Greg Schiano

Greg Schiano

Gregory Edward Schiano (b. June 1, 1966 in Wyckoff, New Jersey) is the head coach and defensive coordinator for the Rutgers University football team.

Schiano grew up in Wyckoff, New Jersey, and attended Ramapo High School. He then attended Bucknell University, where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, and graduated in 1988 with a B.S. in business administration.

In his playing career at Bucknell University, he was a three-year letterman at linebacker. In his junior year, he led his team with 114 tackles and was named to the All-Conference team. In his senior year, he was named team captain, and was named to The Sporting News Pre-season All-American Team.

He and his wife Christy have four children.

Coaching career

Schiano began his coaching career in 1988 as an assistant coach at Ramapo High School. In 1989, he served as a graduate assistant at Rutgers. In 1990, he took the same position at Penn State, and later served as the defensive backfield coach there from 1991 until 1995.

From 1996 to 1998, Schiano was an assistant coach in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. For his first two seasons there, he was a defensive assistant, and then was promoted in his third and final season with the Bears to defensive backfield coach.

Schiano's next coaching stop was at the University of Miami, where he served as defensive coordinator from 1999 to 2000. In 1999, the Canes finished the year ranked 12th in the NCAA's Division I-A in points allowed per game (17.2), and in 2000 moved up to 5th (15.5 points allowed per game).

On December 1, 2000, Schiano was named to his current position as head coach at Rutgers. In the 2001 season, his first season as head coach, the Scarlet Knights posted a 2-9 record (0-7 in the Big East), followed by a 1-11 mark (0-7 Big East) in 2002. This was followed by a 5-7 record (2-5 Big East) in 2003. In 2004, Schiano took on defensive coordinator responsibilities as well, and the team finished 4-7 (1-5 Big East). Although Schiano was producing solid recruiting classes, especially by Rutgers standards, his 3-24 record in conference games and 4-17 record in road games in those first four years were a cause for concern for some fans.

But things finally started to turn around for the program in the 2005 season. That year, the team finished with a 7-4 record, including a 4-3 conference record, and a nationally-televised 37-29 upset win over Pittsburgh and their coach Dave Wannstedt, a long-time friend of Schiano's and one-time colleague in Miami and Chicago. At season's end, Schiano and the Scarlet Knights accepted a bid to play in the Insight Bowl against Arizona State University, their first bowl game appearance since the 1978 Garden State Bowl (which, coincidentally, was also against Arizona State - Schiano was also at that game). During preparations for the Insight Bowl, Schiano signed a new contract, extending his contract through the 2012 season.

In the 2006 season, Schiano's Scarlet Knights achieved their first Top 25 ranking since 1976. Following week four of the college football season, Rutgers with a record of 4-0 was ranked #23 in the Associated Press and Coaches Polls. The team was ranked as high as #6 in the country (BCS standings) with a 9-0 record after a historic win against the Louisville Cardinals, beating them 28-25 in Piscataway. Throughout the season, coach Schiano and Rutgers were featured prominently in both the local and national media, and Schiano's motivational phrase "keep choppin'" became part of the lexicon of college football. Rutgers finished the season with a 10-2 record, the first time they had won ten games since 1976. Following the season, Schiano and the Scarlet Knights accepted an invitation to play Kansas State in the inaugural Texas Bowl, where they would go on to defeat Kansas State 37-10, capturing their first ever bowl win. For his work in the 2006 season, Coach Schiano was awarded several Coach of the Year honors, including the Home Depot Coach of the Year award and Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.

Current NFL players who played under Schiano at Rutgers include Indianapolis Colts linebacker Gary Brackett, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Nathan Jones, and Philadelphia Eagles tight end L.J. Smith. Current fullback Brian Leonard and tight end Clark Harris are highly coveted NFL prospects and are likely to be selected in the early rounds of the 2007 NFL Draft.

While at the University of Miami, Schiano coached: NFL Pro Bowlers Dan Morgan, linebacker, Carolina Panthers; Jonathan Vilma, linebacker, New York Jets; and Ed Reed, free safety, Baltimore Ravens.

His salary for 2006, including incentives, will be at least $1 million.

Schiano received almost all of the major 2006 national Coach of the Year awards for orchestrating what is considered by many to be one of the greatest turn-arounds in college football history, transforming the hapless Scarlet Knights into a power in the new Big East.

On December 4, 2006, one day after Rutgers accepted a bid to play in the 2006 Texas Bowl against Kansas State, Schiano said that he will not be a candidate for the recently vacated head coaching job at the University of Miami stating that he is "very happy at Rutgers" and that Rutgers is just beginning to "scratch the surface" of what the team can accomplish.

References

• "Records and Results" (PDF). 2006 Rutgers Football Media Guide (pdf). Rutgers Athletics Communications. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
• The Official Site of Rutgers Football
• Greg Schiano's biography page at ScarletKnights.com
• Details of Schiano's new contract