Rich Rod Ranked Below Pat Narduzzi in CBS Sports' Power Four Head Coach Rankings

Last time he was the lead man in Morgantown, Rich Rodriguez had West Virginia on the doorstep of a national championship appearance. This time around, he's hoping to get the job done and deliver WVU its first-ever national title.

Even with the transfer portal being a tool to accelerate a rebuild, it's still going to take a little bit of time before the Mountaineers are widely considered among the nation's best teams.

Entering the 2025 season, Rodriguez was ranked as the 42nd-best (out of 68) head coach in Power Four football by CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli.

"Welcome back to the rankings, RichRod! Rodriguez returns to West Virginia, where he enjoyed his greatest success after leading Jacksonville State to a 27-10 record the last three seasons. That includes an 18-8 mark in their first two seasons as an FBS program."

Rodriguez checks in just in front of Greg Schiano (Rutgers), Manny Diaz (Duke), Billy Napier (Florida), Fran Brown (Syracuse), Hugh Freeze (Auburn), and Joey McGuire (Texas Tech), to name a few. Coaches ranked just ahead of him include Willie Fritz (Houston), Luke Fickell (Wisconsin), Jedd Fisch (Washington), Dave Aranda (Baylor), and wait for it...Pat Narduzzi (Pitt). Yes, the coach who has won more than eight games in a season twice and has zero major bowl wins.

You could make the argument that Rodriguez has had more success at the Power Four level throughout his career than the handful of guys that rank ahead of him, which makes me wonder if his eight-year absence as a P4 head coach played a factor in his low ranking.

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