LA VERNE, Calif. — Oscar Rodriguez, most recently the associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Garden City (Kan.) Community College, has joined the University of La Verne football staff as defensive coordinator and secondary coach, athletics director Julie Kline and head coach Chris Krich announced on Monday.
"Coach Rodriguez brings a wealth of experience to the defensive side of the ball that will be of great assistance to our football staff and our student-athletes," Kline said. "We also believe he has much to offer to our entire department and to the University."
Rodriguez's appointment is effective immediately.
"I want to give special thanks to Julie Kline, head coach Chris Krich and the La Verne community for giving me an opportunity to get something special going," Rodriguez said. "The foundation for success at La Verne is already in place and I'm looking forward to building on it."
In addition to his role as defensive coordinator at Garden City, Rodriguez served as the football team's special teams coordinator, recruiting coordinator and director of operations.
"We are very excited to have an experienced coach like Oscar Rodriguez running our defense at the University of La Verne," Krich said. "His overall knowledge of the game, organizational skills, level of intensity and emphasis on fundamentals make him an outstanding teacher of the game.
"Combine that with his work ethic off the field and on the road recruiting and Oscar is a tremendous addition to our football staff."
Rodriguez, an 11-year coaching veteran, built an impressive resume as an assistant coach, including eight seasons as a college defensive coordinator. All totaled, Rodriguez mentored six All-Americans and 30 all-conference players across almost all levels of college football. In addition, Rodriguez coached four players who eventually made their way to the NFL.
At Garden City, Rodriguez sent eight student-athletes to NCAA Division I schools while overseeing Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference's (KJCCC) No. 1 defense. Garden City was also ranked No. 1in the KJCCC in starting field position, kickoff coverage, field goal percentage and blocked kicks with Rodriguez in charge of the special teams.
In 2013, Rodriguez's relentless recruiting effort was profiled by ESPN.com (To read, CLICK HERE).
Prior to Garden City, Rodriguez was the associate head coach and defensive coordinator for NCAA Division III Emporia State (Kan.) University where he mentored two All-Americans and 11 All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). Emporia State was ranked top-five in MIAA in all defensive categories in 2011-13.
At Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College from 2010-11, Rodriguez tutored eventual NFL players Meshak Williams and Cordarelle Patterson to All-American seasons while serving as a co-defensive coordinator and associate head coach. During Rodriguez's time at Hutchinson, the school was ranked top-10 nationally in every defensive category.
As a co-defensive coordinator at NAIA Baker (Kan.) University from 2008 to 2010, Rodriguez helped lead the program to its first playoff appearance and first back-to-back winning seasons in 15 years while helping the team achieve a national ranking as high as 12th.
Rodriguez got his first coaching position at Randall (Texas) High School as the defensive backs coach and received his first college assignment at Washburn (Kan.) University where he worked with two future NFL players Cary Williams and Terrell Fletcher.
A native of Liberal, Kan., Rodriguez played at Fort Hays State University, Coffeyville Community College and Emporia State as a safety.