Greg Schiano reveals Rutgers football's 2026 rallying cry on 'Pardon My Take'

Greg Schiano brought the best of Rutgers football to Pardon My Take. The confident coach of a program in the midst of rebuilding and the hilarious man who is willing to talk about everything from cats to why he isn’t getting paid for “Piano Man” residuals.

During a roughly 15-minute interview recorded around Big Ten Media Days and released July 29, the Scarlet Knights coach discussed the program’s direction, the arrival of defensive coordinator Travis Johansen and the story behind Rutgers’ signature “Keep Chopping” mantra.

Schiano states his message to the 2026 team.

“Together, man. That’s what it’s got to be,” Schiano said. “We got to play for each other.”

The Team Over Me theme is going to define a really important year for the Rutgers Football program. The theme for the 2026 season will revolve around a much-improved defense, great institutional support, and, most importantly, a team ready to sacrifice individual goals to achieve collective success.

Schiano wants Rutgers fueled by togetherness

Schiano said playing for one another must be the force that drives the Scarlet Knights when training camp becomes difficult and the season tests them.

“We’re going to be much better, but we got to do it for each other,” Schiano said. “That’s what’s going to fuel that fire.”

This topic was revisited later in the interview when the President was asked how he knew he could lead Rutgers where it wanted to go.

“I know it,” Schiano said. “If I don’t know it, you better find a new coach, right?”

Greg Schiano exudes confidence but is a man on a mission. Rather than looking for individual highlights, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of specific position groups or even outlining several strategic adjustments that the Rutgers football team will employ in its pursuit of advancement, the Scarlet Knights’ head coach assured that the Scarlet Knights’ ascension will come as a result of each player’s determination to fight for and to go the extra yard for his fellow Scarlet Knights.

This also aligns with the kind of player that Schiano is trying to bring to his program. When he was asked to describe what a “Schiano man” is, he went on to describe more than just an athlete who can help us win on Saturday.

“Stand-up guy,” Schiano said. “Going to be a great father, great husband, do some important things.”

In searching for athletes for his team, Schiano revealed that he is seeking out players who have a pure passion for football. He asserted that the many external perks of modern college football, such as visibility and the commercial aspects of the sport, are just fine, as long as they never become more important than the actual playing of the game.

New leadership has changed Schiano's job

Schiano is in his second tenure as Rutgers’ head coach, but he told hosts Dan Katz and Eric Sollenberger that the changes above the football program have made the current moment feel like another new beginning.

Rutgers President William F. Tate IV Appointed Keli Zinn as director of athletics in July 2025. Schiano said that leadership structure has allowed him to place more of his attention on coaching instead of serving as the program’s primary fundraiser or leading its name, image and likeness efforts.

“Now we actually have resources that are going to match expectations,” Schiano said.

He described the difference as “vertical alignment,” saying Rutgers now has a level of institutional commitment he had not experienced across his 25 years of association with the university.

The new Rutgers Athletic Director, Keli Zinn, is shown before the start of the football game, Thursday, August 28, 2025, in. Piscataway. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Schiano continued on by pointing out that the defense will have a boost from Johansen’s arrival as the new coordinator for this season. Johansen spent the previous year at South Dakota. The first-year coordinator was the head coach for the 2025 season. Before that, he had spent 3 seasons as the school’s Defensive Coordinator.

Greg Schiano Admits First Candidate Did Not Work Out After 8 Days; Thinks Rutgers Got The Right Coach In The End.

“We’re going to be much better on defense,” Schiano said. “I’m excited to see that.”

Schiano retells the birth of 'Keep Chopping'

The conversation also allowed Schiano to revisit the origin of the phrase most closely connected to his Rutgers program.

Schiano said he first heard sports psychologist Dr. Kevin Elko tell the “chopping” story while Schiano was an assistant coach at Miami in 1999. A message to be distributed is a photograph of a man alone in a cold, dense forest. He could give up and go home, or he could find a way out. He picked up an axe, began by chopping down one tree, and then kept on at the next.

The story stayed in the background until Rutgers squandered a 20-point advantage and lost 33-30 in overtime at Illinois to open the 2005 season. When Schiano returned home on the plane he was searching for answers on how to get his team back to a point of believing and remembered Elko’s message.

He instructed a graduate assistant to buy an axe, have it painted red and bring it to the team meeting. Rutgers embraced the symbol and responded one week later with a 38-6 victory over Villanova.

Over two decades later, chopping at the line of scrimmage is an integral part of Coach Schiano’s vision for the Rutgers football program. As he often refers to “chopping” As his team works hard and strives every day towards their goal, it’s clear that the 2026 Rutgers Scarlet Knights will not be able to perform this aspect of the game as individual players.

For Rutgers to take its next step, Schiano believes everyone has to swing in the same direction.

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