With the news yesterday of Schiano's decision to reject the Miami job, I got to thinking about how there are so many reasons I agree with his refusal. And how I think he has a legitimate chance to turn Rutgers into a perennial Big East contender.
State of New Jersey
Being the state university has defined advantages in the recruiting area. With an increased profile the university will start bringing pride to the inhabitants of the area and will in result have kids in the area growing up wanting to play for that squad. Before Schiano I doubt any little kid grew up imagining himself in a Rutgers Scarlet Knights uniform.
In some states this doesn't matter, there will never be enough talent in Connecticut for UConn to be competitive without searching around the area, but there is in New Jersey. Every year there are a couple of teams from Jersey on the National High School Rankings, in addition there is no college university in the area for kids from NYC to admire locally. If Schiano could get a solid grasp of Jersey kids, NYC kids, and continuing getting the players from South Florida he is currently getting, Schiano could have a talented squad at Rutgers every season.
Schiano is also a Jersey boy, born and raised. His parents went to high school in Jersey with Dicky V, he loves the state. His state pride and passion for New Jersey will only help him in convincing players to stick around and play for the state school. A quick name of a Jersey Boy gives me Dwayne Jarrett, he's pretty good, imagine him in Scarlet and White instead of Cardinal and Gold
Big East
The Big East conference is a key component of this deal. In conferences such as the SEC, Big 10 or Big 12 there are those perennial powerhouse squads that rarely have a down year and have a strangehold on the recruits of the area and the BCS bids. Creating an upstart program would be incredibly difficult to do in those conferences do to those teams. The Big East with the departure of VaTech, BC and Miami to the ACC is devoid of one of these schools. Rutgers already this season proved that it could play with the likes of Louisville, West Virginia, and possible upstart South Florida. And none of those teams would surprise any person if they had down years, unlike a Florida, Michigan or Texas. All of those squads are trying to do exactly what Rutgers is, get to the summit of the Big East and maintain it, its currently as even race as any conference in the country.
Notion of Starting a Powerhouse Program
What's better being a vagabond or creating your own College Football Giant where you are the hero of everyone. And for those that think it can't be done two names that come immediately to the top of my head Bill Snyder former coach of Kansas St., Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin and Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech. Every year under those coaches they were in the chase for their conference championships, were any of those schools more than basement dwellers before being taken over by these coaches, certainly not.
Schiano simply has to turn this years success into recruiting momentum and convince students to come to Rutgers because they now have a chance to play in the the BCS every year. If he can do that then Rutgers could easily improve every season.
If you wanted to start a Power Program from scratch Rutgers has all the ingredients to make it happen, all it needs is the right chef.
Penn St. & Miami
Why would he want to take on the Miami job right now, the school is in disarray, they have no momentum, he would have to take over and start afresh with his recruiting class, they have bad facilities as stated by all the media, and their fan base is awfully fickle. Miami right now is more difficult than its worth for a coach at a current decent BCS Conference School.
Everyone is proclaiming that the job he truly wants is Penn St., sure that is a fantastic university with a fantastic football tradition and with a little uptake on the recruiting trail I'm sure Schiano could rejuvenate the Nittany Lions. But why would anyone want to follow Paterno, how is that a winnable scenario. It's not as if Penn St. currently sits as a Big 10 juggernaut, if he went to Penn St. he would have added pressure, a no win scenario, a team with a more difficult path to glory, and he would never become the hero of that university.
State of New Jersey
Being the state university has defined advantages in the recruiting area. With an increased profile the university will start bringing pride to the inhabitants of the area and will in result have kids in the area growing up wanting to play for that squad. Before Schiano I doubt any little kid grew up imagining himself in a Rutgers Scarlet Knights uniform. In some states this doesn't matter, there will never be enough talent in Connecticut for UConn to be competitive without searching around the area, but there is in New Jersey. Every year there are a couple of teams from Jersey on the National High School Rankings, in addition there is no college university in the area for kids from NYC to admire locally. If Schiano could get a solid grasp of Jersey kids, NYC kids, and continuing getting the players from South Florida he is currently getting, Schiano could have a talented squad at Rutgers every season.
Schiano is also a Jersey boy, born and raised. His parents went to high school in Jersey with Dicky V, he loves the state. His state pride and passion for New Jersey will only help him in convincing players to stick around and play for the state school. A quick name of a Jersey Boy gives me Dwayne Jarrett, he's pretty good, imagine him in Scarlet and White instead of Cardinal and Gold
Big East
The Big East conference is a key component of this deal. In conferences such as the SEC, Big 10 or Big 12 there are those perennial powerhouse squads that rarely have a down year and have a strangehold on the recruits of the area and the BCS bids. Creating an upstart program would be incredibly difficult to do in those conferences do to those teams. The Big East with the departure of VaTech, BC and Miami to the ACC is devoid of one of these schools. Rutgers already this season proved that it could play with the likes of Louisville, West Virginia, and possible upstart South Florida. And none of those teams would surprise any person if they had down years, unlike a Florida, Michigan or Texas. All of those squads are trying to do exactly what Rutgers is, get to the summit of the Big East and maintain it, its currently as even race as any conference in the country.
Notion of Starting a Powerhouse Program
What's better being a vagabond or creating your own College Football Giant where you are the hero of everyone. And for those that think it can't be done two names that come immediately to the top of my head Bill Snyder former coach of Kansas St., Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin and Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech. Every year under those coaches they were in the chase for their conference championships, were any of those schools more than basement dwellers before being taken over by these coaches, certainly not. Schiano simply has to turn this years success into recruiting momentum and convince students to come to Rutgers because they now have a chance to play in the the BCS every year. If he can do that then Rutgers could easily improve every season.
If you wanted to start a Power Program from scratch Rutgers has all the ingredients to make it happen, all it needs is the right chef.
Penn St. & Miami
Why would he want to take on the Miami job right now, the school is in disarray, they have no momentum, he would have to take over and start afresh with his recruiting class, they have bad facilities as stated by all the media, and their fan base is awfully fickle. Miami right now is more difficult than its worth for a coach at a current decent BCS Conference School.
Everyone is proclaiming that the job he truly wants is Penn St., sure that is a fantastic university with a fantastic football tradition and with a little uptake on the recruiting trail I'm sure Schiano could rejuvenate the Nittany Lions. But why would anyone want to follow Paterno, how is that a winnable scenario. It's not as if Penn St. currently sits as a Big 10 juggernaut, if he went to Penn St. he would have added pressure, a no win scenario, a team with a more difficult path to glory, and he would never become the hero of that university.
Comments
Anyway, the only thing I worry about with Rutgers is that they are going to lose steam.
They are probably two or three years from bringing in the recruiting class that makes them serious national contender. If they are a Texas Bowl type team for the next few years, those freshmen and sophomores in high school aren't going to remember the team that shocked Louisville. They are just going to see an average team.
I hope that’s not the case, but it’s possible.