they lost a ton of production and arguably, the best wr we'll face all year though
The Lack of Coverage Allowed by Schiano is Wild
- Thread starter Caliknight
- Start date
A Lannister always pays his debts.......I understand it too. Have family in PA who are State Penn alums, nice folks.
As for the hate, that I also get...especially after the "win with honor" illusion was proved to be a lie.
But for BCU and Sarah...they are more of an afterthought than anything else. Don't even care...
lol
It's hard to look at like year seven imo, as NIL threw everything for a loop and Rutgers had close to none for a long time. Not making excuses, but it's a major factor when it comes to roster building, regardless I think they get five at a minimum and likely six if I'm making a prediction.
That was then this is now. This isn’t a brand new wet behind the years coach or anything close to that.
What you’re saying is a set up for an excuse: “Yeah but…”
We are beyond that in the matchups most of us are talking about.
Shelby would root for every Big10 team playing PSU unless an additional conference berth were riding on a PSU win. And Shelby would root for PSU in any playoff game against a team from another conference.I understand it too. Have family in PA who are State Penn alums, nice folks.
As for the hate, that I also get...especially after the "win with honor" illusion was proved to be a lie.
But for BCU and Sarah...they are more of an afterthought than anything else. Don't even care...
Fact: outcomes that benefit the conference benefit Rutgers. Money, visibility, relevance, reputation.
Fact: doesn’t mean we have to like it.
As Hyman Roth said…”This is the business we have chosen.”
Who is talking about “feeling better” about anything? The reality is we have 2 automatic wins on the calendar, and paper predictive metrics suchas ESPN analytics that correlate with the Vegas odds only have us as a projected favorite in 2 other games. They give us a 56% chance of beating Michigan State and a 53% chance of beating BC. These are hardly slam dunk odds. Our projected odds of beating Indiana, USC, PSU, and Michigan are all under 20% and the projected odds of us beating Wisconsin per ESPN are 28%. Odds vs NW, Maryland and Nebraska are in the 30s.
So in summary - to go 7-5 he’d not only have to go 2-0 in the toss up games where we are favored slightly, but also win 3 games against teams that currently project as heavy paper favorites vs us (3 wins that would, as of today, qualify as upsets).
The bottom line is, the decision isn’t binary in terms of whether Greg alone has a body of work deserving of a return in 2027. If all teams on the schedule turn out as expected (which of course won’t happen, but hypothetically speaking here), a 6-6 record would mean Johansen came in and did a very solid job improving a rock bottom defense and the offense did not implode. Greg’s not getting an extension with this outcome, but Zinn isn’t wiping out our defensive staff after that type of one year showing either. 6-6 would represent progress over prior year 5-7 - albeit modest, but enough for her to work with in building the brand. Our fans don’t want to hear this - but a quick radical change isn’t in Rutgers best long term interest based on where we are at in what she’s working towards. The only way we wipe out the coaching staff and start new in 2027 is if we’re forced to.
This is less about having reporters at every practice able to report on everything they see. I get why Schiano would keep a lid on some of that, but he still goes overboard. The bigger issue is the lack of content on X or social media. It's an easy advertising opportunity for a program starved for attention that we don't even try to execute on.
I still think these teams have more talent than us. Again - not impossible games, but we’re still the notable underdog.
Now obviously as the season unfolds some teams will turn out better and worse than expected. That’s why I’ve been saying all along it’s hard to set a minimum bar for wins other than rolling with 6-6 which would matter optically in terms of paper progress (improvement over last season’s record).
Let me add - I do think if the defense is trending up and there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic about what we’re returning on offense (QB situation especially) following the season- most of our fans would not at that point feel it was the time to eat the buy out and start from scratch. Waiting another year or so will just have us in a much better place to attract a top candidate. That’s simply our reality.
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6 would be ideal. You can sell stabilization even though it's a low bar, allows Schiano to come back peeling off another layer of his buy out, while allowing Keli and staff more time to build out and execute the NIL/fundraising apparatus.
same
the last two minutes of the first half of the Iowa game is exactly how this feels to me
Yeah 6-6 very different from 5-7. Even with opt outs we could also win a bowl game and get to 7 wins in that scenerio.
It's the best most realistic case. 6-6 keeps the train moving and doesn't force a decision that Keli desperately wants to be able to kick down the road. 5-7, hmmm. 4 wins or less and she's going to have make a move she's trying to avoid at all costs. She's going to get one crack at this and timing is of the utmost importance.
I think I'd have rather given my gardeners a break after watching UCLA run the same basic play for chunk yards over and over again.
I get it, I really do. I just think he hurts far more than helps us now. To your other point on social media, marketing, outreach; it's pathetic and that is generous
I'm sure the SM team (and Richie) are doing the best they can under the constraints they are under. I just went and looked at the pay side topics. It's Madden, Maryland donations, and info you can grab anywhere. It's no slight on Richie. What can you cover when you aren't allowed to cover anything?
I didn’t leave out anything. Go back and read the post you responded to. 3 gimmes 3 new coaches and 3 coaches on hot seat. 7 possible wins in those 9. Michigan and PSI, not one of the 7, has a better roster thats why they weren’t included. I mentioned the teams that have similar or deficient rosters. You on the other hand said the other rosters are “loaded”. Massive generalization.
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While the fan base erodes further. Penny-wise and pound-foolish management doesn’t work. The deeper the program falls the harder it is to dig out.
You heard it here first: “we finished 16th, ahead of projections. so we overachieved and I’m proud of our guys. With a couple of breaks we might have finished even higher. And we got better later in the season. I am so excited about the future of our program. Keep Choppin”. Grifter Gregory, Dec. 2026.
It's only pound foolish if Keli isn't able to continue raising funds and setting up channels. For a cash strapped entity, prudence is essential. She's getting one crack at this, and the more time goes by, the better chance she has of making a better and better hire. Half cocked measures are why we are in this position in the first place.
Keli is a professional who wants to win. She knows what she is doing. Just let her cook. Schiano winning 6 games will allow the meal to be better when it finally gets served.
6 wins, sure. But that’s unlikely. And improved ingredients can attract good candidates before the cake is baked.
Not many candidates would turn down at least $30M. The interested candidate line would stretch from SHI to Sea Girt.
Greg clearly has a super controlling personality which has its positives and negatives on the program. Calling the timeout in the Illinois game instead of just letting a guy attempt a career long game winner in bad weather is one of the negative traits. Based on that personality type, I'm not surprised he's so restraining with media coverage.
I think it is too but let's see how it plays out. In keeping with the theme, the cake is baked for this season.
No great option is coming to Rutgers with the ingredients not bought. They are going to want to see the financial backing that the program has. It's all a money game. It's why Keli and team are working incessantly on this. A lot of great candidates would turn down $30MM over 5 years to take a risk at Rutgers. We don't need someone who is looking to make a name for themselves. We need a proven winner. Again, it's the prudent move. Getting rid of Schiano doesn't solve the biggest problem- money. Solve that first, which keeping Schiano around for a couple more years helps with, and then you have the opportunity to make a better hire.
Patience isn't what is wanted, but it's what is required. Keli is been here for 1 year exactly. Let her cook.
GS has a record of deleterious TOs. He called one with like half a minute to go vs Norfolk in 2007 . The game was 45-0 at the half and GS should have just gone to the locker but RU kept playing and Teel ended-up hitting his hand on a helmet (sore the rest of the season). Against L'ville in 2013 GS called a TO with less than a minute to go. Stopping the clock gave L'ville enough time to score a TD in a game RU would lose. Latter on the coach said he believed his team won because of the TO. TO Schiano is also "Tackle-the-QB-on-kneel-down" Schiano.
I do know he's always controlling but this year with the QB battle I think he wants a cordon sanitaire with media. He had 2 hostile QB dramas and he hates those.
I thought you had Michigan and PSU in the coaching changes. Are there 3 other new ones? If so, I apologize. Can’t keep up with the carousel.
Yea they are coaches changes. Ergo 7 possible wins of the 3-3-3 named. They could be the only ones that could possibly be characterized as “loaded”. You said all opponents were loaded.
I think Schiano's ceiling coaching in the B10 is 6 wins overall, but I don't think his record will mean much for when he is replaced. He will be replaced when the money is there. 4-8 in 2026 and no money, we see him in 2027. 6-6 and small bowl win in 2026 but money comes in, then we get a coach that can run a modern offense (please) in 2027.
If this is true, maybe our belief in our new AD is misplaced.
If he’s retained at 4-8, after so many years of poor to mediocre, the program deserves to go full UCONN and wither away.
During his first stint Greg allowed high school coaches to attend practices during the fall camp. I went to a lot of practices. All I had to do was call an assistant AD and ask to come and he put me on a list. I showed up at the gate, showed ID and I was allowed to watch. This was true of any HS coach who wanted to come. GS also made tickets available to coaches. Each coach could get four tickets to any home game. They had a section dedicated to these free tickets. You had to give the names of the people using the tickets and they needed ID. You showed up at the will call window and they would hand you your ticket but you had to enter right there. It was pretty good.
I really attended practices so I could watch the position coaches. I learned a lot watching and listening to Kyle Flood during the group period. It was so quiet you could hear the dialogue between the coaches and players. There was an agreement that you would not post anything you saw or heard on message boards. GS had people monitoring the message boards. Probably still does. I knew coaches who posted stuff and they were removed from the list of coaches allowed to attend. I understand the reasoning. It was a good time. Stood on the field.
By far the most entertaining coach was Chris Demarest. He was a wild man, but the guy could coach.
I really attended practices so I could watch the position coaches. I learned a lot watching and listening to Kyle Flood during the group period. It was so quiet you could hear the dialogue between the coaches and players. There was an agreement that you would not post anything you saw or heard on message boards. GS had people monitoring the message boards. Probably still does. I knew coaches who posted stuff and they were removed from the list of coaches allowed to attend. I understand the reasoning. It was a good time. Stood on the field.
By far the most entertaining coach was Chris Demarest. He was a wild man, but the guy could coach.
Because Tate & Zinn recognize how behind the 8-ball that Hobbs put football with his refusal to embrace NIL so Greg is getting more than one year with borderline NIL to turn it around.
4 wins though will put a big target on his back rightfully so. The good thing is there are a lot of young guys that are showing their potential and we'll get to see them live this year.
Don’t forget also that while it took an odd back door plan D approach to get him there, with the latest DC hire, Greg has finally turned over the keys on both sides of the ball - for better or worse. First time in either tenure. If Johansen ends up working out and Kirk sticks around, having to keep Greg along for the ride for a few years might not be awful (or at least, it would be a change from the past).
This year is a major hurdle, of course, which is entirely Greg’s fault in waiting until after the portal closed to hire his DC. But if we do get to 6-6 it’s not impossible that the defense could continue to take positive steps with another full offseason. But again - I see 6-6 as a pretty big long shot based on the lack of talent on the defensive roster.
Perhaps I could’ve been more clear but I was referring to the 3 coaching change teams - meaning, just because they have a new coach doesn’t make those easy games because those teams are still loaded with talent.
On a separate but related note, I’m not sure how you can classify 3 games as gimmes for us considering we don’t even project to be favored in 3 total conference games.
Correct. New AD’s, every single one, say all the right things to satisfy the fans but the proof is in the pudding.
If he goes 4-8 and keeps his job then either the AD isn’t paying attention to the everpresent non competitiveness and abysmal conf win % or her role is only to keep the lights on.
Shelby isn’t sold on Zinn yet because he’s heard it all before and the results never matched the PR that office promised.
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