Greg Schiano thinks Rutgers football is finally getting the kind of support structure that can change the program’s trajectory.
Entering his 18th season as the Scarlet Knights’ head coach, Schiano pointed to a new level of coordination inside the athletic department and university leadership as a major reason for optimism. Athletic Director Keli Zinn was hired in July 2025, just before the season began, and Schiano said the time she has spent working with University President William Tate IV has helped create what he called a more unified setup.
“Vertical alignment is when you have a board president or a board chair, a president, an AD and a head football coach who look at winning at Rutgers the same way and also look at the investment needed to do it,” Schiano said at Big Ten Media Days. “We have a deep and talented roster, the deepest and most talented I've had since I've been back, and it's only going to get better now with the resources now starting to match the expectations that you have when you're in the Big Ten conference.”
A big part of Zinn’s first year has been the launch of R NIL, the collective built to help Rutgers compete for players in the Big Ten. Schiano said that work has taken a load off his shoulders and allowed him to stay focused on coaching.
“My goal is to win a National Championship at Rutgers, but my purpose is to make sure that every young person that's put under my watch, that we're developing them as husbands, as fathers and as productive members of society,” Schiano said. “And to be able to do that now because I'm not running all over New Jersey and New York trying to raise NIL funds, that's what I mean when I say vertical alignment. That gives us a chance, and it gives me a chance to do what I love to do and what really I feel I was hired to do.”
Rutgers had been near the bottom of the Big Ten in NIL budget before Zinn arrived. Now the program is moving closer to the middle of the league, and that shift has already had a direct impact. Zinn’s efforts helped secure the money needed to keep junior wide receiver KJ Duff and junior running back Antwan Raymond from entering the transfer portal.
Schiano said the changes are showing up in the program’s outlook, and he sounded eager about what comes next.
“We're getting better,” Schiano said during his appearance on the “Pardon My Take” podcast. “We're going to be better this year, but we're going to be much better, and then much better because the resources now there's a commitment.
There's vertical alignment in Rutgers for the first time, really, in my 25 years being associated. I can't wait.”
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