Did Boston College's Loss To Notre Dame Push Greg Schiano To Withdraw From Rutgers Job?
Boston College may not be the most damaged program from its 42-7 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday. The loss all-but ensured the end of the Steve Addazio era at the Heights, but the pre-emptive vacancy of that position could be the last bit of assurance that allowed Greg Schiano to walk away from the Rutgers head coaching offer the following day.
Schiano was ready to relocate to the greater New England area earlier this year when he accepted the Patriots defensive coordinator job. He resigned only two months after originally accepting, but unconfirmed rumors from anonymous Rutgers professors indicate that his daughter, Katie Schiano, intends to go to school somewhere in Boston. If those rumors are true, then it is possible that Schiano has been prioritizing employment in New England all along.
Reports say that Schiano was seeking an eight-year $32 million contract, while Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs was only willing to accommodate six years and $24 million. His demands also included over $150 million in facility upgrades and the now-infamous private jet access.
The two parties first met to discuss these terms on Tuesday, November 5. Boston College was just coming off an impressive win over Syracuse, was over .500 and right in the mix for bowl eligibility. In the three weeks since, the Eagles went winless in a stretch that may have reopened Schiano's other position of choice.
According to a report by NJ Advance Media, Rutgers was also rescinding some of the provisions of Schiano's original demands during that three week stretch as well.
“Back in Columbus, they all agreed to the four pillars of the terms,’’ a person familiar with the Schiano side of the negotiations said. “Then Rutgers started to renege on some of those things and Greg made concession after concession.’’
The need for Schiano to make those concessions in order to rejoin the college head coaching ranks, may have ended after the latest entree in the Holy War Rivalry, the most lopsided game in the series since 1992.
The general consensus among New Jersey in regards to a Schiano return to the Banks, was not a matter of if, but when. The expression that was frequently uttered, was that the deal was “at the 1-yard line.” Notre Dame’s stomping of Boston College may have been the goal-line-stand that has since sunk the Rutgers football community into a clinic of misery and outrage.
Schiano’s withdrawal from the Rutgers job was both abrupt and suspiciously timely with the loss that has seemingly ensured Addazio’s dismissal from Boston College. It has also caused possible irreversible damage to Rutgers as a program, with mass boycotts of season tickets and the withdrawal of donations from high-profile boosters.
The Eagles catastrophic loss to the Irish in South Bend, Indiana may now be manifesting with the current catastrophe in Piscataway, New Jersey.
While many Boston College fans’ cries for the firing of Addazio were amplified after the loss on Saturday, those cries were swiftly drowned out by Rutgers fans’ cries for the firing of Hobbs on Sunday.
Speculation about Schiano making the move to Chestnut Hill was swirling even before he declined the Rutgers offer. Now, he is looking like a leading candidate to lead the Eagles in 2020.
If Schiano does end up taking the Boston College job after Addazio’s possible firing at the end of the season, then the most recent game between Boston College and Notre Dame will take on a whole new level of historical prominence, and not even just among fans of those two schools.
Combine that with the current rumors of a mutual interest for Addazio to become the next Rutgers head coach, then it might make for a perfect recipe for a future ESPN 30 for 30. Boston College and Rutgers are scheduled to play each other in 2022, in a game that may receive national spotlight for the most ironic of reasons.