Rutgers has shown up twice in a recent The Athletic ranking of the 25 worst college football coaching tenures of the last 50 years, and both of those rebuilds landed in Greg Schiano’s lap.
The Athletic, which is part of The New York Times, put Chris Ash at No. 25 and Terry Shea at No. 24 on the list. Schiano inherited both of those messes during his two stints leading the Scarlet Knights, making him the rare coach tasked with cleaning up the same program twice after two of its bleakest stretches.
That history only sharpens what Schiano has done at Rutgers. His first run is already the stuff of program lore: a national ranking in 2006, the school’s first bowl win, and a transformation from national punchline into a Big East contender. That success eventually pushed him into the NFL, where he became head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The second act has been solid as well. Rutgers missed bowl eligibility last season, though the Scarlet Knights were reportedly offered a spot in the Birmingham Bowl, but there’s little argument that the program is in a far better place than when Schiano returned.
The low point of the Ash era, as The Athletic described it, helps show just how far Rutgers had fallen before Schiano came back:
"The Knights lost to Ohio State and Michigan by a combined score of 136-0 on consecutive Saturdays in 2016. The yardage differential in the Michigan game: 605 to 39!"
Schiano’s current rebuild has already produced three bowl appearances, including a Pinstripe Bowl win over Miami in 2024. And he has done it in what is arguably the toughest conference in college football.
Rutgers appearing twice on the list stands out on its own. Duke and Temple are the only other programs with multiple coaching tenures in The Athletic’s ranking.
That alone says plenty about the scale of the job at Rutgers. It also puts a spotlight on athletic director Keli Zinn, now 15 months into her tenure. Zinn has repeatedly said name, image and likeness is a priority, and she inherited a significant NIL deficit that still needs to be addressed.
The challenge goes beyond simply keeping up. Rutgers has to close enough of that gap to compete in recruiting and the transfer portal, because the program carries a kind of built-in tax when it comes to convincing players to buy in.
One of the strangest footnotes from The Athletic’s list is that Schiano is the only coach to inherit two programs that made the ranking - and both times, it was Rutgers.
In Other News...
Rutgers Has A Rare Chance To End A Brutal Ranked Drought
Rutgers heads into a tricky road test with a chance that has been hard to find for nearly two decades: a shot to beat a ranked opponent. The Scarlet Knights are preparing to face Northwestern in Evanston, and the matchup has drawn plenty of attention because it represents a rare opportunity to measure themselves against a team sitting in the national poll.
The setting adds to the pressure, with the game coming at Northwesterns Ryan Field and the result carrying more weight than a typical conference trip. Writers around the matchup have already started breaking down key players and possible outcomes, but for Rutgers the bigger storyline is simpler - a chance to finally turn a long, frustrating trend against ranked teams in the other direction. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Gets A Rare Opening Against A Ranked Northwestern Team
Rutgers heads to Evanston with a chance to keep some momentum rolling after its recent conference win, and the matchup comes with an unusual opening against a ranked Northwestern team. The Scarlet Knights have spent too long trying to snap a long skid against ranked opponents, so this one carries more than the usual Big Ten weight, especially with a Wildcats squad that has been steady on both sides of the ball under David Braun and quarterback Aidan Chiles.
The opportunity for Rutgers gets a little more interesting because Northwestern is dealing with some notable injuries on defense, which could affect how the game is played at the line of scrimmage and in the secondary. For Rutgers, the challenge is simple enough to say and harder to solve: take advantage of the moment, avoid letting a ranked opponent settle in, and turn a solid conference performance into something bigger on the road. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Fans Are Back In A Debate They Never Wanted
Mike Locksleys dismissal at Maryland during the bye week put the first coaching change of the 2026 college football season on the board, and it inevitably sent Rutgers fans back to a conversation they know all too well. Around the sport, schools are weighing whether a midseason move is worth the cost or whether the smarter play is to put money into the roster and ride out the schedule, the kind of calculation Wisconsin and Virginia have already made this year.
For Rutgers, the timing only sharpens the unease because the current backdrop is less about one abrupt swing and more about what happens if a school waits. Greg Schiano remains part of that broader coaching-watch conversation, but the more relevant question for Scarlet Knights fans may be whether any decision would come after the season rather than in the middle of it. Rutgers bye week came and went without a move, which makes the next stretch feel less like a fire drill and more like a slow burn. [Read more 🡒]