Rich Rodriguez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rich Rodriguez | ||
|---|---|---|
| Title | Head Coach | |
| College | West Virginia University | |
| Sport | Football | |
| Team Record | 50-24 | |
| Born | May 24, 1963 | |
| Place of birth | Grant Town, West Virginia | |
| Career Highlights | ||
| Overall | 95-60-2 | |
| Coaching Stats | ||
| College Football DataWarehouse | ||
| School as a player | ||
| 1981-84 | WVU Mountaineers | |
| Position | Defensive back | |
| Coaching positions | ||
| 1988 1990-96 2001-Present |
Salem Glenville State West Virginia |
|
Rich Rodriguez (b. May 24, 1963 in Grant Town, West Virginia) is the current head football coach at West Virginia University. Often known by students and the media simply as "Coach Rod," Rodriguez is the 31st head football coach of the WVU Mountaineers and is also a 1986 alumnus of the school. He is one of only a handful of head coaches currently coaching at their alma mater.[citation needed]
Rodriguez graduated from North Marion High School in 1981 where he had played four sports and was an all state football and basketball player. After high school, Rodriguez attended WVU where he first walked on to the football team and later earned a scholarship under coach Don Nehlen. Playing as a defensive back, Rodriguez recorded 54 career tackles over three seasons.
During the 1985-1986 season, Rodriguez served as a student assistant coach under Nehlen and graduated with a Physical Education and Safety degree. In 1986, he moved to what was then Salem College (now Salem International University) where he served as special teams coordinator and secondary coach. In 1987 he became Salem’s defensive coordinator and in 1988 took over as head coach. At 24 years old, he was the youngest college head coach in the country.
When Salem's football program was disbanded, Rodriguez returned to WVU as a volunteer coach for the 1989 football season but 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 championships and competed in the 1993 NAIA national championship. 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.
Roriguez left Glenville State at the end of the 1996 season to serve as assistant coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback coach for Tulane University from 1997 to 1998, under head coach Tommy Bowden. When Bowden was hired as the head coach at Clemson University, he retained Rodriguez on his staff. Rodriguez served as the offensive coordinator and associate head coach until the end of the 2000 season.
On November 26, 2000, WVU's athletic department announced that Rodriguez would again return to WVU, this time as head coach to replace the retiring Don Nehlen. With a contract until at least 2014, Rodriguez has brought his unique offensive style to WVU and after a disappointing first year, has led the Mountaineers to four straight winning years, three of which (2003, 2004, & 2005), the Mountaineers have won outright or shared the Big East Conference championship. Rodriguez' turn-around of the 2002 team is the greatest turn-around in Big East history with a 9-4 record,[citation needed] Big East runner-up finish, and back-to-back road wins against ranked Virginia Tech and Pitt. Rodriguez has led the team to three straight bowl appearances (the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl, and the 2003 and 2004 Gator Bowl). In 2003, the Mountaineers started the season 1-4, and after losing to #20 Miami 22-20, the Mountaineers posted a 6-1 Big East record and tied for the Big East championship with Miami, earning a Gator Bowl berth. In 2004, the Mountaineers posted a 8-4 record with a talented team of seniors and juniors, but were ranked as high as sixth during the regular season. In 2005, Rodriguez and the Mountaineers won the Big East title with freshman tandem Steve Slaton and Patrick White, thus claiming the conference's automatic berth in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), where they defeated The Georgia Bulldogs in the Nokia Sugar Bowl and a final Associated Press ranking of fifth, tying the highest in school history (other in 1988). In 2006, the highly-ranked Mountaineers ended the season 11-2, with losses to Louisville and a shocker to USF. The Mountaineers won a classic comeback in the Gator Bowl against Georgia Tech 38-35, led by Pat White without Slaton.
Rodriguez is already considered one of the greatest coaches in West Virginia history, second to Don Nehlen.[citation needed] Rodriguez has been credited with back-to-back Top 10 finishes, four consecutive New Year's bowl appearances, the school's first BCS bowl win, three Big East championships, eight wins over Top 25 teams, and a home-attendance average of 98% of capacity rank him among the great WVU coaches.[citation needed]
Rodriguez has been considered the pioneer/creator of the spread option offense,[1][2] while at Glenville State, which he has refined through his stops at Tulane, Clemson and now West Virginia. This strategy features frequent use of the shotgun formation where Rodriguez uses his quarterback, Pat White, and Running back, Steve Slaton.
On December 7, 2006, Rodriguez received an offer from the University of Alabama to be the next Alabama Crimson Tide head coach. Despite reports that he had agreed in principle to coach at Alabama,[3] which Rodriguez described as totally incorrect,[4][5] on December 8, 2006, Rodriguez announced he would remain as head coach at West Virginia.[6]
[edit] Coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl Game | Bowl Opponent | Outcome | Rank# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Tigers (WVIAC) (1988) | ||||||||
| 1988 | Salem | 2-8 | 2-5 | 5-T | ||||
| At Salem: | 2-8 | 2-5 | ||||||
| Glenville State Pioneers (WVIAC) (1990 — 1996) | ||||||||
| 1990 | Glenville State | 1-7-1 | 1-5 | 6-T | ||||
| 1991 | Glenville State | 4-5-1 | 3-4 | 5-T | ||||
| 1992 | Glenville State | 6-4 | 5-2 | 3 | ||||
| 1993 | Glenville State | 10-3 | 6-1 | 1 | ||||
| 1994 | Glenville State | 8-3 | 5-1 | 1-T | ||||
| 1995 | Glenville State | 8-2 | 6-1 | 1-T | ||||
| 1996 | Glenville State | 6-4 | 6-1 | 1-T | ||||
| At Glenville State: | 43-28-2 | 32-15 | ||||||
| West Virginia Mountaineers (Big East) (2001 — present) | ||||||||
| 2001 | West Virginia | 3-8 | 1-6 | 7 | ||||
| 2002 | West Virginia | 9-4 | 6-1 | 2 | Continental Tire Bowl | Virginia | L, 22-48 | 25 |
| 2003 | West Virginia | 8-5 | 6-1 | 1-T | Gator Bowl | Maryland | L, 7-41 | |
| 2004 | West Virginia | 8-4 | 4-2 | 1-T | Gator Bowl | Florida State | L, 18-30 | |
| 2005 | West Virginia | 11-1 | 7-0 | 1 | Sugar Bowl † | Georgia | W, 38-35 | 5 |
| 2006 | West Virginia | 11-2 | 5-2 | 2-T | Gator Bowl | Georgia Tech | W, 38-35 | 10 |
| At West Virginia: | 50-24 | 29-12 | ||||||
| Career: | 95-60-2 | |||||||
| National Championship Conference Title | ||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final AP Poll of the season. | ||||||||
| Preceded by Don Nehlen |
West Virginia Head Football Coach 2001– |
Succeeded by Current |
[edit] References
- ^ Lang, Arne. College Coaching Award. Retrieved on October 18, 2006.
- ^ Davie, Bob. Football 101: Mountaineers spread the wealth. Retrieved on October 18, 2006.
- ^ Rapoport, Ian. "Rodriguez agrees to become Alabama's next football coach", The Birmingham News, 2006-12-07. Retrieved on December 9, 2006. The article stated, "University of Alabama officials and West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez have reached an agreement in principle for Rodriguez to become the Crimson Tide’s next head football coach, two sources close to the search told The Birmingham News tonight."
- ^ Barnhart, Tony. "Rodriguez leaves Alabama red-faced", [The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]], 2006-12-09. Retrieved on December 29, 2006.
- ^ Hickman, Dave. "Rich, Alabama still talking", The Charleston Gazette, 2006-12-08.
- ^ News, ESPN. "Rodriguez turns down 'Bama, will stay in Morgantown", ESPN.com, 2006-12-08.
[edit] External links
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | West Virginia Mountaineers football coaches | 1963 births | Living people | People from West Virginia | West Virginia Mountaineers football players | American football safeties | Tulane Green Wave football coaches | Clemson Tigers football coaches | American football coaches
