Assistant coaching After graduating, Rasnick stayed at his alma mater, first working as a graduate assistant, then becoming the
offensive line coach and he was a finalist for the permanent head coach position. When
Terry Shea was hired to take over at San Jose State, Rasnick became the offensive coordinator for the
Utah Utes,
Eastern Michigan On January 3, 1995, Rasnick was interviewed by Eastern Michigan, and the following day he was hired as head coach with a five-year contract. Rasnick brought a more open, pass-oriented offense to Eastern Michigan than his predecessor,
Ron Cooper had used. Rasnick's offense featured
Charlie Batch as quarterback in 1995 and 1997; Batch sat out 1996 with an injury. During his time at Eastern Michigan, Rasnick's recruiting noticeably favored junior-college transfers rather than high school seniors. On November 16, 1999, three days after a 29–26 loss at
Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan athletic director
Dave Diles, Jr. held a press conference to announce that he had fired Rasnick as head coach. Diles announced that defensive coordinator
Tony Lombardi would serve as the interim head coach for the final game of the season, four days later, against
Northern Illinois, saying, "I felt it was best to make a change at this time to begin an immediate search for a new head football coach. After undergoing a very thorough and comprehensive assessment of our football program I'm convinced that Rick Rasnick is not the person to take our football team to a Mid-American Conference championship level." ==Head coaching record==