The search is on for West Virginia’s next head coach after Mountaineers’ athletic director Wren Baker made the decision to fire Neal Brown after a no-show in the final week of the 2024 season.
WVU’s 52-15 loss to Texas Tech was the final straw for Brown, who ends his six-year stint in Morgantown with a 37-35 record and four bowl appearances.
“Saturday night into Sunday,” Baker said when asked when he decided to fire Brown. ” I know that there are people that will say that I had to know before then, but I think it’s important that you keep your mind open and let every data point arrive.”
There have been quite a few names rumored to be connected to the job, including but not limited to Penn State co-offensive coordinator Ja’Juan Seider, former Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher, and even former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez.
The lattermost name recently made an appearance on the Pacman Jones show and seemed to be lobbying a bit to reclaim his former post.
“It’s my home,” Rodriguez said of West Virginia. “It’s my school. I went to school there, I played there, of course, I coached there. We had some good times doing that. It’s always going to be my wife’s, my family’s home and, that’s never changed.”
Pacman Jones then made it very clear who he wants back at the helm, when answering the question of “how’s Pacman doing?”
“He’s doing good,” Jones said, “I would be doing way better if I could get your ass back in the state of West Virginia!”
“I know you could do some recruiting for me too,” Rodriguez joked.
Jones finished things out by taking Rodriguez down memory lane with his own rendition of “Country Roads” and one final softball to get Rodriguez thinking.
“I’m just saying, me and the boys are rooting for you. We hope you win this game right here, and then we hope you pack your [expletive] up as fast as possible and we can get you back to Morgantown.”
Rich Rodriguez and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks will take on Western Kentucky in the C-USA Championship on Friday, December 6.
