Pointed out the same last year. I sit above the RU bench and I watch the sidelines closely. Very unattached and very little coaching from anyone last night. Everyone was going through the motions. Only one that was trying to get people up was Chas Dodd. Vallone and Noonan were extremely mellow. Not like them at all. Especially considering both of their units were getting rag dolled.
I think it could ultimately be a good thing and turning point. It sucks now and I appreciate everything Greg did in 1.0 and the stabilizing when he first returned. But there has not been a breakthrough and there is stagnation. It's only fair that things will change, that's sports
Agreed ! We are 45 yd line 8 rows off the field behind the bench. The team looked like it was at a funeral not a football game all night! Even up 7-0 the team lacked fire.
Will say this much. Greg has a cult of personality. He is very inspiring. When he has a room full of players, fans, donors, people listen, and he has a way of making those in the room want to believe in what he is selling. He runs a very clean program. He is a good man. Both of those things are great, but not enough to win championships, which when Greg came back in, was his stated goal.
That's what I'd hope for. I think most fans have reasonable expectations not pie in the sky ones. Everything doesn't have to be IU but you can do things like what Campbell did at ISU, Bielema at Illinois, Lea more recently at Vandy etc...
Posted in the Zinn is on the clock thread but ChatGPT absolutely nails what we need to do when I asked about who should replace Schiano:
As I read somewhere, its a program defining loss. People remember Villanova and New Hampshire as awful losses. That was when the program was in the dumps. Last night's 'effort' was from a B1G team with a long tenured coach at the hands of a start up D1 team who hadn't won in 16 games. Putrid loss. I'm disgusted to deal with this team of inept coaches and players who looked like an average high school team last night.
If we opened with wins at Howard and BC, lost a decent game versus USC and then laid an egg versus UMass I’d feel much differently. Opening the season with an effort like that last night is unbelievable. We are either an awful team or simply overlooked UMass. Probably a combination, which both lay at the feet of one man.
Bielema and the Kansas coach, the latter of which is who Hobbs really wanted. He would have been light years better than Schiano.Will say this much. Greg has a cult of personality. He is very inspiring. When he has a room full of players, fans, donors, people listen, and he has a way of making those in the room want to believe in what he is selling. He runs a very clean program. He is a good man. Both of those things are great, but not enough to win championships, which when Greg came back in, was his stated goal.
The team has regressed far from the mean of 2023 and 2024. The 2023 team beat both teams that were in the CFP championship last year. That shows you that turnarounds do not take 5, 6 or 7 years. It can be done in 2-3 years. Cignetti is a bad example because he is a unicorn. Just look at Bielema at Illinois, who inherited an equally bad program. So what happened in 2024? Harasymiak left. And that exposed a fly in the ointment. Greg was forced to hire a guy who had no place being a DC or co-DC in P4 football. And it got worse after the 2025 season. It took so long to hire a DC, the DC and defensive staff could not recruit players/transfers.
While I was not 100% against Greg coming back, I was pulling for Jason Candle early on:
What if its Candle (Toledo) or Surace (Princeton) - Page 2 - Forums
What if Hobbs goes with Candle from Toledo or Surace (Princeton) instead of Schiano or Jones. Do people think either can succeed here and why or why not? Pros: Both are winners Cons: Neither has really had to recruit at B1G level Candle further Con is he is not from Northeast, let alone NJ...www.on3.com
Funny thing, names being tossed around as alternates were Al Golden (no), Butch Jones (he flamed out), and Jim Mora (who would have been a good choice considering what he did at UConn).
I don't agree on Leipold. He seems to be on the same trajectory as Greg at Kansas (Much like Fickell-did well at non-P4 level, and not so well at P4)
Yea seriously if we hire a coach coming off back to back 5-7 seasons then forget it. Like bringing in a starting QB coming off a 2-9 season. Loser mentality. I would seriously take a 12-0 NAIA coach before 5-7 FBS coach
Memphis' Charley Huff might be a coach to consider.
Yes he’s from Maryland and if he has a good year at Memphis I could see that possibility. Would be another quick job hop for Huff lol.
I put little stock or value in sports talk radio, especially the fan. A lot of emotional hand waving and hand wringing and lunatics.
I would think that’s anyone reasonable view point.
You guys have reading comp issues. I never said we should hire him now. I said he and Beilema could have been had before our fanbase did the sit in.
Agree, but it appears many staunch supporters are OK with his being let go, if that happens. I would not be 100% sure on Friday it will be Greg-that is probable. If Rutgers loses Friday night, the Howard game could be a different story. Keli Zinn has to consider perception for several reasons: (1) still do not have a jersey patch deal, and a horrific season will only worsen the market; (2) recruiting.
Again, a bunch of screaming Mimis with their "look at me!" hot takes. Everyone loves a good train wrecks, and Sports radio is full of screamers and complainers and train wreck watchers. I pay it no mind, except for when I see something posted here.
College football is it's own ecosystem. Could be wrong, but it supports itself. The problem is that football and men's basketball together are supposed to support a lot of other sports that draw very few fans and make next to zero revenue. Lazy people will scream the football team is losing money, when the reality is that the two major sports are not making enough money to support the non-revenue teams of the University.
Cali, You are 100% correct and I am guilty as charged! But here is my excuse for why I defended and lobbied for GS 2.0. I started my fandom for RU Football during the last two years of the Doug Graber era. Those Graber years were the beginning of Rock bottom for Rutgers Football. Then the Shea years, More rock bottom, Then Schiano 1.0 and finally we started winning, We had the magical 2006 season then regular bowl games, Then greg left. Then we had the Flood fiasco, That then turned into an Ash heap that hit rock bottom again. We were desperate, everyone had different ideas of who to getas head coach, I was in the Lance Leipold camp after I saw his Buffalo team come into our stadium and punch us in the mouth. Then Greg was available, he was the only coach who had shown us that we could win at Rutgers, knew NJ, and had just left Ohio State of Def. Coordinator. He was the logical choice in my mind to get Rutgers program back on track. To a great degree in the beginning he succeeded. He stopped the hemorrhaging of bad play and penalties. In short he stabilized the program. I do not know if it is NIL, or what but, no one expected us to be punched in the mouth by an 0-16 team that hasn;t beaten a P4 program in many, many years. That is inexcusable for a program like Rutgers. There is just no excuse for that kind of bad play not ever. Greg has had 6 years to get this program on track and we are paying him $6 million a year to do it and he and the coaching staff got destroyed by the worst program in the nation. As far as I am concerned he cannot recover from that.
www.cbssports.com
Oh I get that. My point was politicians should focus on making the state bBetter and not Gary's salary.
What professionals have been involved or do you want involved? Surely not the BOGs (and every AD we've had), as they're the ones continuing to make bad and cheap decisions over an over for decades like it's not insanity.
every media outlet that touches on sports is a fire with it.
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