Ricky Rahne

Ricky Rahne was born on July 19, 1980, in Morrison, Colorado. He attended Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, Colorado, where he excelled in football and track and field. During his senior football season, Rahne led all Colorado quarterbacks with 3,114 passing yards and 33 touchdowns. He continued his football career at Cornell University, where he was a three-year starting quarterback from 1999 to 2001. Rahne graduated as Cornell’s all-time leader in completions (678), passing yards (7,710), touchdown passes (54), and total offense (7,994). He was inducted into the Cornell Hall of Fame in 2014, recognizing his significant playing achievements.

Rahne’s coaching career began in 2004 as a defensive assistant at Holy Cross, focusing on defensive ends. In 2005, he coached running backs at his alma mater, Cornell. He then moved to Kansas State in 2006 as an offensive graduate assistant, later becoming the running backs coach for two seasons and then the tight ends coach for two seasons. From 2011 to 2013, Rahne served as the quarterbacks coach at Vanderbilt, where he mentored Jordan Rodgers, who later signed with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. His tenure at Vanderbilt marked a period of success for the program, with consecutive bowl game appearances for the first time in its history.

Rahne joined Penn State in 2014, working as the pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, where he developed quarterbacks Christian Hackenberg and Trace McSorley, both of whom were drafted into the NFL. He also coached tight ends, guiding Mike Gesicki, who went on to be drafted by the Miami Dolphins. Rahne was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Penn State in 2017. In 2019, he was appointed as the head football coach at Old Dominion University. Despite facing challenges such as the cancellation of his first season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and integrating new players, Rahne led ODU to a bowl game in his first season on the field in 2021. He also guided the team to a 6-7 record and another bowl appearance in the 2023 season, marking significant program milestones including the first-ever wins against App State and Georgia Southern.