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Greg Schiano

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Greg Schiano
Potograph of Schiano interacting with a player during pre-game warmups
Schiano (left) during his tenure as Rutgers head coach in 2006
New England Patriots
Position:Defensive coordinator
Personal information
Born: (1966-06-01) June 1, 1966 (age 58)
Wyckoff, New Jersey
Career information
College:Bucknell University
Career history
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
Head coaching record
Career:68–67 (college)
11–21 (NFL)
Record at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Gregory Edward Schiano (born June 1, 1966) is an American football coach who is the current defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He is the former associate head coach and defensive coordinator of the Ohio State Buckeyes. He served as the head football coach at Rutgers from 2001 to 2011 and as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2012 to 2013.

Early life and education

Schiano was born and grew up in Wyckoff, New Jersey, and attended Ramapo High School. He then attended Bucknell University,[1] where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, and graduated in 1988 with a B.S. in business administration. Despite being a 190-pound linebacker in high school, Bucknell assistant Joe Susan felt he was a perfect fit for the defense. Susan would later join Schiano at Rutgers.[2]

Playing career

Playing at linebacker, Schiano was a three-year letterman at Bucknell. In his junior year, he led the 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.

Coaching career

Schiano began his coaching career in 1988 as an assistant coach at Ramapo High School for the Raiders football team. 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.[3] 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.

University of Miami

Schiano served as defensive coordinator for the University of Miami Hurricanes from 1999 to 2000. In 1999, Miami 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). His brief 18-month stint at Miami and his roots in New Jersey made him a candidate for his next position as head coach at Rutgers University.

While at the University of Miami, Schiano coached NFL Pro Bowlers Dan Morgan, Jonathan Vilma, and Ed Reed.

Rutgers

On December 1, 2000, Schiano accepted the head coaching position at Rutgers,[4] the state university of New Jersey. He was given the task of turning around a struggling program that had been without a bowl game appearance since the 1978 Garden State Bowl, and had just four winning seasons since 1980. Although Schiano was producing solid recruiting classes, especially by Rutgers standards, the Scarlet Knights struggled to mediocre records in his first four seasons as head coach.

Despite the rough start to his tenure at Rutgers, Schiano began to turn around for the program during the 2005 season. Schiano recruited New York native Ray Rice, who was considered the top running back in the Tri-State area. He coached Rutgers to a 7–4 record that season. The highlight of their season came in a nationally televised 37–29 upset win over Pittsburgh and their coach Dave Wannstedt, a long-time friend of Schiano's, who hired him while coaching the Chicago Bears. At season's end, Schiano and the Scarlet Knights accepted a bid to play in the Insight Bowl against Arizona State University, which Rutgers lost by a score of 45-40. Just prior to the game, Schiano was offered a new contract, extending his contract through the 2012 season. The 2005 season laid the foundation for a rebirth of the Rutgers football program.

In the 2006 season, Schiano's Scarlet Knights raced off to a 9-0 record, highlighted by their November 9 victory over the third-ranked, undefeated Louisville Cardinals. After this game, Rutgers jumped to seventh in the national AP Poll, which was their highest ranking in school history and first Top 25 ranking since 1976.[5] The euphoria from the win and high ranking quickly faded the following week with a loss to Cincinnati, but the Scarlet Knights bounced back to finish 11-2 and qualify for the inaugural Texas Bowl.[6] There, they would defeat the Kansas State Wildcats 37–10, capturing their first ever bowl game win in school history.

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 ranked 12th in the national poll, their best finish in school history. 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 the inaugural Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.

With high expectations after their "Cinderella" season, Schiano coached Rutgers to respectable finishes and three more bowl game victories to give them four in a row. Schiano's team experienced tragedy in 2010, when defensive tackle Eric LeGrand suffered a spinal cord injury.[7] This clearly affected the team's play: when the extent of LeGrand's injury became apparent, it contributed to sending Rutgers into a funk that resulted in a six-game losing streak to end the season.

Schiano has been credited for his involvement in LeGrand's recovery, essentially treating LeGrand's family like his own and assisting the family in any way needed,[8] and being with LeGrand every day he was in the hospital.[9] Though LeGrand was initially given a diagnosis of lifetime paralysis, he has since regained movement in his arms and shoulders and sensation throughout his body.

In 2011, Rutgers rebounded from the previous season to post a 9-4 record and once again earn a bowl game berth. In the Pinstripe Bowl, they defeated Iowa State 27–13, which would be his final game as Rutgers coach. He led the team to winning seasons and bowl game berths in six of his final seven seasons, with wins in the final five bowl games.

Current NFL players who played under Schiano at Rutgers:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On January 26, 2012, Schiano accepted his first head coaching opportunity at the professional-football level, with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[10] The Buccaneers ended the 2012 regular season with a 7–9 record, missing the playoffs in the process. In the 2013–2014 season, the team regressed to 4–12.

On December 30, 2013, the Buccaneers fired Schiano along with Mark Dominik, the general manager who had selected him.[11]

Ohio State

In 2016, after two seasons coaching Berkeley Preparatory School and sending two players to Davidson College in North Carolina, Schiano was hired by head coach Urban Meyer to serve as defensive coordinator/associate head coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes football program, replacing Chris Ash who, coincidentally, left Ohio State to accept the head coaching position at Rutgers.

Following two successful seasons as Ohio State's defensive coordinator, Schiano became a target for several coaching jobs both in the NCAA and NFL. On November 26, 2017, it was reported that he was going to be the next head coach for the Tennessee Volunteers. Due to fan disapproval due to his connection with the Penn State sexual abuse case, the University backed out of the deal and he remained at Ohio State. Less than six weeks later, it was once again reported that Schiano would be leaving, but this time he would be going back to the NFL as the New England Patriots' defensive coordinator.[12] On February 7, 2018, Schiano decided to turn down the Patriots job and stay with the Buckeyes.[13]

New England Patriots

In February 2019, it was again reported that Schiano was expected to join the Patriots as their defensive coordinator. [14]

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Greg Schiano has served:

Assistant coaches under Greg Schiano who became NCAA head coaches:

Controversy

Schiano is known for continuing aggressive play even near the end of the game, attempting to disrupt quarterback kneels by ramming the opposing team's center into their quarterback, which has drawn criticism from other NFL coaches for being unsportsmanlike.[15]

In 2016, a Philadelphia court released documents in relation to the Penn State child sex abuse scandal revealing testimony from Mike McQueary stating that Schiano was aware of the abuse by fellow assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.[16] In his testimony, McQueary claimed that another assistant coach, Tom Bradley "said another assistant coach had come to him in the early ’90s about a very similar situation to mine." McQueary later related a conversation with Bradley about the incident, "only that he had — I can’t remember if it was one night or one morning — but that Greg had come into his office white as a ghost and said he just saw Jerry doing something to a boy in the shower. And that’s it. That’s all he ever told me.”[16] Greg Schiano denied having knowledge of the abuse saying, “I never saw any abuse nor had reason to suspect any abuse during my time at Penn State.” Tom Bradley also denied the allegation stating through his representative, “At no time did Tom Bradley ever witness any inappropriate behavior, Nor did he have any knowledge of alleged incidents in the ’80s and ’90s."[16]

On November 26, 2017, the University of Tennessee was set to announce Schiano as the head football coach.[17] However, due to a social media campaign including state representatives, alumni, national and local sportswriters, fans and gubernatorial candidates, unhappy with Schiano's tenure at Penn State during the child sex abuse scandal, Tennessee backed out of the deal.[18] Afterwards, officials from both Penn State and Ohio State defended Schiano, saying he had nothing to do with the scandal.[19] Tennessee received criticism from both national and local sportswriters for a perceived reactionary handling as a response to social media.[20][21][22]

Personal life

Schiano is married and has four children. Coach Schiano’s wife Christy was born Christina Mitchell, on October 29, 1968; she is one of four children born to Ella Alexander and the late Tom Mitchell; the former Colts tight end who also played college football at Bucknell. He died from cancer on July 16, 2017; he was 72.[23][24]

Awards and bowl bids

Schiano received most of the major 2006 national Coach of the Year awards after orchestrating what was considered by many to be one of the great turnaround stories in college football history, transforming the hapless Scarlet Knights into a winning football program (see above).

On December 4, 2006, one day after Rutgers accepted a bid to play in the 2006 Texas Bowl against Kansas State, Schiano announced that he would not be a candidate for the recently vacated head coaching job at his previous employer, the University of Miami, ending rumors and speculation that he would leave his creation at upstart Rutgers to return to Miami.[25] He stated that he is "very happy at Rutgers" and that Rutgers is just beginning to "scratch the surface" of what the team can accomplish. He confirmed this by signing yet another contract extension, announced on February 16, 2007, upping his yearly compensation to $1.5 million per year and extending his deal with Rutgers to 2016.[26] Schiano's 2011 salary and compensation of $2.3 million[27] made him "by far" the highest-paid public employee in New Jersey,[28] as well as the highest paid coach in the Big East.[29]

In December 2007, The Star-Ledger reported that Schiano spoke with University of Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin "for quite a while" on December 5 about the head coaching vacancy at the school.[30] Two days later, he withdrew his name from consideration and remained as the Rutgers Head Coach.[31] In 2008, after a bad start his Knights staged a come-from-behind season where they ended up 8–5 with the school's 4th straight bowl bid. Schiano's name once again came up in general speculation about the Miami head coaching position in 2010, after the firing of Randy Shannon.[32]

Head coaching record

College

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Big East Conference) (2001–2011)
2001 Rutgers 2–9 0–7 8th
2002 Rutgers 1–11 0–7 8th
2003 Rutgers 5–7 2–5 7th
2004 Rutgers 4–7 1–5 6th
2005 Rutgers 7–5 4–3 3rd L Insight
2006 Rutgers 11–2 5–2 T–2nd W Texas 12 12
2007 Rutgers 8–5 3–4 T–5th W International
2008 Rutgers 8–5 5–2 T–2nd W Papajohns.com
2009 Rutgers 9–4 3–4 T–4th W St. Petersburg
2010 Rutgers 4–8 1–6 8th
2011 Rutgers 9–4 4–3 T–4th W Pinstripe
Rutgers: 68–67 28–48
Total: 68–67

NFL

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
TB 2012 7 9 0 .438 4th in NFC South – – – –
TB 2013 4 12 0 .250 4th in NFC South – – – –
TB Total 11 21 0 .344 – – – –
Total 11 21 0 .344 – – – –

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 29, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Greg Schiano FB". njsportsheroes.com. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  3. ^ http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1999-01-23/sports/9901230113_1_greg-schiano-secondary-coach-bears-staff
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ Rutgers Ranked 12th in Final 2006 football Polls – Highest Season-Ending Ranking in School History Archived October 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (Press Release January 9, 2007) at ScarletKnights.com (Official Website of Rutgers University athletics). Published by Rutgers University Athletics Department (no further authorship information available). Retrieved January 12, 2007
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/ncf/news/story?id=5696563&source=ESPNHeadlines
  8. ^ Greg Schiano's commitment to Eric LeGrand speaks volumes about him
  9. ^ Sullivan: Schiano, LeGrand forever bonded
  10. ^ "Surprise: Buccaneers turn to Rutgers' Schiano as next coach". NFL.com. January 26, 2012
  11. ^ "Greg Schiano and GM Mark Dominik fired by Buccaneers". CBS Sports. December 30, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  12. ^ "Greg Schiano Expected to Become New England Patriots Defensive Coordinator, Per Report". Eleven Warriors. February 5, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  13. ^ "Greg Schiano to stay at Ohio State, not join Patriots". Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  14. ^ http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25937490/patriots-close-adding-greg-schiano-bill-belichick-coaching-staff
  15. ^ Garafalo, Mike, "Coughlin to Schiano: 'You don't do that in this league'", USA Today, September 17, 2012. Accessed September 17, 2012.
  16. ^ a b c Boren, Cindy (July 12, 2016). "Greg Schiano, Tom Bradley knew of Jerry Sandusky abuse at Penn State, documents show". The Washington Post.
  17. ^ https://www.si.com/college-football/2017/11/26/greg-schiano-tennessee-volunteers-head-coach-contract
  18. ^ http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/21579125/tennessee-volunteers-no-longer-hire-greg-schiano-head-coach
  19. ^ Spain, Kevin (November 27, 2017). "Officials from Penn State, Ohio State defend Greg Schiano". USA Today. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  20. ^ Culpepper, Chuck (November 27, 2017). "The Tennessee–Greg Schiano saga shows the charming and chilling power of fans". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  21. ^ King, Peter (November 27, 2017). "The Race Is On to Catch the Patriots and a Word About the Greg Schiano–Tennessee Mess". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  22. ^ Ziegler, John (November 26, 2017). "Greg Schiano Out at Tennessee Because of the Twitter Mob That Unfairly Destroyed Him". Mediaite. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  23. ^ http://news.rutgers.edu/medrel/special-content/summer-2011/greg-and-christy-sch-20110727
  24. ^ http://fabwags.com/christy-schiano-greg-schianos-wife/
  25. ^ "Schiano tells Miami he's not leaving Rutgers". ESPN.com. December 6, 2006.
  26. ^ "Schiano Signs Contract Extension Through 2016" Archived February 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. ScarletKnights.com: The Official Site of Rutgers Athletics. February 16, 2007.
  27. ^ Rutgers University Employee Salaries. Asbury Park Press.
  28. ^ Mushnick, Phil (April 16, 2011). "Double up that entendre, will you?". New York Post.
  29. ^ Sargeant, Keith (November 16, 2011). "Schiano the highest-paid Big East coach, according to USA Today report". Home News Tribune.
  30. ^ Luicci, Tom (December 7, 2007). "Schiano talking to Michigan". The Star-Ledger.
  31. ^ Forde, Pat (December 7, 2007). "After talking to Michigan, Schiano sticking as Rutgers coach". ESPN.com
  32. ^ Milian, Jorge (November 29, 2010). "Possible candidates to be the next coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes". The Palm Beach Post.
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