It turns out that Pat McAfee is pulling off some hypeman duties. Yes, the former Indianapolis punter is now spotted more often sharing seats with GOAT Nick Saban and other bigshots. The College GameDay host did get some side eyes for getting triggered by Ohio State Buckeyes HC Ryan Day’s contract extension while they let Jim Knowles leave. However, McAfee now walks on the positive path. 

After all, it’s his alma mater, WVU, that had a new coaching hire. And how could the former player not be happy about it? As McAfee comes with an emotional message, Rich Rodriguez’s program lands in great soup as they lost their coach to Steve Sarkisian’s program. 

Pat McAfee’s celebration of WVU’s latest coaching roster win

McAfee got his start at WVU from 2005 to 2008. These three years hold a special place in his heart. After all, it was at WVU that he earned his First-Team All-American honors as a senior. This chapter will always remain special for the former kicker, who is known as one of the most accomplished specialists in WVU history. Did you know that McAfee ranked first in career kick-scoring, holding 384 points in West Virginia? Not only this. He became first in career PATs (210), third in career field goals made (58), and third in highest career punting average (43.7). Now that he has given his blood, sweat, and tears to the program, he would wish for nothing but the best for the Mountaineers. Since Rodriguez’s staff had a new addition, McAfee could no longer keep calm. 

How could he? After all, it’s WVU’s former quarterback Pat White who has returned to the Mountaineers as the assistant QB coach and assistant to the HC Rodriguez. This feels like a personal win for McAfee, who has shared the same three years in Mountaineers with White. February 25 marked a special day for White, and here came a heartfelt message from his old mate. McAfee dropped a throwback snap, a collage of the ex-QB, from the 2006 Sugar Bowl, where West Virginia beat Georgia 38-35, and the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, where they crushed the Oklahoma Sooners 48-28. The caption read, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A [goat emoji] 5-0 in bowl games. 1 of the best leaders I’ve ever witnessed. @patcwhute, I’m PUMPED you’re back at WVU.” As an alumnus, McAfee must be on cloud nine.

The Mountaineers were 35-8 with four bowl wins with White as their starting quarterback from 2005-08. The man carries a resume of 4,480 rushing yards and 19 schools, Big East, and national records. Not to forget, he also has some NFL experience serving as an offensive assistant for the Los Angeles Chargers. The alumnus now joins Rodriguez, who returned last December and happened to have been White’s HC for four seasons. Now will this be enough to bring the Mountaineers out of the choppy water situation?   

The financial burden that Rich Rodriguez and Co. is about to face

Just when things started to take shape for the better in the WVU hood, February 20 ushered in some bad news. HC Rodriguez confirmed the departure of longtime WVU football assistant coach Chad Scott. They would have still made peace with the fact that Scott chose to cut all the ties. But what might have struck them is the fact that the coach ditched them to become the running backs coach in the Longhorns.

Scott did spend some time as the interim HC. When Rodriguez took over, he retained him as the running backs coach. And we can now guess what’s waiting next for the Mountaineers. They might be losing some heavy fortunes in the buyout process. While the buyout numbers are not yet published, Scott was on a $700K annual salary. Already, the athletic department might be staring at the $3.9 million in assistant coach buyouts after letting several staff members leave. No matter how deep the crisis is, the HC refuses to show it.

Rich Rodriguez tried to act all chilled out on Chad Scott’s departure. He said, “I don’t know him that well, but I think he’s a really good coach, and he’ll do well with (Steve) Sarkisian.” The HC then reassured WVU fans that he’d sort it all out. “I got agents and coaches blowing me up in the last 24 hours. I’ll be able to hire a really good coach, not too concerned about that.” And just like that, a new era dawns for the Mountaineers.