Rich Rodriguez named Arizona's new football coach

Today's hiring caps a 41-day search for Mike Stoops' replacement. Athletic director Greg Byrne did not comment publicly about the search after firing Stoops Oct. 10. Saturday, amid reports that former Oregon coach Mike Bellotti would be the Wildcats' head coach, Byrne said he found the anonymous sources "funny." Former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach was also reportedly interested in the job. It's unclear if Byrne talked to Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, a longtime friend, about the opening. 

Arizona's small selection committee worked mostly in silence. 

Byrne's first public statement came, fittingly for the tech-savvy athletic director, via Twitter. At 5:38 p.m. tonight, Byrne posted a picture of himself with Rodriguez, his wife Rita, and their two children, Raquel and Rhett.

The subject line of Byrne's tweet read: "And the new Arizona football coach and his family is …"

Rodriguez, 48, carries a 120-84-2 record at Salem College, Glenville State, West Virginia and Michigan, but has no experience recruiting or coaching in the west. A native of Chicago, Rodriguez moved to West Virginia when was 2 years old. He played defensive back at the University of West Virginia, rising from a walk-on to scholarship player.

From there, Rodriguez served as a student assistant at West Virginia (1985) before rising from defensive backs coach to head coach at Salem College. He returned to West Virginia when Salem dropped football and spent the 1989 season coaching outlinebackers there. From there, he served as head coach at Glenville State (199-96) and offensive coordinator at Tulane (1997-98) and Clemson (1999-2000).

West Virginia hired Rodriguez as its head coach in 2001, a position he held before accepting the job at Michigan. He was fired by the Wolverines following a bowl loss to Mississippi State last January.