After the end of the 1988 season, the college scrapped their football program, and Rich returned to the Mountaineers as an Outside Linebacker coach. He was the youngest HC in the country at that time. In 1988, at 25, Rodriguez was handed the HC role. He was promoted to Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator a year later. Salem University football program sought Rodriguez in 1986 and hired him as a Special Teams coordinator and secondary coach. A win in this game will see the team top the Conference USA (C-USA) standings. Their next fixture is on the 11th of October against the conference leaders, Liberty Flames.
They are 3-0 in the conference, extending Rich's tally to 8-0. In the first six games of the 2023 season, his team has displayed a strong performance. They won the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) title that year. The JAX football team was 5-0 in the conference. In the 2022 campaign, Rodriguez had a win-loss record of 9-2. The 60-year-old from Grant Town, West Virginia, enters his third season with the institution. The Gamecocks signed him as their HC on November 30, 2021. Jacksonville State Football head coach is Rich Rodriguez.