South Carolina Coaching Search: Rich Rodriguez to interview, but not a good fit

The South Carolina coaching search continues on with Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez added to the list of candidates interviewing. Would he be a good fit?

Rich Rodriguez is the latest candidate to be in contention to replace Steve Spurrier as the head coach at South Carolina and will interview for the job, according to Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman.

Rodriguez is coming off a disappointing 6-6 season at Arizona that was marred by injuries after winning the Pac-12 South in 2014 but is a respectable 32-20 in four seasons with the Wildcats.

He is in the mix for the job along with Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, Cal head coach Sonny Dykes and former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano. Interim coach Shawn Elliott interviewed earlier this week, but it’d be the ultimate longshot if he gets the job.

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Rodriguez has ties to the state after previously serving as the offensive coordinator at Clemson under former head coach Tommy Bowden in 1999-2000.

But I don’t think this is a great fit for Rodriguez or South Carolina. I think the likely outcome with Rodriguez is him returning to Arizona, maybe with a little extra cash in his bank account, because I think he can win bigger there than at South Carolina.

I think the best option for South Carolina is to hire Muschamp and give him a second chance as a head coach. I think Riley could be an attractive option and he’s done a brilliant job in his first season as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, but he has no head coaching experience and one year as a coordinator at a Power Five job isn’t enough for an SEC job.

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Dykes is a wild card in this whole coaching carousel. He doesn’t seem too happy with his current deal at Cal and I can see him jumping to another school, especially with quarterback Jared Goff expected to declare for the NFL Draft, and go to a place like Missouri, but South Carolina seems unlikely.