Rich Rodriguez wasn’t in the spotlight early in his career. Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

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Ah, the good ol’ days. Rich Rodriguez remembers those. Becoming the head coach at Salem University at 24 years old. Taking over at Glenville State two years later, in 1990.

The small college days.

These days, as the first-year head coach at Arizona — and as a guy who has won Big East titles and breathed the air at Michigan — Rodriguez is accustomed to coaching luxury. Assistants to the assistants to the assistants. Yes sir, Coach. Whatever you need, Coach.

Back then, he was just a one-man band making his way in the backwaters of the coaching world.

“My wife lined off the field when I was at Glenville. She was eight months pregnant,” Rodriguez said.

“I made her stop because I was afraid it was going to screw up the child with those fumes from the paint. I said, ‘Honey, I don’t think that’s really good for ol’ junior there.’”

Rodriguez’s background is a microcosm of the Arizona coaching staff, most of whom have long, loyal ties to Rodriguez.

This is a coaching staff with humble beginnings.

Seven of the 10 UA coaches played college ball at lower-division schools. Liberty. Salem. California (Pa.). Rodriguez was a walk-on at West Virginia, eventually working his way into the starting lineup.

Only one UA coach, co-offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, played in the NFL, doing so as a tight end for Tampa Bay from 1985 to 1988.

Six of the 10 started their coaching careers in high school. Only offensive line coach Robert Anae began his career on the major college level, doing so with Dick Tomey at Hawaii, although Anae later spent time working the trenches in junior college.

(By comparison, only one of the 10 coaches on last season’s Arizona coaching staff played small college football, and just two coached in high school.)

Having these bios with unprivileged beginnings is exactly how Rodriguez likes it.

“I don’t know if I would hire a guy if he hadn’t coached at the high school or small college level,” Rodriguez said.

“When they go to a big school, all you do at a big school is get spoiled. If you’re in a small college or high school, you have lined off the field, you were the equipment guy, you were the only manager. Now I have managers for every position, trainers all over the field, people washing clothes, people painting.

“Sometimes, I don’t know where they all come from.”

There is something to be said, UA coaches say, about the collective personality that arises from having worked their way up from the bottom. It’s no wonder Rodriguez and his assistant have forever preached about having a “hard edge” — an everyday intensity and toughness when nothing is given to you.

And with that should come the attitude of gratitude.

“For me, I’m living the dream every day getting to coach Division I elite athletes in a conference like the Pac-12,” said receivers coach Tony Dews. “It’s a dream. I’m humbled every day that I get out of bed and have this opportunity.”

Here is a look at Arizona’s coaching staff:

Rich Rodriguez wears many hats as a head coach, including being involved in special teams. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

The Arizona Wildcats finally have a full coaching staff, but nobody carries the official title of special teams coordinator.

That’s because everybody does. In a way.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez, who announced his final four assistants Wednesday, is splitting special teams duties, with the bulk of the responsibility going to defensive backs coach Tony Gibson and tight ends coach Spencer Leftwich.

Gibson will be in charge of what RichRod calls the defensive special teams — punt block/return, kickoffs and extra point block. Leftwich will handle the “offensive” special teams — the punt team, kick returns and place-kicking.

“But, really, all the coaches are involved in some respect,” Rodriguez said. “I’m involved in every special team.”

The special team units were a cause of much consternation in the past two seasons, but the Wildcats seem to have the personnel to be more stable in that area.

Kyle Dugandzic returns after averaging 46.0 yards per punt in his first season after transferring from junior college. John Bonano solved the place-kicking woes at midseason, making 8 of 12 field goals with a long of 47. He took the drama out of extra point attempts, making all 24 of his tries after the Cats missed five in the first six games.

The new coaching staff will have to evaluate the return game, which could include cornerback Jonathan McKnight. Not only was he the team’s best cover man in fall camp, he was slated to be the primary punt returner before suffering an ACL injury in late August. The team’s top kick returners, including sophomore running back Ka’Deem Carey, are back.

More good news: The 2010 starting long-snapper, Chase Gorham, is back with the team. He left early in 2011 camp for what were described as personal reasons.

Arizona vs. Kansas

Gibson, who was the only defensive assistant on staff until Wednesday, was the lead recruiter on Akron transfer linebacker Brian Wagner, who has one season of eligibility left as a graduate student.

“It got down to between us and Kansas,” Gibson said. “And then Kansas thing we were fighting because his old coaching staff was there.”

Former Akron coach Rob Ianello — an ex-UA assistant who was fired after two seasons with the Zips — landed at Kansas to work with new head coach Charlie Weis. Ianello coached under Weis at Notre Dame.

But Wagner chose the Cats and enrolled for the start of classes Wednesday.

Wagner, who will be the nation’s leading returning tackler, is exactly what the kind of experienced playmaker needed at linebacker, where Arizona has a mere four scholarship players. Wagner could end up at any of the three linebacker spots.

“A guy like him can do a lot of things for us,” Gibson said. “Just a good football player. Any time you have a chance to get one of those guys, you jump on it. It was a good fit for both of us.”

Mark your calendar

Arizona’s first spring game under Rodriguez is set for Saturday, April 14.

After 15 practices with new schemes on offense and defense, it might not look pretty — but spring games rarely do, anyway.

“This is going to be an important spring because we’re teaching so much, from a fundamentals standpoint, a technique standpoint, a scheme standpoint,” Rodriguez said.

“The big difference in this spring from future springs is there is going to be more evaluation going on from us as there is teaching. That’s a fine balance. In the future, we won’t have to do as much evaluation.”

Go Big Blue?

Rodriguez was watching with mixed emotions as his old team, Michigan, beat Virginia Tech 23-20 in the Sugar Bowl.

The Wolverines finished 11-2 under first-year coach Brady Hoke – the kind of season Rodriguez thinks he could have produced, had he been retained after his third season. He was 15-22 at Michigan, although he has said he was building up to the kind of big year the Wolverines had in 2011.

“It was frustrating to watch a team you thought you would be coaching, and you knew they were going to have success, and you don’t get to coach them as they become older and they become mature,” Rodriguez said.

“That part of it is frustrating. But you’re happy to see your kids have smiles on their faces. It’s like your own kids at home. You want your kids to be happy.”

Calvin Magee is Arizona's new offensive coordinator. KOLD-TV screenshot

New Arizona Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez broke out Arizona hats, windbreakers and other gifts as his three new assistants and their wives reached the luggage area at the airport Wednesday.

Welcome to Tucson … although Rodriguez didn’t have to work too hard to get his old pals to join him in his new adventure way out west.

He pretty much had them at “Hello.”

What was Calvin Magee thinking when Rodriguez called to invite him to join the Wildcats staff?

“I’m thinking I’m on my way,” Magee said.

Rodriguez is assembling some of the old crew — Magee, Tony Dews and Tony Gibson all worked for him at West Virginia and Michigan. Those three stayed together in 2011, working at Pitt, when Rodriguez was out of coaching.

“They’re good people, good coaches and they’re good friends,” Rodriguez said.

“They’ll be great for the University of Arizona. That’s the most important thing. I don’t just hire guys just to hire them. I have a whole lot of friends that I could fill the staff with.

“But my job is to hire the best coaches for this program. These are three of the best coaches I could hire for this program.”

Magee, 48, is slated to the associate head coach/offensive coordinator/running backs coach. Magee was with Rodriguez for seven years at West Virginia and three at Michigan.

Dews, 38, will be the receivers coach. He spent 2007 at West Virginia with Rodriguez and three at Michigan.

Gibson, 39, played for Rodriguez at Glenville State in the early 1990s at coached for him there and at the two later spots. He will coach defensive backs.

These three talked Wednesday about their loyalty they have to Rodriguez.

“It’s just the way he treats you as a person and the way he treats your families,” Gibson said.

“We’re happy to be in a place that we’re accepted and people want us,” he adding, referring to troubles Rodriguez had at Michigan. “That’s the exciting part about this. Every time I have talked to him, he’s excited about this. It’s a great deal, and we’re all excited to be here.”

The loyalty and the trust go both ways, Rodriguez said.

“I think that trust is a big, big factor in building your program, from coach to coach, coach to player, player to coach. You have to have a lot of trust. You’ve got to have people who understand where you want to go with your program.

“These three guys and their families understand that.”

Rodriguez is still working on adding the six other assistants. He said his deadline for having that done is the end of next week, with the big hire being the defensive coordinator. West Virginia’s Jeff Casteel is still the prime target.

At least a couple of the additional hires will have previous ties to Rodriguez, although he said Monday he is still considering rehiring a couple members of Arizona’s 2011 staff.

While Rodriguez tries to finalize his coaching staff, his three new/old assistants will get to work learning about their Wildcats and beginning to recruit — Arizona will be hosting prospects this weekend.

“Ten years is a long time to be with someone,” Magee said, referring to his tenure as an assistant to Rodriguez. “It was a great 10 years. We do know his ins and outs and the things he wants, and we can relay that to the kids.”

All three have worked under Rodriguez at West Virginia and Michigan.

The new UA assistants are Calvin Magee, who will be the associate head coach/offensive coordinator and running backs coach, receivers coach Tony Dews and defensive assistant Tony Gibson, who could end up having extra responsibility, Rodriguez said. Gibson was the special teams coordinator at Michigan in 2010.

“They did not leave Pitt to pursue other opportunities,” Rodriguez said. “I pursued them. I’m tickled to death to have them.

“They fit the criteria. They are very good teachers and coaches. They are outstanding recruiters. And they’re good people.”

They will arrive in Tucson on Wednesday to begin work.

Rodriguez said it is still possible he might re-hire some of the coaches from Arizona’s 2011 coaching staff. His next big hire figures to be defensive coordinator, because he said he wants his coordinators to have input on the selection of the other assistants.

Speculation has centered on Rodriguez bringing in West Virginia defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel.

The University of Pittsburgh released a statement Sunday saying that Calvin Magee, Tony Dews and Tony Gibson were “departing for other coaching opportunities, effective immediately.”

Arizona wasn’t mentioned, but all three worked for Rodriguez at West Virginia and Michigan.

Magee was the Panthers’ co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach. Dews coached tight ends and was Pitt’s recruiting coordinator. Gibson coaches the secondary and was also Michigan’s special teams coordinator in 2010.

Rodriguez has said he would like to have about half of his staff in place this week, and then the rest by the end of next week.

As for any current assistants being retained, one member of the staff reached last week said he had been told to not talk to the media at this time.