The 2025 season for the West Virginia football team is drawing near, marking the start of head coach Rich Rodriguez’s second tenure at the school. Read more: Rodriguez’s Return to WVU: What History Tells Us About Second Chances
After nearly two decades, Rodriguez is returning to the school that provided him with his greatest marks as a head coach. Like Rodriguez, coaches come and go, but it’s not often they return for a second opportunity.
While rare, there are still a number of coaches who have been in Rodriguez’s shoes. Let’s explore some of these coaches and see which side of history Rodriguez may fall under this time around.
Bill Snyder
You can’t have a discussion about coaches making a return to their previous school without bringing up Bill Snyder. The former Kansas State coach spent his entire 27-year head coaching career on the Wildcats’ sideline.
The legendary coach began his first stint with the Wildcats in 1989. Prior to his arrival, the Wildcats had posted back-to-back winless seasons. It would only take Snyder one season to turn the Wildcats from a laughing stock to one of the premier football programs in the nation.
Synder’s first stint with the Wildcats lasted from 1989 to 2005, and in that time, they eclipsed 10 or more wins seven times. Under Snyder, the Wildcats made 11 straight bowl games—winning six of them. Getting as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, Snyder brought the Wildcats to heights they had never seen before.
In the 17 years Snyder spent in his first stint with the Wildcats, he accumulated a record of 136-68-1.
After a brief retirement in 2005, Snyder returned to lead the Wildcats once again in 2009. This time, he would do it in the stadium named after him, Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
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In his second tenure, Snyder proved he still had what it took to successfully lead the Wildcats. Over the 10 years Synder returned, the Wilcats won fewer than six games just once. They reached eight straight bowl games—this time winning just three. Snyder was also able to coach his team to No. 2 in the AP poll during this stint.
After retiring for a second time in 2018, Snyder would finish his second term with a record of 79-49. With an overall record of 215-117-1 and 19 bowl appearances, Snyder proved that the magic of the first run can stay alive for a second time.
Mack Brown
Another well-known case of a coach having multiple visits at a particular school is the two-time North Carolina head coach Mack Brown. Spending a total of 16 seasons with the Tar Heels, Brown’s first stint was from 1988 to 1997.
Unlike Snyder, Brown’s first couple of years with the Tar Heels left much to be desired, producing back-to-back one-win seasons. By 1992, Brown found his footing and wouldn’t look back. After a 9-3 record and a Peach Bowl appearance in that same year, Brown’s Tar Heels proceeded to make five-straight bowl games from 1992 to 1996.
Brown went on to win three of those bowl games, and after a 10-1 season in 1997, he left to coach the Texas Longhorns. Before his departure, Brown would amass a record of 69-46-1 with the Tar Heels.
Over two decades later, Brown returned to North Carolina in 2019. While he was much older this time, Brown continued to bring success to the program. Other than his last year with the Tar Heels, Brown led them to a bowl appearance every year. Unlike his first go-around, Brown didn’t have much success in those games, winning just one.
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One aspect that Brown brought with him in his second stint was the ability to recruit NFL talent. Drake Maye, Sam Howell, and Omarion Hampton are a few of the names that Brown was able to recruit to North Carolina and eventually get drafted into the NFL.
Overall, Brown posted a record of 113-79-1 with North Carolina, including a 44-33 mark in his second stint. Brown may not have been as successful in his second opportunity with the Tar Heels, but by no means was it a failure.
Bobby Petrino
A lot of memories can swirl when you hear the name Bobby Petrino. From the failed NFL experiment to the motorcycle scandal, Petrino has found his name on the wrong side of coaching many times.
Take all that away for a second, and you’ll find two impressive stints at Louisville.
Petrino’s first stop at Louisville was from 2003 to 2006. In those four years, Petrino never dipped below nine wins. In his first season, he led the Cardinals to nine wins, then followed it up with an 11-win season in 2004.
Under Petrino, the Cardinals would go on to have another nine-win season in 2005 and a 12-win season in 2006, capped off by a victory in the Orange Bowl.
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After a brief failure in the NFL, stops at Arkansas and Western Kentucky, and the infamous motorcycle scandal, Petrino found his way back to Louisville. From his return in 2014 through 2017, it looked like Petrino picked up right where he left off. During that span, the Cardinals had eight or more wins in every season, though they won just one bowl game in 2015.
Everything looked to be going right for Petrino in his second stint, but that would quickly change in what would be his last season in 2018. After seven straight losses, Petrino was fired mid-season. He would end that year with a record of 2-8.
Petrino reached the highest of highs in his first stint, going 41-9 with two bowl wins in four appearances.. His second stint, which initially showed similar promise, ended in disastrous fashion.
What’s in Store for Rodriguez
You can take all these instances with a grain of salt when it comes to Rodriguez at WVU. Rodriguez coaches a different team and brings a different approach than the other coaches
Nonetheless, it’s important to look back and see what has happened when a school brings a coach back for a second dance. Just like all three of these coaches, Rodriguez’s first stint with the Mountainers was nothing short of greatness.
Since Rodriguez’s departure in 2007, Mountaineers fans have been reminded of not only those successes, but the failures as well. Whether seeing the 13-9 game pop up on social media or seeing the 2007 Fiesta Bowl banner when you walk into the stadium, fans have always been brought back to Rodriguez’s first stint in Morgantown.
Now that Rodriguez is set to begin his second tenure with the Mountaineers, only time will tell if he can recapture past successes—and finally put the bad memories to rest.
Rodriguez’s Return to WVU: What History Tells Us About Second Chances
