Mark Rose grew up in Venice, Florida where he attended high school.

Rose was a four-year letterman under Pat Dye at Auburn University before receiving his degree. In his playing days, he won three SEC championships at Auburn from 1986-1989. He was the Tigers starting offensive guard on the 1989 championship squad.

He landed a job as an assistant coach at Smiths Station from 1994-1998. Rose was the defensive coordinator and strength coordinator for the Panther program. He helped lead the Panthers to a 21-4 mark in two years (1996-97), and was a part of the 1996 coaching staff that guided Smiths Station to its first undefeated regular season since 1967.

After leaving Smiths Station, Coach Rose took the head job at Tallassee High School in 1998. He took over a struggling program, leading it to a 7-5 record and an area title his first year. He then led the Tigers to their first 10-0 regular season in 53 years, and finished with a 13-1 record.

In 2000, Rose accepted the head coaching position at North Jackson High School. He led the Chiefs for eight seasons with a record of 85-15. His team reached the State Championship game in 2002 losing to UMS-Wright 7-3. Roses Chiefs won seven region titles finishing 54-2 in region play.

His teams at North Jackson, in Stevenson, Alabama went 13-1 in 2001 and 14-1 in 2002. His last team went 11-1 to finish his North Jackson tenure with an 85-15 mark.

Rose returned to Smiths Station in 2008 when Woodrow Lowe left the program. Over the next six seasons his teams finished 34-31 with three playoff appearances.

Coach Rose returned to North Jackson in 2014.

Entering the 2019 season, Coach Roses overall football record is 172-75 in 21 seasons as a head coach. His teams have gone 102-33 in region play and won ten region titles during his tenure at four different schools.