harsh for many.
Rodriguez found himself listed at 42nd overall among 68 Power 4 coaches entering the 2025 season, and was ranked 12th among the 16 current Big 12 head coaches -- he finds himself ranked above Arizona's Brent Brennan, UCF's Scott Frost, Cincinnati's Scott Satterfield, and Texas Tech's Joey McGuire.
According to the notes posted alongside each coach, Rodriguez was as listed as high as 28th overall on at least one ballot and as low as 57th on at least one ballot. Rodriguez didn't make an appearance in last year's rankings as he was a Group of 5 coach at the time.
Those ranking Rodriguez highly -- or that think he should be ranked even higher -- are likely looking back on his previous success with the Mountaineers, where he secured a 60-26 record over six seasons and led the Mountaineers to six bowl games (two BCS bowls) and three consecutive 10+ win seasons.
They also can point to his recent success at Jacksonville State, where he went 27-10 over three seasons while leading the program's transition from the FCS level to the FBS level -- he won an ASUN Championship at the FCS level and a Sun Belt Championship at the FBS level and led the Gamecocks to two consecutive bowl appearances.
Critics can justify the lower ranking by pointing out this will be Rodriguez's first power conference gig since 2017, and he went a modest 43-35 at his last stint at this level with Arizona, which followed a 15-22 three-year stint at Michigan.
Notable coaches Rodriguez finds himself ranked above include Big 12 rivals Frost (62nd) and McGuire (48th), as well as incoming North Carolina coach and NFL legend Bill Belichick (54th). He is ranked below, however, 7-of-9 Big 12 coaches he'll face this season -- including Colorado's Deion Sanders (33rd), who comes to Morgantown for a much anticipated battle this fall -- as well as Backyard Brawl rival Pat Narduzzi (37th), who will be in Morgantown for the massive rivalry in September.