Schiano Saved The “Worst Program In The Nation”

January 27th, 2012

Can new Bucs coach Greg Schiano get Tanard Jackson back to tackling again, and back to consideration as a top safety in the NFL?

Football is hardly a huge passion on the campus of Rutgers University, located in the armpit of the nation, better known as central New Jersey. Games don’t sell out despite a big campus, a massive surrounding population to draw from, and no other big football program nearby.

That’s one factor in what led Rutgers to be a true bottom-feeder of college football when new Bucs head coach Greg Schiano showed up there 11 years ago to lead a turnaround. Tyler Barto, of the campus Daily Targum newspaper, chronicled Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti’s take on Schiano’s legacy yesterday.

Pernetti can attest to the depleted circumstances in 2000, when Schiano took the job. Pernetti called it the “worst program” in the nation 11 years ago, when the Scarlet Knights were Big East afterthoughts.

The Knights never won the conference championship Schiano once promised, but the foundation Schiano implemented remains.

“This program is not a rebuild,” Pernetti said. “This is a move forward. This thing is priced to move in every way.”

Pernetti said he learned of the Buccaneers’ interest in Schiano a week ago, days before Oregon head coach Chip Kelly reportedly declined the Buccaneers’ offer. But talks between Schiano and Tampa Bay intensified during the last two days, Pernetti said, culminating with yesterday morning’s reports of the head coach’s hire.

So Schiano saved Rutgers and sent streams of quality players to the NFL, four on the current Super Bowl–bound Patriots roster. But Joe knows those accomplishments don’t mean much now and are hardly any guarantee of his NFL success.

Can Schiano convince Ronde Barber to return? Can Schiano, a former college tackling machine linebacker himself, develop Mason Foster and get something good out of Quincy Black? (No. Joe doesn’t believe the Bucs will cut ties with Black owing him a pile of money.) Can Schiano get Tanard Jackson playing like a Pro Bowler again? Will Schiano hire the right defensive line coach(es) to mold the pile of talent on the line?

These are just a small handful of the many questions Schiano will answer in 2012. Joe doesn’t think it will take much to rescue the Bucs from the cellar of the NFC South, but it will require Schiano to be damn good at his job.

6 Responses to “Schiano Saved The “Worst Program In The Nation””

  1. Sgt Mike Says:

    Ok so I can give this guy a chance but there certainly are a lot of news articles and comments that seem to be trying to JUSTIFY this hire. Top tier coaching hires usually do not require this much justification if any at all. If they would have hired someone like Marty or Sherman, the only justification point that could have been made is Cowher or Billick were not coming no matter what. Just saying. Good luck Schiano, I hope you can bring respectability back to our team.

  2. K2theSoldier Says:

    I sure hope he can get Tanard back to being an elite level player. He was absolutely dreadful this year, partly because of so much time off for him and this will sound absolutely crazy, but a lot of athletes do it: HE PROBABLY PLAYED MOST GAMES BAKED! Seriously, alota guys get high before games and will tell you it makes them better. Tanard got off the grass and couldn’t play while sober this year. Crazy, I know, but it’s very possible.

  3. Brad Says:

    Joe is the press conference at 1:00 or 2:00? I heard 1:00 yesterday but NFL network is reporting it at 2:00.

  4. thegregwitul Says:

    @Brad; I think the conference is at 2pm due to the weather.

  5. bucfanjeff Says:

    We have more talent than most think. We’ll be ok.

  6. mike Says:

    They are trying to justify this hiring because he wasnt talked about till he basically got hired…. Trying to throw out everything they can about him to bring everyone up to date