How Rutgers ' Lengthy Defensive Coordinator Search Reflects on the Program Overall

Rutgers football is in the midst of its second lengthy defensive coordinator search in two years. Much speculation has circled around in the fanbase as to why it has been tremendously difficult for the Scarlet Knights to land a defensive coordinator.

Some might try to use money as an argument on why the search has taken so long. However, Rutgers athletics has been known to pay coordinators extremely well for their services. Kirk Ciarrocca, the Knights' offensive coordinator, for example, was paid $ 1.4 million in 2023, which at the time ranked 12th highest in the country. Joe Harasymiak made $1.25 million in 2024 as the defensive coordinator of the Knights

So if money is not the issue, then what is? Why has it taken Rutgers so long to find a defensive coordinator? This question does not have a single clear answer; multiple factors could play a role.

The first factor is that the two coaches the team was very interested in, Rob Aurich and Vince Kehres, decided to join other programs. Aurich went to Nebraska, and Kehres went to Syracuse. With these two deciding to go somewhere else, Rutgers whiffed on two top prospects they had shown interest in early.

The second factor of why this search has drawn on so long is the notion that alot of the coaches interviewed early on, besides Aurich and Kehres, were not deemed to be good fits for the program. Interviews with candidates were confirmed early on but they never seemed to go anywhere, per The Knight Report podcast. It is unclear who they had interviewed, just that they had interviewed people and that nothing came of it because those conducting the interviews on behalf of Rutgers, likely head coach Greg Schiano, seemed uninterested.

Another factor as to why this search is taking so long is that Schiano is a notoriously tough boss and can be difficult to work with, especially if the unit is not performing up to standard. He demands a lot out of his coordinators, especially the ones on defense, while other coaches might not push them as much. Since his reputation is very well known among the coaching spheres, that could lead to several capable candidates opting to go to other jobs instead.

One final factor is that Rutgers is not deemed to be a very desirable job for coaches in general. In addition to the struggles one might face with Schiano, Rutgers does not have the allure of a Michigan, Alabama, or even Penn State or Iowa for that matter. In fact, it has the opposite. The program has a negative image overall that can be hard for coaches to overlook, even if the team has had success recently.

Whatever the reason is, the fact that it has taken this long for Rutgers to find a defensive coordinator, and the fact that this is the second year in a row it has taken this long for find a DC is a bad look on the program in general. Rutgers defense last season was one of the worst power four defenses since 2000 and their failure to get a defensive coordinator has severely hampered their ability to land good defensive talent in the transfer portal. Those struggles are starting to bleed into the 2027 high school recruitment cycle now as well. Players find it hard to commit to a program when they aren't sure who their coach is going to be.

On top of all of that, it likely means that Schiano will have to step up and be the de-facto defensive coordinator. That takes away from his ability to be the "CEO" of the program, meaning that he will have less time to dedicate to other areas, such as recruiting, assisting in NIL fundraising and more. Not having a defensive coordinator hired already speaks volumes about how the job is looked upon in coaches' spheres, and it is affecting the Knights' ability to rebound from a disastrous 2025 campaign on the defensive side of the ball.

The inability to hire a defensive coordinator has derailed the off season enough that Rutgers fans will likely enter the 2026 season with more concern than confidence.

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