Former FSU staff member hired as defensive coordinator by JUCO program

Florida State's coaching staff looks a lot different with the program in the early stages of spring practice. Head coach Mike Norvell retooled basically every level of his staff this offseason as the Seminoles look to bounce back from an extremely disappointing campaign in 2025.

From on-field coaches to off-field staff members, Florida State moved on from multiple faces who had been in Tallahassee for years. Some of those coaches have already found new landing spots.

On Tuesday, Georgia Military College announced it was hiring former Florida State graduate assistant Antonio Rodriguez as the program's next defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. At just 27 years old, Rodriguez will be one of the youngest coordinators in the country next season.

Georgia Military College is a JUCO program located in Milledgeville, GA. The Bulldogs went 10-2 and advanced to the playoff semifinals last season. The program claims to have sent 50+ former players to the NFL.

Rodriguez was hired by Florida State as a defensive graduate assistant prior to the 2022 season. For the most part, he was tasked with assisting former linebackers coach/co-defensive coordinator Randy Shannon while also helping run the scout team defense.

During his time with the Seminoles, the program produced multiple all-conference linebackers, including Tatum Bethune and Kalen DeLoach. DeLoach went on to be selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Since Rodriguez's departure, the Seminoles transitioned John Papuchis from defensive ends coach to linebackers coach. Norvell also promoted Ernie Sims to assistant linebackers coach and hired defensive analyst Kevin McGarry from Nebraska.

Excited to Welcome our new Defensive Coordinator @Coach_AntRod

Coach Rodriguez arrives as the Defensive Coordinator after three years on staff at Florida State University as Assistant Linebackers Coach. At 27 years old he is one of the youngest coordinators in college football. pic.twitter.com/L7g48jFIeO
— GMC Football (@GMC_Football) March 25, 2025

Prior to working at Florida State, Rodriguez began his college coaching career at Florida International University. He initially joined the program in 2018 as a video/operations intern before being promoted to defensive graduate assistant. Rodriguez assisted with the linebackers and helped out on special teams.

Rodriguez also coached at Barbara Goleman Senior High School as an offensive line coach and junior varsity head coach. He graduated from FIU in 2020.

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