Rich Rodriguez plucks Penn State analyst for Jacksonville State staff
It seems like so long ago that Rich Rodriguez was the hottest name in college football, lifting up West Virginia to heights they never imagined. He rode that momentum all the way to a big payday from Michigan but the Big Ten quickly humbled him and his wave of momentum. He finds himself back in the Big Ten though, not to coach, but to get a coach for his new staff.
Rodriguez took over the job at Jacksonville State in November of last year. The FCS program has seen recent success and Rodriguez’s offense is a reason for further optimism. To help run his offense he decided the best man for the job was on James Franklin’s staff, Rod Smith.
Rodriguez had a short term in the Big Ten coaching Michigan going 15-22 in three seasons before being fired. Michigan had themselves on quite the carousel after losing the once-hot commodity, it seems they are now more than happy with Michigan alum, Jim Harbaugh.
As for Rod Smith, he joined Penn State’s staff just this year after being an offensive analyst for Bronco Mendenhall’s staff at Virginia. Once Mendenhall resigned, Smith drove north and got a job with Franklin. In a short time frame, he turned that into an even bigger role now with Rodriguez.
Smith will be the new offensive coordinator for Jacksonville State in 2022 but Rodriguez didn’t just promote some offensive analyst. Smith is actually reuniting with Rodriguez. The two worked together at Glenville State, one of Rodriguez’s first head coaching jobs that helped him mold his offensive flair with a no-huddle offense.
His quarterback at Glenville State? Rod Smith.
Smith also served as an offensive coordinator for Rodriguez when Rodriguez was the head coach at Arizona. Smith was also a part of Rodriguez’s coaching staff at West Virginia and Michigan before that.
Even though he was only on staff for a short time, we can add another name to the James Franklin coaching tree. James Franklin has long had success being a pit stop of sorts for college coaches and Smith proved to be no exception.
Just this year, Franklin has had to replace two coordinators in Brent Pry and Joe Lorig on the defensive and special teams. He brought in coach looking for a rehab stint of sorts in Manny Diaz to be the defensive coordinator., It remains to be seen just how long Diaz will be sticking around.
The bottom line here is Franklin will always be sending coaches off to promotions and he will always find more than suitable replacements. This is a trait that should not be overlooked when analyzing how we view Franklin.
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.
