Greg Schiano wasn’t supposed to be on the hot seat when 2026 began. A brutal home opener changed that fast.
Rutgers got hammered by UMass, a program that hadn’t beaten a Power Four team since joining FBS in 2012 and hadn’t won against any FBS opponent since 2023. The Scarlet Knights looked lost on defense and didn’t do much better on offense, and a sluggish start at Boston College on Friday night only made the mood around the program darker. For a fan base already spiraling, the uncomfortable thought started creeping in: Rutgers might be the worst team in a Power Four conference.
That’s not where the Scarlet Knights wanted to be when they brought Schiano back in 2020. He remains the most accomplished coach Rutgers has had since Frank Burns in the 1970s, but the second run has not produced a season better than seven wins.
Now, with the program stumbling again in 2026, the question is no longer just about performance. It’s about whether Rutgers would even consider moving on.
The financial answer is ugly.
Schiano signed an extension in 2023 after a 7-6 season capped by a Pinstripe Bowl win, and that deal keeps him at Rutgers through the 2030 season. He is set to make $6.75 million in 2026, and he has three years and $22.5 million left on the contract. His buyout is 76.875% of the remaining money, which comes out to $17,296,875.
There is a mitigation clause in the contract, so any future football coaching salary would reduce what Rutgers owes him. Schiano, who is 60, is not required to look for another job.
By Big Ten standards, that buyout isn’t outrageous. For Rutgers, though, it’s a heavy lift. The school is already in a rough financial spot, and paying more than $17 million to send a coach packing after a couple of bad games may be more than it wants to stomach.
So for now, Schiano likely gets the rest of 2026 to try to steady things and drag Rutgers back toward respectability. But if the season keeps sliding and the Scarlet Knights wind up 1-11 with Howard as their only win, the calls about how to raise the money for a change figure to start in earnest.
In Other News...
Rutgers Suddenly Has A Greg Schiano Decision Fans Dread
Rutgers spent the first two weeks of the 2026 season trying to steady an offense that has gone nowhere fast, and the biggest concern is still the same one that followed the Scarlet Knights into September: quarterback play. Dylan Lonergan and AJ Surace have combined for seven interceptions in two games, leaving the offense stuck at 0-2 and putting the spotlight squarely on a position that was supposed to provide some stability.
Greg Schiano has acknowledged the struggles while still backing both quarterbacks to improve, but the situation has already turned into an uncomfortable test of patience. Surace got the start in the second game because of Lonergan's injury, then endured a rough debut with four interceptions after Lonergan threw three in the opener, and now Rutgers has to decide how long it can keep searching for answers before the season gets away from it. [Read more 🡒]
Greg Schiano Is Asking Rutgers Fans To Trust A Familiar Plan Again
Greg Schiano came back to Rutgers in 2020 to steady a football program that had spent years searching for some kind of footing, and the results since then have not made the pitch any easier to sell. After two losses to open this season, Schiano again found himself explaining a team still trying to sort out its identity, with the conversation less about wins in the moment and more about whether the group can keep building toward something sturdier.
The quarterback situation remains one of the clearest signs of how unfinished things still are. Schiano has indicated that health and performance will shape the next move, which leaves the job unsettled for now and keeps the focus on a familiar Rutgers refrain: effort, improvement and patience. For a fan base that has heard versions of this before, the next stretch will matter less for what it promises than for whether the same plan can finally start producing different results. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Adds An Intriguing Frontcourt Piece With Immediate Upside
Rutgers womens basketball added another frontcourt option for the future when head coach Gary Redus II announced the signing of Natassja Kolff Martini to the 2026-27 roster. The 6-foot-2 center from Argentina brings a rare blend of size and experience for a player still headed into the next stage of her career, with a resume that already includes professional minutes in Argentinas Liga Femenina.
Kolff Martini has also spent time in the international game with the Argentine National Team, competing in multiple tournaments and working through the countrys national-team development program. For Rutgers, it is the kind of addition that can matter well before she arrives on campus, since the Scarlet Knights are getting a player who has already been tested against older, higher-level competition and could give the roster immediate upside inside. [Read more 🡒]