I am no fan of Rich Rod, especially with how he left the fan base high and dry, but this is revisionist history. Nehlen was a great coach, but after 20 years and an offensive system that was pretty close to RB left, RB right, RB middle, and punt with the occasional RB middle by way of draw play ... the guy needed to move on in 2000. Rich Rod did "gut" the roster, but not maliciously. Rather he wanted to bring in the players that fit his system better. I lack better words, so to quote the movie Moneyball "If we try to play like the Yankees in here, we will lose to the Yankees out there!" That was Rod's mentality when trying to compete in the Big East with Miami. Note the Miami team when RR entered the league had a roster with Andre Johnson, Kellen Winslow, Jeremy Shockey, Willis McGhee, Frank Gore, Vince Wilfork, Jonathan Vilma, and Sean Taylor. Not only NFL players, but pretty damn good ones and not just some role players like some of the others on that same roster. So RR came to WVU and brought a whole new outlook and system which is exactly what WVU needed at the time to try for a Big East championship. RR was a good coach for his time and really brought a system that worked for WVU. Now that was 20 years ago and, like Nehlen, that plan/coaching approach is not likely to get it done anymore just as it failed in Arizona and Mississippi. But that does not distract that he was a good coach despite all his other deficiencies.