“The Pat McAfee Show” might have found its next prominent recurring guest. Since reuniting with West Virginia as the head football coach, Rich Rodriguez hinted at a potential partnership with McAfee and the popular ESPN talk show.

Rodriguez, who will begin his second stint at West Virginia in 2025, told McAfee he wants to appear on his show “every week,” he told The Athletic. Rodriguez added that he told the former punter he would love to be a weekly guest free of charge.

“I said, ‘You ain't gotta pay me,'” Rodriguez said. “I'll be on that show every week. I think he's got a great brand. He's fun to talk to, and he's been a great representative of West Virginia and a great representative of the guys he played with when I was his coach here. I'm just really, really proud of him. I think there's no question that he's tremendously supportive of us.”

McAfee, who retired from professional football in 2016, started “The Pat McAfee Show” shortly after hanging up his cleats. The comedy sports show led to his current deal with ESPN, where it continues to air.

The three-hour-long show is known for its laundry list of high-profile guests, including New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. McAfee previously disclosed he pays Rodgers $1 million annually for his segment on the show.

Rich Rodriguez, Pat McAfee's West Virginia connection

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Long before signing with West Virginia in 2025, Rodriguez previously was the school's head football coach from 2001 to 2007. His final three years overlapped with McAfee's time as the Mountaineers' punter. McAfee is known for proudly representing the two programs he played for — West Virginia and the Indianapolis Colts — as often as he can.

Rodriguez left Morgantown in 2008 for his infamous three-year tenure with Michigan. He went a combined 15-22 with the Wolverines before being fired in 2010. His notoriously unsuccessful run with the Wolverines still stands as one of the worst head coaching periods in program history.

Following his firing from Michigan, Rodriguez was hired by Arizona, where he led the Wildcats to six up-and-down seasons. He was fired once again in 2017 after an internal investigation due to claims of sexual harassment.

After a one-year layoff, he worked in various offensive roles for the next three seasons before returning to head coaching duties with Jacksonville State in 2022. Rodriguez led the Gamecocks to three nine-win seasons from 2022 to 2024, with his final two years being the school's first as an FBS program. His resurgence led to a return to West Virginia, where he plans to coach for the remainder of his career.