The (New?) State of Rutgers Football

When we got back to our desk after a meeting last Thursday, we did what everyone does when they first get back to their desk - logged onto gmail and hoped to find something from someone to make our always boring day more interesting.  We were not disappointed.  At the top of our email list was this:


To:  Us
From: A Man With No ACLs
Subject:  Schiano to Bucs


??? Did you see this coming?


Um...no.  We immediately scoured the Internet to see if it was true.  The initial reports said it was imminent.  Still, we hoped for another Chip Kelly.  But it wasn't to be.  A two hours of not doing any work, we saw that the news was confirmed: Greg Schiano had left Rutgers to become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  As the news sunk in, all we could think was the Rutgers football had died.  Died of a broken heart.  

Just kidding.  No self-respecting person could ever think something so comically melodramatic.  Unless, of course, you're the type of person who uses three consecutive Top 10 picks on wide receivers.  Then you say those types of things.  And your team goes 0-16.  But enough of that.  To quote the great Snoop Doggy Dogg, back to the lecture at hand.

No, instead of thinking in terrible ESPN soundbites, what we were really thinking was, what shitty timing.  That's it.  We weren't devastated. Or confused.  Or sad.  Or even concerned about the long term future of the program.  No, we were happy for him but bummed that it had to happen a week before signing day.  And that says pretty much all you need to know about the Schiano-era.

Like most fans who came of age during Terry Shea's reign of terror (with terror being reigned on things like wins and competitive football), we liked and appreciated Schiano.  And for good reason.  We all know the accolades - 56-33 since 2005,  5 Bowl Wins, a slew of solid to good NFL players, some terrific defenses, and one really special season that gave the school its first "Sports Center moment."  If we were giving the eulogy for his time at Rutgers, we'd focus on the fact that we was a very good coach and an even better program builder.  And we'd discuss how he deserves all the credit he gets for doing the yeoman's work of taking a team ranked 112 out of 112 teams three years before his arrival to what we have today.

But ultimately, his biggest accomplishment was taking the program from obscurity to mediocrity.  His success was, of course, relative.  The memory of 0-12 can make a win in the Texas or Pinstripe Bowl feel like a national title.  But poor offensive game planning, some bad recruiting decisions and inconsistent quarterback play meant that the program never build on what was supposed to be its breakthrough in 2006.   Maybe it wasn't all his fault but it all happened on his watch.  Had Tom Savage stayed and become something close to what was expected (and allowed us to wear our "Macho Man" Tom Savage costume), would they have won the Big East this year?  We'll never know what could have been if those years weren't lost.  And we'll also never know if he could have accomplished with Gary Nova, Brandon Coleman and Jamison/Huggins what he couldn't with Mike Teel, Kenny Britt and company.  

Despite that reality, it's understandable that people would freak.  Mediocrity is comfortable.  It's easy and it doesn't hurt.  Go to work, hang out with friends, or attend a family party and you'll find at least one person who is basking in their averageness.  Change is scary.  7-9 wins and a bowl isn't.  Fans are scarred and desperate not to go back.  The fear of another Terry Shea made the whole thing seem a lot worse.

But just like Schiano was offered an opportunity, so was Rutgers.  Schiano may have taken the program as far as he could.  And the school was given a chance to move forward, without having to suffer through the the decline normally associated with most coaching changes.  It was just that the pesky timing thing intervened.  Rutgers didn't have time to be bold.  They couldn't conduct an exhaustive search for the white whale of college football - The Next Big Coach, the man who starts as a nobody but leaves as a legend.  

So they did what they could.  They made a quick strong run at one candidate, the one we liked best from their short list, Mario Cristobal.  Unfortunately, after looking into his cristobal and seeing his future as coach of The U, he declined.  Bad news.  But, instead of panicking, they did the sensible thing and crawled back to their interim coach, Kyle Flood, with a five year deal.  They opted for continuity and stability.  

(For the record, our ideal choice for a head coach would be Herm Edwards.  In the college game, his shortcomings as an NFL coach would be minimized.  If you surrounded him with a strong staff of play callers, he could focus on what he does best - motivating players.  Plus we have no doubt he could recruit.  Who says no to Herm Fucking Edwards.  Hello?  His connections to the area through his time with the Jets and Eagles would be gravy.  Even this year, he could have walked off the set of whatever ESPN debacle he's on, kept the staff in tact and closed the shit out of the recruiting class.)  

And for now, it worked.  Rutgers landed Darius Hamilton, another in the now yearly line of best recruits in school history, and managed to pull together a consensus Top 25 recruiting class.  While it looked like a nice parting gift from the old coach, what it really showed was that on some level (even when you account for the difficulty in players changing commitments at the 11th hour) Rutgers was able to sell itself as a program and a brand and not just a coach.  The staff, including the deputized AD Tim Pernetti, could tell players that, while the coach may have changed, the philosophy and the commitment to doing things a certain way won't. With that, a "Rutgers Way" could have been established. 

With the talent on the roster, barring a complete coaching debacle, they shouldn't fall off much in the short term.  It's keeping the momentum that will be the trick.  Make no mistake though, despite his contract (a pure recruiting tool) Flood is still slightly interim and they won't be afraid to make a move at the first sign of trouble.

For now, despite a big scare, the state of Rutgers Football remains mediocre.  Only time will tell where it goes from here.