Rutgers has filled another vacancy in its defense coaching staff as it is set to hire South Dakota cornerbacks coach Eric Finney to be the team’s new cornerbacks coach. He is going to replace former cornerbacks coach David Rowe, who left the Scarlet Knights to take the same job at the University of Cincinnati. Finney spent one season with the Coyotes, working for then-head coach Travis Johansen, who is now the defensive coordinator for Rutgers.
Before his time at South Dakota, Finney spent time as
a quality control coach/assistant defensive backs coach at the University of Cincinnati in 2024, as well as being the defensive backs coach/special teams coordinator at Iowa Western Community College from 2018 to 2023. His coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Concordia University in Chicago. Before his coaching career, Finney played college ball for Illinois from 2013-15, where he played in 35 career games and was named a captain his senior season in 2015.
During his lone season with the Coyotes, Finney coached Mikey Munn and RJ Stewart, two lockdown defensive backs at the lower levels. Munn, a sophomore, finished the year with five interceptions, tied for an FCS best. He also recorded a team-high 10 pass breakups, along with 59 tackles, three tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. He was named a second-team FCS All-American.
Stewart earned Freshman All-American FCS status after recording 54 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, three interceptions, and a forced fumble.
With their head coach departing, a transfer portal window has opened up for South Dakota players to commit to another program. With Rutgers landing Finney as well, hopefully, they can sway Munn and Stewart to join their ranks to help bolster their secondary.
With the addition of Finney, Rutgers has now added three defensive assistants in three days, as Johansen is bringing in some of his guys to help the Knights rebuild their defense, which was one of the worst units in the FBS last season.
