Jacksonville State hires Rich Rodriguez as head coach

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Jacksonville State has hired former major college head coach Rich Rodriguez to lead its program into the FBS level.Rodriguez is a former coach at Arizona, Michigan and West Virginia. He just finished his first season as Louisiana-Monroe’s offensive coordinator after holding the same job at Mississippi in 2019. Rodriguez, 58, replaces John Grass, who went 72-26 in eight seasons with the FCS program, which is moving up to Conference USA. Jacksonville State announced the hiring Monday night, and he will be introduced as the Gamecocks’ 28th head coach at a news conference on Tuesday.