Ravenwood announced that it has hired offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Ricky Rodriguez to replace Will Hester as the school's next TSSAA football coach.
Ravenwood quickly replaced Hester, who won 106 professional games and led the Raptors to the 2015 Class 6A state championship. Rodriguez's May 6 employment came less than a week after his resignation.
Rodriguez, a Californian, served as principal at James Logan High School in 2018 and 2019, before resigning from moving to Tennessee. He led 16-6 at 2-8 before Logan's arrival. He was named Norcal Coach of the Year and Raiders Coach in Oakland in 2018, while also won the 2019 MVAL Championship.
Before that, Rodriguez scored 24-20 on Chaligina, California, which included a 20-4 record of the last two seasons of a four-year stay. His tenure includes two WACC titles, three playoff games and two CIF quarterfinals.
Rodriguez was a BGA assistant for two seasons before joining Ravenwood.
“Over the past few years, he has done an incredible job for our employees in building relationships with our kids and coaches,” said Andy Elrod, athletic director at Lavenwood. “He has become a great member of our teachers and community while embodying everything that Ravenwood High School focuses on.”
Hester resigned as assistant principal of Brentwood High School, and he took the plan into good hands. In 2013-15, he scored 76-17 in two coaching tenures in Ravenwood and 2021-2024.
"Coach Rodriguez will do a great job of advancing the Ravenwood football program," Hester said in a press release. "His high energy and ability to build strong relationships is elite quality and can serve him well."
Rodriguez will have a chance to win immediately. In 2025, the Raptors will return 42 seniors to the Class 6A national semifinals from last year's 13-1 team. These included quarterbacks Femi Babalola and Maverick Chance, who separated the time at that position.
Rodriguez is also the head coach of the Ravenwood women's flag football team, which will compete in the TSSAA's first state invitational from May 7 to 8. He led the team to the last two of four consecutive Williamson County regional championships.
"Today, we celebrate and look forward to the upcoming football season with him," said Ravenwood principal Pam Vaden. "We believe he will be one of the great men in our coaching community."
The Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports in Tennessee. Have a story idea? Contact Tyler via tpalmateer@tennessean.com and x platform @tpalmateer83. He also wrote the Tennessee high school sports newsletter The Bootleg. Subscribe to the newsletter here.