Richard Alan Rodriguez (; born May 24, 1963), also known as Rich Rod, is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Jacksonville State University, a position he has held since the 2022 season. Rodriguez previously was the head football coach at Salem University (1988), Glenville State College (1990–1996), West Virginia University (2001–2007), the University of Michigan (2008–2010), and the University of Arizona (2012–2017). His career college football coaching record stands at 172–121–2. In 2011, Rodriguez worked as an analyst for CBS Sports.
Playing career
A native of Grant Town, West Virginia, Rodriguez graduated from North Marion High School in 1981 where he played four sports and was an all-state football and basketball player. After high school, Rodriguez attended West Virginia University. Playing as a defensive back, he recorded 54 career tackles over three seasons.
Coaching career
West Virginia and Salem
During the 1985 season, Rodriguez was a student assistant under head coach Don Nehlen and graduated with a Physical Education degree. In 1986, he was hired by Salem College (now Salem International University) where he was special teams coordinator and secondary coach. In 1987, he became Salem’s defensive coordinator and in 1988 took over as head coach. At 25 years old, he was the youngest college head coach in the country. He was 2–8 in his first season as head coach, after which the college announced it was dropping its football program.
In 1989, he returned to West Virginia University as a volunteer assistant.
Glenville State, Tulane, and Clemson
After Rodriguez's return to WVU as a volunteer coach with the outside linebackers for the 1989 football season, he left again to take over as head coach at Glenville State College. During his stay from 1990 to 1996, the team earned three consecutive West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) championships and competed in the 1993 NAIA national championship. His first season, 1990, he led the team to a 1–7 record. In 1991, Glenville improved to 4–5–1, then 6–4 season; in 1993, Rodriguez led Glenville to a 10–3 record and the WVIAC Championship and NAIA runner-up. The next two years, 1994 and 1995, Glenville finished as WVIAC Co-Champions. In Rodriguez's final season at Glenville, 1996, he led them to a Co-Championship once again. While at Glenville, Rodriguez compiled a record of 43–28–2 and was named WVIAC Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1994, NAIA National Coach of the Year in 1993, and West Virginia State College Coach of the Year in 1993 by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association. Glenville State's four championships under Rodriguez were their first since 1959 while his players' set five national career records for Division II.
Rodriguez left Glenville State at the end of the 1996 season to be assistant coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback coach for Tulane University from 1997 to 1998, under head coach Tommy Bowden. Rodriguez knew Bowden's father, Bobby Bowden, because he had worked at his camps during summers. In Rodriguez's first year as offensive coordinator his innovative offense succeeded as Tulane went 7–4 and had their best season since 1980. Rodriguez was part of Tulane's success, including their 12–0 season in Rodriguez's last season at Tulane, mainly for his spread offense with quarterback Shaun King. When Bowden was hired as the head coach at Clemson University, he kept Rodriguez on his staff. Rodriguez was the offensive coordinator and associate head coach until the end of the 2000 season. Rodriguez was considered to be the frontrunner for the Tulane coaching job following Bowden's departure and was led to believe that he was going to be the next coach for Tulane. However, Chris Scelfo was hired instead.
In 1999, Rodriguez interviewed for the head coaching job at Texas Tech but lost to Mike Leach.<ref>Texas Tech contacts N.M. State's Samuel – Herald Journal Google Archives</ref>