After a flurry of coaching firings in recent weeks, Tuesday brought word of one program that will not be joining the coaching carousel this offseason.
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano may be on a warm seat in New Jersey, but the Scarlet Knights will bring him back for an eighth year of this second stint at Rutgers -- and his 19th season in charge of the Scarlet Knights overall. Rutgers announced it will not fire Schiano amid a 2-7 start to the 2026 season, and will hope for a turnaround in 2027.
"Our results are not acceptable for the expectations we have for our football program and for the athletics program we are building. However, I also have an obligation to make decisions that serve the best long-term interests of Rutgers University," Rutgers director of athletics Keli Zinn said in a statement.
"Let me be very clear: this decision is not reflective of a lowering of standards or an indication that everything is fine. It is not. This is instead a reflection of my belief that we have an opportunity to make meaningful changes that will strengthen our roster and better position our program to compete and win at a higher level."
The subtext of that statement is that the Rutgers athletic department faced a $78 million deficit in 2024-25, and adding Schiano's buyout plus whatever it would cost to bring in a new coach is not something they're ready to add to their books. Schiano's buyout after this season would be just north of $17 million -- $17,296,875 to be exact -- and that's simply not an expenditure the program can afford.
As such, Schiano will get a chance to turn things around. If they don't win again the rest of this season, the Scarlet Knights are facing the possibility of having their worst season since 2019, when they went 2-10 the year before Schiano returned. It'd be Schiano's worst season at Rutgers since 2002, his second year in charge when they went 1-11.
The challenge for Rutgers is how to build a competitive roster when the athletic department already faces so many financial challenges. Zinn's statement indicates their goal will be to direct whatever funds they have to bolstering the roster rather than diverting money to firing Schiano and bringing in a new staff.
Success for Rutgers isn't contending for Big Ten titles, but simply being in the hunt for bowl eligibility and being somewhat respectable. Schiano received a handsome extension for getting Rutgers to back-to-back 7-6 seasons, indicating what is considered success at the university.
The problem is, even getting back to that standard is even harder to accomplish in this new college football landscape. The gap between the haves and have-nots in terms of roster spending continues to widen, particularly in the Big Ten, where some programs have incredibly deep pockets. Add in that Rutgers now has to play nine Big Ten games and one other Power Four non-conference game to meet the requirements of the new College Football Playoff regulations, and reaching six wins is no small task.
For Schiano, 2027 will need to at least show some tangible improvements. His buyout drops to just over $11.7 million after the 2027 season, and if Rutgers continues its downward trajectory with another relatively non-competitive season in the Big Ten's basement, he may not get another chance.
