Rich Rodriguez fights back against ‘patience’ narrative, wants quick change at West Virginia

Rich Rodriguez returned to West Virginia to great fanfare over the offseason. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Mountaineers during his first season back in Morgantown.
While they won two of their first three games — including a statement victory over Pittsburgh in Week 3 — West Virginia has since dropped three straight. Now sitting at 2-4, Rodriguez isn’t asking for patience. He knows fans want results, and he’s just as eager to deliver them.
“I wish I had more patience. I have no patience — and that’s never changed,” Rodriguez explained. “It’s like, why do you like to go fast? Because I have no patience. I want to call plays right now. You want to win, like, yesterday.
“So I don’t — you know, I could stand up here and preach, ‘Let’s have patience until we get this roster where we want it to go, and get the system in place,’ and all that kind of stuff. But hell, ain’t nobody more impatient than I am. So I’m trying to figure out what we can do right now — every day — to win, and legally within the rules, of course, right?
“Sometimes it’s painful to wait or to have to understand that you’ve got to have a little luck, and you’ve got to have a plan to get things fixed. We have the plan. Whatever we need to get fixed — trust me — we’re in the process of fixing it. Some of that involves external things that we’re in the process of doing.
Top 10
- 1New
Bowl Projections
Full list of matchups
- 2
Top Target: Kiffin
Why UF should pursue Ole Miss HC
- 3Hot
Coaching Carousel
Hot seat intel
- 4Trending
Shane Beamer
Denies Hokies rumors
- 5
AP Poll
Massive shakeup in Top 25
Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“But it’s not fun right now, you know, going through some of the stuff we’re going through. Still, I’m not giving up on this year’s team at all. I like our guys. They still want to come to work. They’ve got a great attitude. It’s the second half of the season — a fresh start. I like the way we handled the bye week, and I think they’ll be ready to play Saturday.”
West Virginia remains in the thick of its Big 12 schedule. After losses to Utah and BYU, the Mountaineers will travel to UCF this Saturday before returning home to face TCU the following weekend.
Rodriguez knows it’s time for his team to start stacking wins and laying the foundation for future success. Four losses in the first six games have made for a tough start to this new era, but for the fiery head coach, the message is clear: patience may be preached — but urgency will define West Virginia’s turnaround under his watch.