Morgantown, West Virginia – Former West Virginia Mountaineers head coach and native son Rich Rodriguez joined Terry Bowden’s staff as the offensive coordinator at the University of Louisiana-Monroe in the off-season.
However, Terry Bowden’s father Bobby Bowden, legendary former head coach at WVU and Florida State, is very ill with terminal pancreatic cancer and Terry understandably wants to be with his father right now.
While Bowden is away from the team, Rich Rodriguez will be the interim head coach of ULM as they prepare for their opener against Kentucky on September 4th.
The knowledge that with Rich here and us being close, I have no problem turning it over to him because he’s done it almost as long as I have,” Bowden told the Monroe News Star. “I’m comfortable enough in my shoes to let him step in and know that our program will run smoothly.”
“It’s going to be a seamless transition,” Rodriguez told the paper. “I’ve got a lot of experience doing it, but I know what he wants and having gone through a spring that makes it easier. Our guys understand how the practice schedule will go and obviously the intensity and urgency to get ready is a lot more now.
“Every day is so valuable but we’ve already got the plan and we’ll execute it.”
Rodriguez, who has a 163-119-2 record as a college football head coach during his time at West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona, will likely start his son Rhett, a transfer from Arizona, at quarterback running his spread offense.
Rich Rodriguez steps in as ULM interim head coach while Terry Bowden tends to ailing father https://t.co/pIMmcHGbag via @zach_barnett
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) August 6, 2021
