Former West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez is finalizing a deal to return to the country roads, where he enjoyed his greatest success as a head coach, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Rodriguez, the current head coach at Jacksonville State, is expected to become the Mountaineers’ new coach, according to sources, and a deal was expected to be struck in the near future.

Rodriguez, 61, spent seven seasons at the school (2001 to 2007), including three 10-win seasons and a Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia in 2006. He had West Virginia on the cusp of the Bowl Championship Series title game last year before a surprising loss to Pittsburgh. After that defeat, Rodriguez traveled to Michigan in a tense dispute that included a legal battle over his takeover.

Rodriguez is from West Virginia, which added to the bitterness of his departure but makes his return home powerful.

When West Virginia looked for a replacement for the fired Neal Brown, Rodriguez emerged as the favorite. He led Jacksonville State to back-to-back 9-4 seasons and led that school to the Conference USA title this season with a stunning 52-12 victory over Western Kentucky in the title game.

He would be taking over a school in a very different place than when he left nearly two decades ago, as Rodriguez dominated the Big East during his tenure at WVU. Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, West Virginia has had just one 10-win season. The school has not been nationally ranked since 2016.

Rodriguez’s return was expected to bring a surge in support, as West Virginia operated with one of the lower NIL budgets in the Big 12 during Brown’s tenure. Although Rodriguez’s departure caused some divisiveness, it will galvanize a significant portion of fans and donors.

The homecoming will also give West Virginia an adrenaline rush of relevance, as Rodriguez’s return will be one of the most vivid and nostalgic stories in college football in 2025. He would play his first main game on September 13th in Morgantown against former nemesis Pitt.

Rodriguez struggled to achieve the same success after West Virginia. His three years at Michigan ended in disgrace when he was 15-22. He was subsequently hired by Arizona but had mixed results (43-35) in his six years. He led the Wildcats to the Fiesta Bowl in 2014 and Arizona played in the Pac-12 title game that year and upset No. 2 Oregon in Eugene in the regular season.