Greg Schiano named head football coach Archived article from Dec 8, 2000 By Steve Manas   Athletic Director Robert E. Mulcahy III (left) introduces Greg Schiano, Rutgers' new head football coach, at a press conference Dec. 1 Photo by Nick Romanenko Rutgers Photo Services A new era in Rutgers football has begun with a coach with strong New Jersey roots in command. Greg Schiano, the 34-year-old University of Miami defensive coordinator and a native of Wyckoff, Bergen County, has been chosen by Athletic Director Robert E. Mulcahy III to start the reversal of the Scarlet Knights' fortunes. Schiano will replace Terry Shea, who resigned Nov. 3. Schiano, a standout at Ramapo High School in the 1980s, was introduced by Mulcahy at a Dec. 1 press conference at the Hale Center following an opening welcome by President Francis L. Lawrence. "This is a good news day," Lawrence said. "The search for a football coach is one of the most difficult that a university athletic director can undertake. Why? It's done under the close, unrelenting attention of fans and the media. And that is especially true at Rutgers. Bob Mulcahy did precisely what he promised us to do. He accomplished the job with single-minded dedication, speed and outstanding success." Mulcahy acknowledged that his objective "was to have a coach in place by the first week in December. I didn't want to lose this recruiting season," he said. "Greg Schiano always was one of those names I projected." With his first head coaching assignment, Schiano becomes the youngest football coach in Big East history, a fact not lost on Mulcahy. "Am I concerned with his lack of experience and age? No," the athletic director emphatically told the assemblage, which included Schiano's wife, Christy, sons Joey, John and Matt, and parents. "Greg is much more than an impressive resume. His youth is a major asset. He is the right man for the job." Following his 1988 graduation with a bachelor's degree in business administration from Bucknell University, where he was a three-year letterman at linebacker, Schiano started his coaching career at Ramapo High. He was a graduate assistant at Rutgers in 1989 before coaching stints with Penn State University, the NFL's Chicago Bears and the University of Miami. He said that it's been his longtime dream to be head coach at Rutgers. "This was the one place I would dream about," he confided. "I'm thrilled to be here. It's time." Schiano, who has a five-year contract, stressed that he cannot turn around the Scarlet Knights' fortunes alone. "I can't do it. My staff can't do it. We need everyone to back the program. We need a commitment to make this work," he said, vowing to work closely with New Jersey's high school coaches to keep top talent home. He noted that he had met with a group prior to his formal introduction to the media. "They are going to make this happen," he said. "It's not always smooth," he added, "but there will be love in the program, and the players will know that." They also will quickly come to know that the new coach demands excellence in the classroom as well as on the field. "Rutgers football players will be student-athletes," he said. "That's the mission of the university. That's my mission."

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