Rodriguez excited about the potential of former players on WVU's staff

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West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez has had some of his former players on his coaching staff before and there are certainly some advantages to that.

For one, those coaches have already lived the experience under Rodriguez and understand what it takes to play under him on many different levels.

“The guys are usually the ones that understand the tempo and the environment. I guess you would say, more than anyone else because they lived it,” he said.

West Virginia has two on the staff in assistant quarterbacks coach Pat White and assistant running backs coach Noel Devine and both have been an asset already. But each also were hired on their own merits not because they were once great players for the Mountaineers.

“Just because you were a great player doesn’t make you a great coach,” he said. “Some coaches think the average players make really good coaches because they have to do all the extra stuff to be able to have success. I don’t know if it’s true. I just think the personality itself.”

By that, Rodriguez means that if a coach was once a great player you’ll get the immediate respect and attention of those in your position room but that alone isn’t enough.

“If they know you know what you're talking about and you can help them get better, you'll have their attention. And that's the key. One, we've got to know what the hell we're talking about. And then players got to see that we're getting them better, better than if we weren't around them,” he said.

Both White and Devine have fit in great in their new roles with the former bringing plenty of experience coaching at both the college and professional level. While Devine is entering his first job at the power four level, it will serve as a chance for them to prove themselves.

Both are still learning how to coach at this level, but Rodriguez hasn’t held back when it comes to getting on them when they make mistakes.

“This is big boy college football. And it’s a great opportunity and a great responsibility for them to prove themselves and climb the ladder,” he said.

And it’s a ladder that Rodriguez believes is going to lead to long careers for both in the industry.

“Both of those, for instance, are going to be great coaches,” he said.


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