Rich Rodriguez To Stay At Clemson

Dec. 6, 1999

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson assistant head football coach and offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez announced at 2 p.m. on Monday that he is no longer pursuing the vacant head coaching position at Texas Tech.

“I have made a decision to stay at Clemson University. I really think that we have a great thing going here and feel fortunate to be a part of the Clemson family and I am no longer pursuing or am interested in the job at Texas Tech University,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez has been responsible for producing one of the most prolific offenses in Clemson history. Clemson passed for 2713 yards this season, an all-time Clemson record and the Tigers still have one game to play. The Tiger offense is averaging 403.6 yards per game in 1999, nearly a 100-yard improvement over 1998, and the third best in Clemson history.

Clemson’s offense improved in nine different statistical categories in 1999 over 1998. The improvements were made even more impressive by the competition Clemson had during the 1999 season. Clemson’s schedule was rated as the second toughest in the nation by Jeff Sagarin.

Clemson is 6-5 and will begin preparing on Saturday to face Mississippi State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on December 30 in Atlanta at 7:30 p.m.

“The people at Texas Tech have been great. Gerald Myers, their athletic director, the search committee, Chancellor John Montford, and the people I met when I interviewed down there were outstanding. You couldn’t be more first class or more professional in the way they treated me. Everything went really well during the interview and the visit. It was a very, very tough decision for me not to pursue the job any further,” stated Rodriguez.