If West Virginia had any hard feelings toward Rich Rodriguez for leaving 17 years ago, they weren’t apparent at the press conference introducing his return to Morgantown on Friday.
Well, one fan apparently wasn’t enthused about Rodriguez coming back to coach the Mountaineers. But the heckler was quickly shouted down by the fans in attendance and eventually escorted out of the WVU Coliseum.
Rodriguez had a quick quip for the heckler, winning over the crowd that was already enthusiastic about his return.
“OK, any other Pitt fans can leave the building,” said Rodriguez, who previously coached West Virginia from 2001-07 before leaving for Michigan.
The response from fans — and insulting chants toward rival Pitt — made Rodriguez emotional as he began his remarks.
“This is really surreal,” he said. “I never should have left.”
Rodriguez signed a five-year contract with WVU and will be paid an average annual salary of $3.75 million, according to ESPN. The value of the deal could increase with incentives tied to win totals and other benchmarks.
During his first stint in Morgantown, Rodriguez went 60-26 with five bowl appearances, including a Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia after the 2005 season. WVU went 32-5 in Rodriguez’s last three seasons and oversaw a revolutionary spread-option offense. Most memorably, the Mountaineers were in position for the BCS championship game in 2007 but lost 13-9 to Pitt in the season finale.
Rodriguez left before WVU played in the Fiesta Bowl, where they defeated Oklahoma under interim coach Bill Stewart. Stewart was eventually named the permanent head coach.
That final loss to Pitt apparently stuck with Rodriguez, who made a point of taking a few jabs at the Panthers during his press conference and an interview with WVU alum Pat McAfee.
“I probably misspoke a little bit earlier when I said the two worst four-letter words were ‘soft’ and ‘lazy,’” Rodriguez said when describing the kinds of players he did not want at West Virginia. “I left out Pitt.”
West Virginia and Pitt play next season on Sept. 13.