The signs proclaiming tiny Grant Town, population of less than 1,000, as the hometown of now-former West Virginia football coach Rich Rodriguez have come down.

Less than 24 hours after Rodriguez announced he was leaving WVU to become Michigan's new football coach, Mayor Robert Riggs ordered two signs taken down that proclaim Grant Town as the "Home of WVU Head Football Coach Rich Rodriguez."

Riggs said Tuesday he wasn't doing it out of anger, but to pre-empt vandalism or theft by outraged Mountaineers fans.

Grant Town is about 20 miles west from West Virginia's Morgantown campus.

Last year, when Rodriguez was considering an offer from the University of Alabama, one of the signs was stolen, pulled out of the ground with a chain and a vehicle.

Once Rodriguez signed a new contract with West Virginia, the sign was left across the street from town hall with a note attached: "Since the coach is staying, here's your sign back."

Now that the coach is definitely leaving, Riggs said it was just a matter of time before someone went after the signs.

So they are in storage, and Riggs said he plans to return them to the resident who originally paid to have them installed.

Reaction to Rodriguez's departure has been intensely bitter among some Mountaineers fans.