Robert J. Rodriguez is an American football coach and former player. He most recently was the defensive line coach for the Arizona State University Sun Devils football team of the Pac-12 Conference in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Rodriguez is a graduate of UTEP, where he played linebacker during the early 2000s and later return to coach the defense in 2008. Rodriguez would then coach in the National Football League as an assistant defensive coach for the Minnesota Vikings in 2015. Early years and playing career Rodriguez attended Montwood High School in El Paso, Texas and lettered in both football and basketball. He was a standout running back for Montwood and was the El Paso Times Offensive Player of the Year as well as All City first team for the 1999 season. He signed a football scholarship with UTEP, choosing to continue his playing career in his hometown. Rodriguez ranks fifth on the all-time UTEP tackle chart with 443 tackles, including 33 for losses. He led the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in tackles in three of his four seasons at UTEP (2001, 2003, 2004). Rodriguez was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2004 after being credited with 121 tackles, including 16 tackles for losses. He was the defensive captain of the 2004 UTEP team that was ranked in the AP Top 25 for multiple weeks during the 2004 season and that played the University of Colorado in the EV1.net Houston Bowl. In 2001, Rodriguez was voted 1st team Freshman All-America Linebacker by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). After his final game with UTEP, Rodriguez was invited to play in the East West Shrine Game, one of the most prestigious college all-star games at the time. The game was played at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Rodriguez signed with the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League in April 2005 as an undrafted free agent. He played in all four pre-season games before being released by the team on the final cut prior to the regular season. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers practice squad in early January 2006. The Panthers advanced to the 2006 NFC Championship game, where they lost to the Seattle Seahawks. Rodriguez was released following the season. Subsequently, he signed as a free agent with the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe for the 2006 season. He signed with