RichRod is on the move again, this time for another chance to be a head coach.
Chris Vannini of The Athletic is reporting that former Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez is expected to become the head coach at Jacksonville State, an FCS school that is set to move up to FBS in 2023 and join Conference USA.
Rodriguez, 58, spent the 2021 season as offensive coordinator at Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks went 4-8, an improvement from 0-10 the year before, and Rodriguez’s son Rhett (a former UA quarterback) started six games.
Jacksonville State, based in Alabama, will play the 2022 season in the Atlantic Sun Conference before moving up to Conference USA in 2023 along with Liberty, New Mexico State and Sam Houston State.
Rodriguez coached Arizona from 2012-16, going 43-35 with five bowl appearances in six seasons and a Pac-12 South Division title in 2014. Since he was fired in January 2017 the Wildcats have gone 10-31 and at one point had a 20-game losing streak.