Ole Miss has offered Rich Rodriguez to be its next offensive coordinator and is expected to accept the offer, according to a report from Chase Parham of Rivals.com.
Rodriguez was spotted in Oxford over the weekend and interviewed with Matt Luke on Saturday. Rodriguez was fired by Arizona in 2017 after a 7-6 season and allegations of a hostile workplace environment surface. He posted a 43-35 mark in six seasons as the head coach of the Wildcats following a a 15-22 record in three years as the head coach at Michigan. Rodriguez compiled a 60-26 record in seven seasons at West Virginia from 2001-2007. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at Clemson from 1999-2000 and Tulane from 1997-98.
Rodriguez’s system is known for being an up-tempo, run-oriented spread system. He boasts a 163-118-2 career record as a head coach.
Ole Miss’ offensive coordinator position came open after Phil Longo left Matt Luke’s staff to become the offensive coordinator at North Carolina under Mack Brown earlier this month. Longo made $700,000 annually during his two seasons as offensive coordinator.
Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel reported that Ole Miss and Rodriguez agreed in principle to a three-year deal.
The school made the hiring official on Monday afternoon.
OFFICIAL | Ole Miss names @RealCoachRod as new offensive coordinator.
Welcome to the family coach. #HottyToddy ??
? https://t.co/t3bnYhWFwg pic.twitter.com/0qXKFCjwhJ
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) December 31, 2018
“Part of building a successful program means surrounding our players with the most talented coaches, and I feel like we have done that with hiring of Mike Macintyre to lead our defense and now Rich Rodriguez to lead our offense,” Luke said. “Rich has coached at the highest levels of college football and is one of the most innovative offensive minds in our sport. I couldn’t be more excited to get to work with his experience, creativity and toughness as part of our team.”
“My family and I are really excited to join Coach Luke and the Ole Miss family,” Rodriguez said. “I’m appreciative of the trust and confidence of Matt and look forward to helping him continue to build this great program. There are a lot of exciting things happening with Rebel Football, and I’m fortunate to be able to join this team.”
Rodriguez will have his work cut out for him in some senses. Ole Miss lost three of its five starters on the offensive line, will have a new quarterback in redshirt freshman Matt Corral and will need to replace the likes of A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf and Damarkus Lodge at wide receiver. Rodriguez, a former Pac 12 Coach of the Year, will make just under $1 million per season, according to a report from Yahoo!.
