Richard Rodgers, who was teammates with Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera at the University of California, has been named the team's assistant special teams coach. He will work with special teams coordinator Brian Murphy.
Rodgers comes to Carolina from Holy Cross, where he spent seven years - six as defensive coordinator and one as secondary coach. In 2011, five Crusaders from Rodgers' unit earned All-Patriot League honors.
A two-time second-team All-Pac 10 Conference selection as a player, Rodgers was the Golden Bears special teams captain for three seasons. He called "The Play" in the huddle to defeat Stanford in 1982. Rodgers was the second and fourth player to handle the ball on the famed five-lateral kickoff return for a touchdown on the final play of the game between the two rivals.
After playing professionally in the Canadian Football League and Arena Football League, Rodgers began his coaching career at Diablo Valley Community College in 1989. He moved to San Jose State in 1995, working with the secondary and special teams for two years.
He then tutored cornerbacks and oversaw special teams at Portland State from 1997-2000 before having a four-year stint as secondary coach at New Mexico State from 2001-04. Additionally, Rodgers was a coaching intern with the Oakland Raiders in 1996 and coached for the Scotish Claymores of NFL Europe in 1998.
