Schiano Out: Timing of Coaches Departure Leaves Bad Taste Among Rutgers Fans

Added by Gregg Snyder on January 26, 2012.

Greg Schiano’s name had come up in many coaching circles, yet the Rutgers head coach consistently said he was staying put. The jersey guy wanted to win championships here at Rutgers. Schiano had the entire Rutgers fan base convinced he would be a long time figure around the Scarlet Knights, similar to his old friend and former employer Joe Paterno at Penn State.

Today, out of nowhere, Schiano has signed a five year contract to be the head football coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. Feelings of shock and disappointment, quickly turned to anger amongst many Rutgers fans.

The anger is mostly because of the timing of this departure. Schiano leaves Rutgers less than a week before Feb 1., National Signing Day. Rutgers was expected to bring in it’s top recruiting class ever. Now, it’s anyone’s guess as to which recruits will stay committed and which will go elsewhere.

Coaches, players, and recruits were all taken by surprise. It wasn’t just the fans. Schiano preached to these youngsters and their families about his commitment to the school and football program. He preached to them how much this football program is a F.A.M.I.L.Y that sticks together. He convinced many of these top recruits to stay home, stay in Jersey, and bring a championship to Rutgers.

Now, many of these recruits have already begun to reopen their recruitment. Rival schools will pounce on these high school seniors, attempting to spin their commitments.

This could have been the recruiting class to put Rutgers over the top. This talented group joining the current Rutgers roster was one that many saw as the one to finally bring home that coveted championship Greg Schiano promised since he step foot on campus.

With less than a week before the official commitment signing begins, Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti and the remaining coaching staff must scramble to keep the pieces together. That may be a hard task, a tough sell. Some players and recruits have used the terms “blind sided” and “betrayed” to describe their feelings.

Sure, Schiano did wonders for the Rutgers football program. He does however have some unfinished business here, business we all thought we would see. Rutgers fans could quickly forget what Schiano has done, as things could take a disastrous hit.

Replacing Schiano will be an important decision for Pernetti. Some names being thrown around early are current offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti and outsiders Mario Cristobal, Al Golden, and Steve Addazio. You would have to think, Rutgers only hope at holding together this recruiting class would be for Cignetti to be named head coach.

We will see. Right now, Rutgers fans all across the region are heart broken, many feeling betrayed.