OT - Rutgers football coach debacle

[DarthGrumpy]

Greg Schiano returning to New Brunswick (or Piscataway as the stadium and complex are across the river) to save Rutgers football was all but certain according to the press and several big Rutgers alum and boosters I know locally (Schiano and the Campanile family are from the same corner of Bergen County). Then, it wasn't. Schinano's demand were high; but inline with what is provided to similar, lower tier programs in the B1G, and according the various leaks, he pulled back from some of his higher demands. Thus, the blame seems to be falling entirely on the AD, Pat Hobbs. Hobbs was hired by Rutgers in 2015 to replace Julie Hermann, who was felled by a wide-range of blunders. Hobbs is a lawyer, Seton Hall big-shot, and political friend of former Governor Christie who had limited college athletic experience (temp Seton Hall AD from '09-'11). According to the leaks, he could not handle that Schiano who hence become the big man on campus and not him. Now, major donors are revolting and even LeGrand has demand that Hobbs step down. That said, I am sure the faculty union was also pushing back behind the scenes as one of Schiano's demands was to control facility plans for football going forward and that as an item he was not backing-down from. One B1G mess.

Former Rutgers players call on school to save failed Greg Schiano deal: ‘Coach wanted to come back home’

Rutgers fans are making their voices heard following the breakdown in negotiations between the university and former head coach Greg Schiano. Former Scarlet Knights, too.

www.nj.com

 

[huskymedic]

Many more article on toxic situation in here if interested as well :2019 Coaching Carousel -> Picking up speed.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

If Rutgers wasn't in a P5 conference, they would be with UMass and us as a laughingstock! They got lucky!!

 

[MilliniumPrince]

I don't think he ever wanted the job. That said, they will have to compromise and hire him now, or it will be beyond embarrassing.

 

[huskyrob1]

If Rutgers wasn't in a P5 conference, they would be with UMass and us as a laughingstock! They got lucky!!

We are not a laughing stock, the football program will recover, we have 22 national championships in major NCAA sports and are in the top four in some sports EVERY year. There are only a handful of schools in the country that can even approach that. Yes, UMass and Rutgers are laughing stocks, and cannot even approach Uconn's athletic success. UConn is not a laughing stock. UConn men's basketball is well on it's way to making a full recovery. There are many important individuals in the B1G who are now saying privately that they made a huge mistake in grabbing Rutgers instead of UConn. We also have an athletic director who is well respected across the country. Aside from men's and women's basketball, UConn has had great success in baseball and field hockey and has two nationally respected coaches in Nancy Stevens and Jim Penders.

 

[Chuck]

I know some guys that are still technically boosters at Rutgers. One of the guys used to give a lot each year and go to all of the games despite living relatively far away. He was turned off by how Pernetti was run out, but stayed supportive. He despises Hobbs and his support and interest has faded over the years. He was getting inside info on the Schiano situation and is shocked (but not shocked) that Hobbs blew it. I personally think Schiano was overrated as RU's coach, but he brought them respect, which they currently have none of. I wasn't convinced Schiano was the right way for RU to go, but Schiano wanted the job, and most at RU wanted Schiano. His demands were supposedly big (more for the program than him personally), but not unreasonable and most was negotiable. Rutgers needs positive PR. They shouldn't have pursued Schiano if they weren't ready for his demands.

 

[buddy]

We are not a laughing stock, the football program will recover, we have 22 national championships in major NCAA sports and are in the top four in some sports EVERY year. There are only a handful of schools in the country that can even approach that. Yes, UMass and Rutgers are laughing stocks, and cannot even approach Uconn's athletic success. UConn is not a laughing stock. UConn men's basketball is well on it's way to making a full recovery. There are many important individuals in the B1G who are now saying privately that they made a huge mistake in grabbing Rutgers instead of UConn. We also have an athletic director who is well respected across the country. Aside from men's and women's basketball, UConn has had great success in baseball and field hockey and has two nationally respected coaches in Nancy Stevens and Jim Penders.

Rutgers being in the B1G eliminates the possibility of them being a laughingstock. UConn football has been a laughingstock. Come on now look at the football rankings. RU football would have easily defeated UConn over the past few years, including this season. Yes, they are terrible in most athletics, but they are not a laughingstock because of their conference affiliation. I agree with you that UConn is improving now in basketball. The jury is still out on football which is a laughingstock. The attendance at the Rent says it all. No comment on UMass, they are trying and are a laughingstock in football.

 

[businesslawyer]

I personally think Schiano was overrated as RU's coach.

I love these posts. Yes, anyone could have taken Rutgers from being a laughingstock to a competitive, top 40 or so program (even forgetting the one great year). Why, it is so easy that no one else ever has been able to do anything near what he did.

 

[Chuck]

I love these posts. Yes, anyone could have taken Rutgers from being a laughingstock to a competitive, top 40 or so program (even forgetting the one great year). Why, it is so easy that no one else ever has been able to do anything near what he did.

He did an awesome job primarily through arrogance (in a good way). He came in and apologized for nothing including NJ's reputation and the program's history. He recruited very well. He also struggled as a game coach and I believe he reached his peak in 2006. The results after 2006 were meh. Even the year they came in second they lost 5 games during the regular season. Rutgers would take that peak back if he could reach it again, but Schiano got out at the right time. That's why I think he was overrated. I was a season ticket holder for Terry Shea and Greg Schiano (went to grad school there). The only thing better about Shea was how easy it was to get to/from games.

The reason I wasn't sure if going back to Schiano was the best bet was partially because he hasn't been a college head coach since 2011 and was asking for a 10 year guarantee. That is a long time to guarantee for someone that had some success, but is not a guaranteed winner. I would've given him a blank check for like 6 years, but they needed to protect themselves from another failure.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

It feels odd to me that a guy currently unemployed, has so many demands. I guess he feels he has the upper hand over Rutgers because of his past success there. But who are they competing with for his services? No one. I get why they are pushing back.

 

[Robertelamin]

Rutgers being in the B1G eliminates the possibility of them being a laughingstock. UConn football has been a laughingstock. Come on now look at the football rankings. RU football would have easily defeated UConn over the past few years, including this season. Yes, they are terrible in most athletics, but they are not a laughingstock because of their conference affiliation. I agree with you that UConn is improving now in basketball. The jury is still out on football which is a laughingstock. The attendance at the Rent says it all. No comment on UMass, they are trying and are a laughingstock in football.

Rutgers is a laughingstock regardless on their conference affiliation.

 

[UConnRock]

It feels odd to me that a guy currently unemployed, has so many demands. I guess he feels he has the upper hand over Rutgers because of his past success there. But who are they competing with for his services? No one. I get why they are pushing back.

Bingo! This makes me ask whether Schiano really has the fortitude to jump back into the B1G fire. I don't think he has the confidence to battle in recruiting or on the field at Rutgers.

 

[huskyrob1]

Bingo! This makes me ask whether Schiano really has the fortitude to jump back into the B1G fire. I don't think he has the confidence to battle in recruiting or on the field at Rutgers.

Schiano is Rutgers version of Randy Edsall. Lots of parallels between the two of them. If Schiano is hired, it's going to be a 5 or 6 year build to so so respectability in the B1G, and if Schiano gets a better offer after a marginally successful year, he's gone anyway. He is not the kind of coach (like RE) who can turn a program around in a couple years.

 

[freescooter]

Rutgers is a laughing stock even in the Big 10. They are considered a joke by most Big members and if they had a redo I don’t know if they’d pick UConn but I know they wouldn’t take the Scarlet Knights. They are like the not overly bright decendent of a highly successful family. If it weren’t for their trust fund they’d be living in the streets.

 

[CL82]

We are not a laughing stock, the football program will recover, we have 22 national championships in major NCAA sports and are in the top four in some sports EVERY year. There are only a handful of schools in the country that can even approach that. Yes, UMass and Rutgers are laughing stocks, and cannot even approach Uconn's athletic success. UConn is not a laughing stock. UConn men's basketball is well on it's way to making a full recovery. There are many important individuals in the B1G who are now saying privately that they made a huge mistake in grabbing Rutgers instead of UConn. We also have an athletic director who is well respected across the country. Aside from men's and women's basketball, UConn has had great success in baseball and field hockey and has two nationally respected coaches in Nancy Stevens and Jim Penders.

(but football is a smolding dumpster fire)

 

[huskyrob1]

Rutgers is a laughing stock even in the Big 10. They are considered a joke by most Big members and if they had a redo I don’t know if they’d pick UConn but I know they wouldn’t take the Scarlet Knights. They are like the not overly bright decendent of a highly successful family. If it weren’t for their trust fund they’d be living in the streets.

Heard that from a friend who used to be very high up at Northwestern.

 

[Adios]

"Oh, we're not going to the Big Ten, stop that crap!"

Doesn't take much business acumen to realize how well UConn would fit in and how much the Big Ten can benefit with a presence in New England. New Jersey sucks. Would fit in the ACC, as well. If we ever get accepted into the Big Ten, BC will regret their actions against us till the day the earth no longer exists.

 

[Chin Diesel]

If Rutgers wasn't in a P5 conference, they would be with UMass and us as a laughingstock! They got lucky!!

If Rutgers weren't in NJ it would be a laughingstock.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

UConn football fans lobbing shots at Rutgers football. What a world.

What most people either refuse to believe is that what Schiano and Edsall both did at Rutgers/UConn in the 2000s was equally impressive. For the most part, our best seasons coincided with their best seasons and made for a lot of good games.

We're both laughingstocks, but at least they are getting drubbed by Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State, while we're not able to put up a fight against Tulane or South Florida.

 

[Adios]

There's much more to the modern collegiate world than just football.

I am pretty sure they'd love to have us for matches against Tennessee in women's basketball and their own women's basketball programs. The women's team seems to sell out road games.

Definitely better to take in a weekend around here than NJ.

No more from me on this. Continue on.

 

[CL82]

Heard that from a friend who used to be very high up at Northwestern.

Well a lot people smoked during college. I wouldn't hold it against him.

 

[ZooCougar]

I love these posts. Yes, anyone could have taken Rutgers from being a laughingstock to a competitive, top 40 or so program (even forgetting the one great year). Why, it is so easy that no one else ever has been able to do anything near what he did.

He didn’t do as well as Edsall and was at best his equal. Edsall is pretty overrated. So there’s that.

 

[ZooCougar]

He did an awesome job primarily through arrogance (in a good way). He came in and apologized for nothing including NJ's reputation and the program's history. He recruited very well. He also struggled as a game coach and I believe he reached his peak in 2006. The results after 2006 were meh. Even the year they came in second they lost 5 games during the regular season. Rutgers would take that peak back if he could reach it again, but Schiano got out at the right time. That's why I think he was overrated. I was a season ticket holder for Terry Shea and Greg Schiano (went to grad school there). The only thing better about Shea was how easy it was to get to/from games.

The reason I wasn't sure if going back to Schiano was the best bet was partially because he hasn't been a college head coach since 2011 and was asking for a 10 year guarantee. That is a long time to guarantee for someone that had some success, but is not a guaranteed winner. I would've given him a blank check for like 6 years, but they needed to protect themselves from another failure.

BusinessLawyer Rule #1: Always defend mediocrity.

 

[CL82]

Rutgers is a laughing stock even in the Big 10. They are considered a joke by most Big members and if they had a redo I don’t know if they’d pick UConn but I know they wouldn’t take the Scarlet Knights. They are like the not overly bright decendent of a highly successful family. If it weren’t for their trust fund they’d be living in the streets.

I say this from time to time but RU's addition to the Big 10 did everything it was supposed to do. It allowed the B1G 1st access and premium pricing in the NYC DMA (yes even in Fairfield County) and gave them the same access and pricing for Western and Southern Jersey which is probably another 3M people or so. RU wasn't brought in to win championships it was brought in because Jersey is wedged between NYC and Philly and has a population density that rivals New Delhi in much of the state.

Either UConn or RU would have brought access to the NYC DMA, but NJ has a 9M population (versus 3M in Connecticut), is contiguous to another B1G state and RU is AAU. It was the better choice financially. Sucks, but it is what is.

(And yeah I hear fans grumble about them as well, but fans don't make the decisions.)

 

[Husky68]

Schiano is Rutgers version of Randy Edsall. Lots of parallels between the two of them. If Schiano is hired, it's going to be a 5 or 6 year build to so so respectability in the B1G, and if Schiano gets a better offer after a marginally successful year, he's gone anyway. He is not the kind of coach (like RE) who can turn a program around in a couple years.

If Schiano can get Rutgers to so so respectability in 5 or 6 years they should hire him, meet all his demands and pay him twice as much as he is asking. Rutgers does play Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State every year. Even beating Indiana and Maryland is usually not that easy. He'd need to schedule UMass and UConn each year OOC to guarantee some cupcake games to be bowl eligible.