West Virginia head football coach Rich Rodriguez confirmed during his press conference Friday afternoon that he has a five-year deal with the university, but did so in a joking manner. "I’ve got a five-year contract,

Rich Rodriguez is heading back to West Virginia. According to ESPN, the Mountaineers announced Thursday that they had re-hired Rodriguez 17 years after he left for Michigan. The Jacksonville State coach will succeed Neal Brown after Brown was fired at the end of the season.

That sounds like a lot of money -- and, indeed it is -- until it's placed in context. Rodriguez will coach the Mountaineers at a discount compared to the $4 million that WVU paid Neal Brown in 2024.