Below The Beltway

As the Rutgers Scarlet Knights have risen in the polls this season, speculation has been rampant that Coach Greg Schiano would be heading for greener pastures, and wallets, once the offers started rolling in. Well, not so fast.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — After weeks of speculation about his future, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano decided to stay at home.

Amid talk he might return to Miami to take over the troubled program, Schiano told Hurricanes athletic director Paul Dee on Monday to take his name off a list of coaching candidates.

“Rutgers is where I am going to be and Rutgers is where I want to be. I am not a candidate for that job and I won’t be a candidate for that job,” Schiano said.

Schiano, a New Jersey native, who was Miami’s defensive coordinator in 1999 and 2000. Miami coach Larry Coker was fired after going 6-6 in the regular season.

Schiano has orchestrated No. 16 Rutgers’ rise from one of the nation’s lowliest programs in the past six seasons, and led the team to its first bowl appearance in 27 years in 2005.

Good for him, and good for the Scarlet Knights.

And Schiano has big plans for the future, too:

At the top of his current wish list is an expansion of 41,500-seat Rutgers Stadium. Several home games were sellouts this season, including the final two games in which temporary bleachers added 2,000 seats to the south end zone. Season ticket sales have already increased by 5,000 for next season, Schiano said Monday.

He added that school officials “are all on the same page with what we want to build here.”

“We just need to keep moving forward. There are people committed at Rutgers to taking it to the level we’re talking about. That’s what’s important to me,” he said.

This is exactly what Rutgers has always lacked, a top-notch coach committed to building something. Now that they’ve got one, let’s see what they can do.

H/T: Brendan Loy

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