DISAPPOINTINGLY: Rodriguez Slapped with No. 42 Ranking Among Power 4 Coaches — Justified or Blatant Disrespect?
Rodriguez stood silent, eyes skimming the rankings that stung more than any fourth-quarter collapse. No. 42. Out of 68 Power 4 head coaches entering the 2025 season. Worse yet, 12th out of 16 in his own conference. His name, once uttered in the same breath as national-title contenders, now floated somewhere between mediocrity and irrelevance.
For some, the ranking felt overdue. Critics point to his 2024 season at Capital State — a 6-7 finish capped by an embarrassing bowl loss to an unranked Coastal Atlantic team. The offense, once his trademark, sputtered late in games. Play-calling seemed hesitant, and locker room sources leaked stories of discontent. “He’s coaching scared,” one anonymous player had said after their Week 10 collapse against Riverview Tech.
But to others, the low ranking reeked of bias, politics, and plain old media laziness. After all, Rodriguez inherited a dumpster fire just three years ago — a program drowning in sanctions, with scholarship limits and APR warnings looming. He cleaned house, installed a modern system, and recruited two top-30 classes despite having zero NIL war chest to speak of. And still, here he was — judged by a national panel that seemed more enamored with hotshot 34-year-old coordinators than seasoned program-builders.
“You’re telling me a guy who’s beaten three Top 15 teams in the past two years is ranked behind a coach whose best win was over Purdue?” tweeted analyst Marcus Faulk, igniting a wave of online debate.
The numbers don’t lie, but they also don’t tell the whole story. Rodriguez’s squads consistently overperformed against Vegas odds. His defenses ranked top-20 in red zone efficiency. He developed two mid-round NFL Draft picks out of JUCO transfers — a feat few coaches in the country could match. Yet he was penalized for a lack of “signature wins” and “fan energy.” As if rebuilding from the ashes required pyrotechnics.
Controversy erupted when a leaked segment of the voting committee’s deliberation revealed one member had voted Rodriguez 60th, citing “a lack of charisma in pressers” and “uninspired sideline presence.” Football minds went ballistic. “This isn’t American Idol,” one columnist wrote.
Perhaps the most vocal defender came from an unlikely source: rival coach Brent Mallory, whose team crushed Rodriguez’s last season. “I’ll tell you this,” Mallory said at a booster event, “I don’t care what number they slap next to his name. He’s the last coach I want to face in November.”
Rodriguez himself issued no fiery rebuttal. No tweet, no press conference tantrum. Just a quiet repost of the ranking graphic, with a single caption: “Noted.”
For now, the critics have their fodder and the fans have their outrage. But come September, when the lights flick on and the stakes get real, don’t be surprised if No. 42 becomes the season’s most dangerous underdog. And when he’s hoisting a division trophy in December, that ranking may be the loudest bulletin-board quote in college football.
