Ohio State Analyst Paul Rhoads To Become DC At Florida High School

Ohio State defensive analyst Paul Rhoads will not return to Columbus in 2022. Instead, the former Buckeye staffer will be a defensive coordinator at Gulf Shores High School next fall.

Rhoads worked at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, assisting Ohio State’s defensive coaching staff during the 2021 regular season and continued his responsibilities after the Rose Bowl. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said that Rhoads helped him understand each player’s strengths and weaknesses to understand the person better.

This offseason, the Buckeyes hired several defensive support staff members, including senior advisor Matt Guerrieri, quality control coaches Sam McGrath and Koy McFarland. Ohio State also brought in Brent Zdebski for an undisclosed role.

Rhoads has been coaching football since 1989. He was Iowa State’s head coach for six years from 2009-15 before becoming the defensive backs coach and coordinator for Arkansas (2016-17), a defensive backs coach for UCLA (2018-19) and a coordinator for Arizona (2020).

Now, though, Rhoads – who has been a college football coach since 1989, including a head coaching stint at Iowa State from 2009-15 – is heading to Gulf Shores, Alabama, where he joins a highly qualified high school coaching staff led by former Austin Peay head coach Mark Hudspeth.