What to know about Jacksonville State football coach and offensive pioneer Rich Rodriguez

Jacksonville State football's head coach Rich Rodriguez is entering his 39th year involved with coaching at some level and he's been one of the pioneers of the sport.

Rodriguez started his career at his alma mater, West Virginia University, as a student before taking two West Virginia NAIA jobs. He has led West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona in his career before he came to Alabama to lead the Gamecocks . Going into the 2024 season, he has amassed a 181-125-2 record during his career, with 11 conference championships.

Here's five things to know about Rodriguez during the 2024 season:

Rich Rodriguez is the no-huddle pioneer

Rodriguez is one of the pioneers of the no-huddle spread offense that is based on the run game, something he has brought to Jacksonville State. He first developed the scheme at his second head coaching job at Glenville State and, especially at West Virginia with Pat White.

Over the years, it has used parts of the zone read, with Rodriguez being one of the innovators that popularized it coming from the shotgun formation.

West Virginia man through and through

Rodriguez, like many other famous coaches including Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher, hails from West Virginia. He earned all-state honors in football and basketball in high school before going to WVU playing defensive back for the Mountaineers. He would start his coaching career there and take two instate NAIA programs head coaching jobs before leading the state's flagship program as his first FBS head coaching job.

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Rich Rodriguez has long coaching career

Rodriguez has been a college football coach for a long time heading into the 2024 season. He started at his alma mater West Virginia as a student assistant before becoming a head coach at Salem, a NAIA school before going back to West Virginia. He took over at Glenville State for six seasons.

He moved to offensive coordinators roles at Tulane and Clemson before coming back to WVU as head coach. From there, he went on to Michigan and Arizona. After assistant roles at Ole Miss and ULM, he came to Jax State.

Jax State almost wasn't first stint in Alabama

Rodriguez famously turned down the Alabama head coaching job during the 2006 search, which ended with the Crimson Tide hiring Saban. Rodriguez was offered the job, but turned it down to stay at his alma mater West Virginia.

Less than 15 years later, Rodriguez came back to Alabama to lead the Gamecocks.

Championship hunter

Rodriguez has helped Jax State to an unofficial conference title, securing an ASUN title when they went undefeated during their first transition year. It wasn't the first time Rodriguez had a team in a championship hunt. In 2007, the Mountaineers were ranked No. 2 in the BCS standings before a late-season loss knocked them out of the title race. He has won 11 conference championships across his 40 year career.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: What to know about Jacksonville State football coach and offensive pioneer Rich Rodriguez