Embattled Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is expected to return to lead the program in 2027.
An individual with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday, Nov. 10, that “I’d book it,” when asked about Schiano being granted an additional year. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was first to report the likelihood of Schiano returning for another season.
Now in his second stint leading the Scarlet Knights, Schiano has his regularly scheduled Tuesday news conference at midday.
At best, Schiano’s return is puzzling.
Rutgers (2-7) has trended sharply downward in recent years under Schiano, who enjoyed considerable success with the program in the 2000s before leaving
to coach the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Scarlet Knights have lost at least six games in each season since Schiano returned in 2020, including six losses during that COVID-shortened, nine-game campaign.
Rutgers did post back-to-back 7-6 seasons under Schiano in 2023 and 2024, but since then has mustered just a 7-16 record.
The 2026 season opened ominously, with Rutgers getting shellacked on national TV by Group of Six program UMass, which also collected a seven-figure paycheck from the Scarlet Knights for the game.
Four of the team’s seven losses through the first nine games of the season have come in blowout fashion, with each of those defeats against UMass, Indiana, Northwestern and Wisconsin coming by 16 or more points.
Finances are likely at the center of the Schiano situation. Rutgers has invested heavily in athletics, especially Schiano’s football program, while the school’s debt service has swelled.
Public records showed Rutgers had a $78 million budget shortfall in Fiscal Year 2025 despite receiving what was then a Big Ten-record revenue distribution.
Paid an average of $6.75 million under his current contract, according to terms reviewed by USA TODAY Sports and confirmed by Benchmark, Schiano would be owed approximately $18.9 million if fired without cause, even if the only cause is persistent losing.
His CAA-negotiated contract stipulates a robust buyout structure of 76.875 cents on the dollar for a deal that runs through Feb. 28, 2030.
Rutgers, which lost 31-10 to Wisconsin last Saturday, hosts Big Ten foe Nebraska on Saturday, Nov. 14.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rutgers’ Greg Schiano decision is puzzling. The money may explain it
