Rich Rodriguez is a head coach again.Β
The former Arizona Wildcats coach will be named the next leader at Jacksonville State in Alabama, according to Ryan Brown of NextRoundLive.com. JSU has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday to introduce him, according to the Anniston (Ala.) Star.
Jacksonville State plays at the FCS level, but will become an FBS program and join Conference USA starting in 2023. Rodriguez takes over a Jacksonville State program that went 5-6 this season; coach John Grass quit last month after eight seasons in charge.
This is fourth head coaching stint since 2001 for Rodriguez, the innovator of the uptempo read-option offense. Rodriguez spent six seasons at his alma mater, West Virginia, before heading to Michigan. Rodriguez was dismissed from Ann Arbor after three seasons.
He spent the 2011 season on television before Arizona hired him to replace Mike Stoops. Over six seasons in Tucson, "RichRod" led the Wildcats to five bowl game appearances, including the 2014 Fiesta Bowl; UA also won one Pac-12 South title. Arizona posted only one losing season during Rodriguez's tenure.
Rodriguez was fired on Jan. 2, 2018, after a former administrative assistant filed a lawsuit claiming sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, which was eventually dismissed.Β
Rodriguez spent 2019 as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ole Miss, but was not retained when Lane Kiffin replaced Matt Luke as head coach. Rodriguez spent this season as offensive coordinator at Louisiana-Monroe; his son, Rhett, was the team's starting quarterback. ULM finished 4-8.
