“This Is Where I Belong”: Rich Rodriguez Turns Down $15M to Stay at WVU
By contributor for College Football Weekly | August 10, 2025
In a bold, loyalty-first move that’s stunned the college football world, Rich Rodriguez has turned down a reported $15 million contract offer from a major SEC program to remain the head coach at West Virginia University — a school he once left and now refuses to abandon again.
“This is where I belong,” Rodriguez told reporters at a packed press conference on the Morgantown campus. “This program gave me my start. Now it’s my job to finish what I’ve started — for the players, for the fans, and for the state.”
The offer, rumored to come from a high-profile program dealing with recent coaching instability — widely speculated to be Florida or LSU — would have made Rodriguez one of the five highest-paid coaches in college football. But for Rodriguez, the decision was about more than money.
After returning to WVU in 2023, following a tumultuous but educational decade coaching across the college ranks, Rodriguez has reinvigorated Mountaineer football. His high-tempo offense, gritty player development, and relentless recruiting have brought the team back into the national spotlight. WVU finished the 2024 season with a 10-2 record, earning a berth in the New Year’s Six — the program’s first since 2007, under Rodriguez himself.
His return has not only revived the program but healed long-standing wounds. Many fans still remember his departure in 2007 for Michigan — a move that left the Mountaineer faithful bitter and betrayed. But two years into his second stint, Rodriguez has rewritten the narrative.
“It’s not just that he came back,” said former WVU linebacker and alum Darryl Talley. “It’s how he came back. He owned the past, and now he’s building something better.”
Rodriguez’s commitment comes amid growing buzz around WVU’s rising talent, including standout quarterback Trey Caldwell and breakout running back Jahiem White, who just earned the prestigious Dark Horse Award heading into the 2025 season. With one of the nation’s most electric offenses and a defense ranked in the top 20, expectations are sky-high.
The coach’s decision to stay is also seen as a win for college football’s soul, where loyalty and legacy often take a back seat to money and prestige.
“There’s something poetic about Rich choosing West Virginia — not just once, but twice,” said ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit. “In this era of realignment, NIL chaos, and constant coaching turnover, seeing a coach plant his flag and say, ‘I’m home,’ is rare — and powerful.”
Rodriguez’s current contract at WVU runs through 2029, reportedly worth $6.5 million annually, with incentives tied to postseason performance and player graduation rates. Sources within the athletic department say an extension and raise are already in the works to ensure Rodriguez retires a Mountaineer.
As for Rodriguez, he’s not focused on headlines or hypothetical millions.
“We’re building a championship culture here,” he said. “The kind that doesn’t get bought — it gets earned.”
And in a world where everything seems for sale, Rich Rodriguez just proved that heart still matters.
Factual fiction inspired by the spirit of college football. Not an actual event.
