Where Rich Rodriguez Ranks Among Other College Coaches as Players

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated May 28, 2025 7:43 AM ET

West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez wasn't a star college football player, but he did make an impact for the Mountaineers in the early/mid-80s.

During his three years of seeing the field, Rodriguez totaled 54 tackles, 39 of which came in his final season in 1984.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg recently ranked every college head coach as a player, which is something he's done a handful of times. This edition, however, he clustered many of the coaches into tiers and then revealed the best 30. Rodriguez was listed among the Power Four contributors.

"RichRod is back in his home state, where he was an all-state football and basketball player in high school before going to WVU. He walked on and started at defensive back in 1981, before earning letters from 1982 to 1984. Rodriguez had a key interception in WVU's 1984 win against Penn State, which ended a 29-year losing streak to the Nittany Lions. Rodriguez had 54 career tackles and three interceptions as a backup safety."

Other Power Four contributors: Shane Beamer (South Carolina), Bret Bielema (Illinois), Dell McGee (Georgia State), Frank Reich (Stanford), Kalani Sitake (BYU), Jon Sumrall (Tulane), Mark Stoops (Kentucky).

Back in 201 6, Rodriguez was ranked 36th in Rittenberg's rankings.