Has another college football program joined the “We Want Bama” sweepstakes?
Rich Rodriguez, the head coach of Jacksonville (Ala.) State University, wants all the smoke from the Crimson Tide.
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The 61-year-old is in his third season with the Gamecocks.
He had the team competing in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), but it has now moved up to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of Conference USA. Rodriguez posted two 9-win campaigns in 2022 and 2023, including an Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) Championship in FCS in 2022. Jacksonville State lost its season opener for this year; however, Rodriguez called out the Tide to put his program on its schedule.
According to Thomas Ashworth, a sports reporter for AL.com and Jax State alum, Rodriguez said Alabama could ‘beat our brains in for a couple million dollars, for sure.’
Rich Rodriguez on playing Alabama: “If they want to pay me $2 million, I’ll be down there on Saturday and Sunday, I’ll play them twice and help our budget. They can beat our brains in for a couple million dollars, for sure.”
— Thomas Ashworth (@ThomasAshworth0) September 3, 2024
Cont.: “I’ll call my buddy Greg Byrne, the AD down there, and say ‘listen, Greg, we’ll go down there for $2 million, and if you want to do the back-to-back, we’ll go for $4 million and have a great time. I’ll even sing ‘Roll Tide’ for them, if they want.”
— Thomas Ashworth (@ThomasAshworth0) September 3, 2024
Rodriguez wants to help his budget at Jacksonville State, so he’s not holding back from wanting to play Alabama.
He was a name many thought would replace Mike Shula at Alabama in 2007 after the success he had at West Virginia. The Tide ended up with Nick Saban and Rodriguez spent time at Michigan, Arizona, Ole Miss, and Louisiana-Monroe.
We will see if Greg Byrne, Alabama’s athletics director, puts Jax State on a future schedule.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
