Rich Rodriguez tweeted late Saturday night he is proud to be an Arizona Wildcat, ending his candidacy for the head coaching job with the South Carolina Gamecocks that was apparently offered to him.
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“RichRod was offered #Gamecock job”, Fox Sports reporter Bruce Feldman said on Twitter. He’s led the program to a 32-20 overall record, with his best season being a 10-4 finish in 2014.
Rodriguez has ties to the state after previously serving as the offensive coordinator at Clemson under former head coach Tommy Bowden in 1999-2000.
Rich Rodriguez may want to coach in the SEC East, a division not almost as competitive as the Pac-12 South. Only Colorado finished worse in the South than Arizona.
Rodriguez, a 52-year-old considered one of the creators of the zone read run game, is 152-104-2 as a head coach at West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona.
SC has always been a more realistic option for him if he were to leave Arizona than either Virginia Tech or Miami.
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By remaining at Arizona for another year, Rodriguez can earn 25 percent of a retention bonus paid through stocks that could amount to a total of $6 million if he remains in Tucson through 2022. Rodriguez has been linked to multiple jobs with several high-profile schools looking for new coaches.
