Rodriguez served as defensive line coach for the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League from 1983 to 1984.
Rodriguez entered the National Football League as the Los Angeles Raiders special teams coach (1988–89).
He served in a similar capacity with the Phoenix Cardinals (1990–93), Washington Redskins (1994–97), Seattle Seahawks (1998–2003) and, most recently, the Jacksonville Jaguars (2004–2006).
In July, 2010 the Los Angeles Times reported that he was the coach hired by Pete Carroll as a special consultant for USC's kickers during the 2008 football season.
The use of additional coach was one of the items that the NCAA found to be a Major Violation and subjected USC to the "Loss of institutional control" finding.