Rich Rodriguez Had Interest in WVU Job Years Ago, But Was Not Among Top Five Options

Rich Rodriguez returning to West Virginia never really felt possible, especially after the way things ended roughly 18 years ago. Fans always tossed his name around as someone the school should consider bringing back after a tough string of losses or following a bad season, but still, it felt impossible.

Well, here we are. The impossible happened, and Rodriguez is back for a second stint at his alma mater.

The crazy part? It could have happened a handful of years ago. In an interview with 365 Sports at Big 12 media day, Rodriguez revealed his interest in the job at would have been when Dana Holgorsen departed for Houston; however, there was no interest on West Virginia's side. The athletic director at the time was Shane Lyons, who eventually landed on Neal Brown, the guy Rodriguez is now replacing.

“Were there times that I thought about coming back? Well, the opportunity didn’t present itself very much and I wasn’t in position. It did once, about five or six years ago, and they had different administrators, and they said I wasn’t even in the top five. I’m like, well, hell, I got better odds in the lottery. So I didn’t worry about it. I got a good job at Jax State, won there, and then all of a sudden, this happens in a hurry. So, it’s been neat.”

Lyons was a more traditional AD who wasn't one for taking big risks behind the scenes in the fundraising aspect of the business or taking a big swing on a coaching hire. Wren Baker is the exact opposite, and it's a good thing for WVU. He's done a tremendous job of building the athletic program on the financial side, while also going out and making (at the time) a controversial decision to bring Rich Rod back. Baker wasn't worried about the potential backlash or trying to find "his guy." He wanted to get the best man for the job to get WVU football back on the map.

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