MORGANTOWN — Rich Rodriguez was standing at the podium for no more than five seconds Friday.
Five seconds isn’t long enough to warm up anything in a microwave. It’s not long enough to change your shoes or wash your hands.
It was more than enough time for the man decked out in a ball cap and a West Virginia University coat to let the hundreds inside the Coliseum know how he truly felt about WVU hiring Rodriguez for a second time to be its head football coach.
“Go back to Michigan,” the man yelled again, over and over until he began to get pelted by trash and was finally escorted out of the arena by police.
Rodriguez waited for the man’s exit before trying to mask the moment with a funny.
“Any other Pitt fans can leave the building,” he said, bringing with it a loud ovation and a familiar chant.
Anything else that happened at Rodriguez’s introductory press conference paled in comparison.
For starters, it was closer to a frat party than any kind of press conference, not that most people care about that kind of stuff, so we’ll leave that right there.
It all ended with both Rodriguez and the man who hired him — WVU athletic director Wren Baker — darting off the stage and rushing off behind the big blue curtain heading off for another interview with Pat McAfee.
That was, at the very least, somewhat symbolic. It was 17 years ago when Rodriguez did the same thing to WVU, rushing off under the cover of darkness to go to Michigan.
Rodriguez did it then by himself, with his discontent with the former WVU athletic administration well known. At least this time he was neck-and-neck with the top guy in WVU’s athletic administration, a sign of unity of sorts.
What else happened Friday? Well, these are simply my observations.
“This is really surreal,” Rodriguez said. “I never should have left.”
By veteran sports writer Bob Hertzel’s count, Rodriguez used the word “mistake” seven times, referencing his departure from WVU in 2007.
Most people apologize when admitting to a mistake. Not Rodriguez. The word “sorry” or “I wish it never happened” was never mentioned once.
Now, privately, maybe Rodriguez has said it a hundred times, whether it was to a big-money donor, a close confidant or even to Baker during the interview process.
But he had a major opportunity to say it to the fans Friday, the ones around the state, around the country, there in the Coliseum or even to that man who was yelling for him to go back to Michigan.
It was an opportunity missed.
“I understand there are fans who are upset,” Rodriguez said. “At least they care, right? I made a mistake, but I promise — not just to the folks who are upset — but to everybody here and everyone who have been very supportive, I will earn your support. We will earn your support and your trust back.”
The thought is nice. Rodriguez’s action from this day forward will tell the real story.
There is another side to the story, which is to say there were literally a few thousand in attendance who couldn’t be happier at the site of Rodriguez back at WVU.
Not all of them were rich donors, which is sort of an angle that’s out there with Rod’s return, in that money most definitely talked in this instance.
Most of them were just regular Joes, yearning for WVU to once again be respected nationally, as the Mountaineers were in Rodriguez’s first term.
True, a portion of those happy fans were WVU students who were still likely in diapers in 2007.
Others hooted and hollered every time Rodriguez made a point about coming back home.
They sang “Take Me Home Country Roads” in unison. There is a large part of the fan base that is very much behind this hire.
Yet, there is no one man or woman who can possibly have the entire pulse of the WVU fan base under their thumb, and so there is no way to measure the level of hurt or disappointment that is still felt by some toward Rodriguez.
What we do know is the fan base — to some degree — was already divided before Rodriguez was even interviewed for the job.
“Fire Neal Brown” and “Keep Neal Brown” billboards were seen all across town. Many loved the former coach for the integrity he brought to the program. Many hated Brown for not winning.
By hiring the most controversial former WVU coach not named Bob Huggins to come back to be your football coach, how in the world is WVU’s fan base ever going to be united again?
“Here’s what I know about West Virginia,” Baker said. “I’ve heard from both sides. Coach and I talked about this and he knows that there’s some people who have hard feelings from 17 years ago. West Virginians love to see West Virginians do well. West Virginians love to see this program do well and represent the state.
“When I sat with him, no other candidate had the kind of passion for this state, this community, this university and this football program the way that he did. I’m excited that he’s here and we’re going to rally the fan base and we’re going to win games and there won’t be any kind of division. Everyone will be rooting for the Mountaineers.”
In all sincerity, because Baker is very much an honorable man, WVU’s athletic director should be praying heavily tonight that’s the case.
Because time, as the saying goes, did not heal all wounds where it concerns Rodriguez. Seventeen years may have healed some, but it was obvious from that one’s man ranting not all wounds were healed.
Maybe winning will do so, as Baker suggested, which puts the pressure directly onto Rodriguez for a quick impact.
If not, the next time Rodriguez conducts a frat party, er, press conference, there’s no telling how many people may have to be escorted out by the police.
