Rodriguez rehires Scott, Stewart to staff
MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University coach Rich Rodriguez has announced that Chad Scott has been rehired as the running backs coach for the Mountaineer football program.
“I have an appreciation and respect for the job that Chad has done here at West Virginia,” Rodriguez said. “He brings a high level of energy and has a history of building relationships and developing players. I look forward to having him as a member of our staff.”
Scott has been on the WVU staff for the past six years, overseeing the running backs. He also served as the offensive coordinator for 2023-24, and was the co-offensive coordinator for his first three seasons, and the run-game coordinator in 2022.
In 2024, the WVU rushing offense was among the best in the nation, ranking No. 9 among Power Four. Jahiem White, CJ Donaldson Jr. and Garrett Greene were one of the two FBS backfields to each rush for more than 600 yards in the regular season. The offense produced 11 games of more than 140 yards rushing and six with more than 200 yards, including four of the last six games. Since 2022, the Mountaineers have produced 140 or more rushing yards in 27 of 29 games.
West Virginia finished with 2,976 rushing yards in 2023, ranking No. 1 among Power Five schools. In Big 12 games, WVU was the only school to finish with more than 2,000 rushing yards (2,211), led the league in rushing yards per game (245.67) and tied for No. 1 in rushing touchdowns (24).
In 2022, West Virginia’s running game averaged 171.5 yards per game as Scott built a strong unit of depth and consistency. Running backs Tony Mathis Jr., Justin Johnson Jr., Donaldson and Jaylen Anderson combined for 1,793 yards and 18 touchdowns.
In 2021, running back Leddie Brown finished with more than 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight season (1,065) and a team-high 14 offensive touchdowns.
In 2020, the Mountaineers had the most improved offense in the country in terms of total yards. Their running game improved production by more than 60 yards per game, more than 90 yards of total offense and almost seven points a game.
Rodriguez also announced that Blaine Stewart has been rehired as the inside receivers coach.
“I’m glad to have Blaine as a member of our coaching staff,” Rodriguez said. “I had the privilege of working with his father, Bill, during my tenure here. I was able to watch Blaine grow up alongside my children. He is developing into a fine coach and recruiter and is an outstanding young man. He has a lot of the same qualities as his dad, and I look forward to his contributions to our program.”
Stewart coached the tight ends at WVU for the past two years. One of his players, Kole Taylor, finished his final year in 2024 and was a two-time All-Big 12 Conference honoree, including second-team honors in 2023.
He came to West Virginia in 2023 from the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, where he worked as the assistant wide receivers coach for three years. He assisted a wide receivers room in 2020 that included rookie Chase Claypool, who led all NFL rookies in touchdown catches (9) and finished second among all rookies in total touchdowns (11). From 2018-22, Stewart was a coaching assistant on Mike Tomlin’s staff in Pittsburgh, and he brought a total of five years of NFL experience with him to Morgantown.
In his first two NFL seasons, he worked with the offense and special teams and was responsible for quality control of the entire offensive unit. He coached the defensive scout team, compiled weekly offensive installation plans and produced opponent scouting reports.
During his five seasons with Pittsburgh, the Steelers were the AFC North Champions in 2020 and made the playoffs twice. He coached three Pro Bowl receivers in Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson.