Rutgers football fans have every reason to be frustrated with the direction of the program. A highly disappointing 2026 season, losses to UMass and Boston College, and another year falling well short of bowl eligibility have raised legitimate questions about Greg Schiano’s future.
Despite the mounting criticism, Rutgers has decided to bring Schiano back for the 2027 season. It’s a decision many fans, including myself, do not agree with, and one that will require significant changes from the longtime
head coach moving forward in order to make good on his promises to turn things around.
However, while much of the conversation has centered on why Rutgers should have moved on, there is another side worth considering. From the financial implications of a coaching change to the importance of roster continuity and Schiano’s history of rebuilding the program, there are arguments for why retaining him could make sense, at least for one more season.
That doesn’t mean Rutgers should be satisfied with the current results. Rather, it’s worth examining the reasoning behind the decision and why the university believes Schiano deserves another opportunity.
The Financial Reality of a Coaching Change
One of the biggest factors in any coaching decision is money. Moving on from a head coach is rarely as simple as making a phone call and beginning a search for a replacement.
Rutgers would have to account for Schiano’s buyout, the cost of hiring a new head coach, and potentially bringing in an entirely new coaching staff. For an athletic department that doesn’t have the same financial resources as many of its Big Ten counterparts, those expenses matter.
Contrary to popular belief, the university is not just paying Schiano’s $18 million buyout. The university would need to come up with another $10 million to buy out his staff, spend $20-30 million for a new head coach and staff, and another $25 million to pay for their roster (which has to be done anyway). So the total figure could be north of $80 million for an athletic department that is already hundreds of millions in debt.
That doesn’t mean Rutgers should keep a coach simply because firing him would be expensive. At some point, the cost of continuing down the wrong path can outweigh the financial burden of making a change. Thousands of ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, and revenue could be lost if the team stays in purgatory on the field.
Still, the university has to consider whether it is in a position to make a significant investment in a new coaching staff and pay the large buyouts, while also supporting the roster through the transfer portal and NIL. That is Keli Zinn’s responsibility as athletic director, as she mentioned in her statement earlier this week.
If Rutgers believes Schiano can still turn things around, keeping him could be viewed as the more financially responsible option. The question is whether that belief is backed by a realistic plan to improve the program.
Schiano Has Rebuilt Rutgers Before… Twice
It’s impossible to discuss Schiano’s future without acknowledging what he accomplished during his first tenure.
When he arrived in 2001, Rutgers was one of the worst programs in the country. By 2006, he had led the Scarlet Knights to an 11-win season, a top-15 national ranking, and a level of relevance the program had rarely experienced in the past.
He remains the winningest head coach in Rutgers history, and his return in 2020 was built around the hope that he could restore that foundation, especially after Chris Ash had run this program completely into the ground.
His second tenure has included positive moments, including back-to-back bowl appearances and a 7-6 campaign in 2023. Rutgers also won the Pinstripe Bowl over Miami that season, giving the program a meaningful postseason victory over a former Big East rival and blue blood program.
In 2024, the Scarlet Knights went 7-5 with wins over Virginia Tech and Washington. They rebounded from a 0-4 slump with a 3-1 finish, the lone loss coming to #24 Illinois. They also played a strong Kansas State team very well in a 44-41 loss that foreshadowed the offensive explosion coming in 2025.
I know the “signature victories” argument is subjective, and I have been the first to tell Rutgers fans to raise their standards beyond just one win over Iowa or similar as defining success for this program. I personally don’t believe one win over a second-tier Big Ten team would be the miracle cure that would turn everything around, and if that is somehow the case, I don’t see why we can’t just use a different game we won to make that argument.
However, I also believe that the recent wins over Minnesota, Washington, and Virginia Tech, as well as the bowl games this team has qualified for and won, were huge steps forward towards that very same respectability that Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska have within the Big Ten. Maybe they weren’t enough. I don’t know. I think they were a strong start, and those next batches of wins would eventually come.
Although Rutgers never fully took that giant step forward, they were able to notch several victories over middle- and lower-tier Big Ten teams, dominate in nonconference play, and hold their own against stronger opposition at times, coming so close to pulling one of those defining victories that fans would remember for ages.
But past success can only carry so much weight. The expectations have changed, the Big Ten has become more competitive, and Rutgers needs to show that it can consistently compete in the conference. As Schiano himself said, he has not adapted quickly enough to the modern demands of college football, and the team has suffered.
Last season’s 5-7 team and this year’s disaster of a two-win season have seen the program take huge steps back, and that is unacceptable. It has undone much of the year-over-year progress that had been made, and fans rightfully believe it is time to move on from him and start over.
Still, the university may believe Schiano’s familiarity with the program, his recruiting relationships, and his previous success give him a better chance of turning things back around than an outside hire would have.
The Value of Roster Continuity
The college football landscape has changed dramatically with the transfer portal and NIL. A coaching change can create uncertainty for an entire roster, particularly when players have to decide whether they want to remain with a program or explore other opportunities.
Rutgers would potentially face another recruiting and roster-building reset if it moved on from Schiano. A new head coach would bring in a different system, a new staff, and potentially an entirely different vision for the program that would be unfamiliar and would take time to adjust to.
Instead of many players sticking around, many more would leave in the portal, and it would create another layer of uncertainty for a team that is already without its usual identity.
Keeping Schiano gives Rutgers an opportunity to retain its current foundation while making changes to the coaching staff and the way the program operates. Rather than starting over completely, the university can attempt to address the issues that contributed to this season’s disappointing results.
Of course, continuity is only valuable if the program is moving in the right direction. Keeping the same leadership without making meaningful changes would accomplish very little.
The Opportunity to Make Changes Without Starting Over
Perhaps the biggest argument for retaining Schiano is that Rutgers can still make changes without completely resetting the program.
The Scarlet Knights need to improve in several areas, from player development and recruiting to offensive consistency and in-game execution. Those shortcomings cannot simply be ignored because of Schiano’s history or the challenges of finding a replacement.
A decision to bring him back should come with an expectation that the program will look different in 2027. Whether that means changes to the coaching staff, adjustments to the offensive approach, or a renewed emphasis on player development, Rutgers needs to demonstrate that it recognizes where things have gone wrong.
Keli Zinn previously stated that Rutgers’ football investment sits between 20 and 30 million dollars, with an NIL estimatebeing at $19 million. Despite not having as much as the top teams, many programs in the Big Ten have done more with the same or less, namely Iowa, Northwestern, and several other programs.
Rutgers must make better use of its roster construction, as this year’s output was unacceptable. Getting manhandled by teams who spend a fraction of the cost on their roster, having a defense not much improved from last year, and an offense that dramatically regressed, starting at the quarterback position, was hard to watch.
Especially when the offense had future Sunday players in Kobe Asamoah, Antwan Raymond, and, of course, a generational talent at wide receiver in KJ Duff. Not having the right team to support them is blasphemous.
The Scarlet Knights have invested in being competitive in the Big Ten. Since they are choosing not to spend sums of money to clean house and start over, they should be able to focus on delivering the appropriate results with the resources they will have.
Rutgers Needs to See Results in 2027
Ultimately, there are reasons why Rutgers might believe keeping Greg Schiano is the right decision. The financial implications of a coaching change, the uncertainty surrounding roster retention, and his history of rebuilding the program are all legitimate considerations.
That doesn’t mean I agree with the decision. Most universities would have already let him go, and fewer would commit to his return before the season has even played out. It was a tough pill to swallow seeing the retention decision already being made, no matter how poorly the Scarlet Knights end this season.
Rutgers has reached a point where simply being competitive in a few games is no longer enough. The program needs to take another step forward, especially after a season that fell so far short of expectations.
Since Schiano will be returning, the expectations should be clear. Rutgers needs to show progress, compete more consistently in the Big Ten, and put itself in a position to reach a bowl game. Another season of disappointing losses and missed opportunities would make it increasingly difficult to justify staying the course.
The university has decided to give Schiano another opportunity. Now the responsibility is on him to prove that Rutgers made the right decision.
If not, with a buyout roughly $7 million less next season, Keli Zinn may decide to let Schiano go anyway.
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