Eric Finney Joins Rutgers Staff as Cornerbacks Coach

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights made another solid pickup this offseason. Eric Finney will be joining the Rutgers coaching staff as the cornerbacks coach.

Defense has been a major problem for the Scarlet Knights in the last two seasons, particularly in 2025. Finney knows football and brings out the best in his players. Finney spent the 2025 campaign with South Dakota as the cornerbacks coach. Before that, he made a stop at Cincinnati, coaching the Bearcats in the Big 12.

Finney is also a former college football player before embarking on his coaching journey. He attended the University of Illinois from 2013 to 2015. In 35 career games, he recorded 70 tackles. His best season came during his senior year. His leadership and hard work earned him the captaincy. Finney recorded 35 tackles in eight starts.

College football is where his heart is. Many college athletes dream of playing in the NFL, but Finney applied his leadership skills to coaching. He started at Concordia University. He set the tone during his two seasons there. Two of his players received all-conference selections because of his presence on the sideline. In addition, Concordia had one of the top pass defenses in the NACC in 2016.

With Finney coming to New Jersey, the Scarlet Knights have bolstered their defensive coaches, and there’s a chance that the team's defense will get better in 2026. Will Rutgers have a dream-team defense of coaching? We will have to tune in to see how it all comes together.

It seems that wherever Finney goes, his defensive players get better and earn honors for their performances. He has a good track record in his coaching career so far. Now he’s in the Big Ten. There’s a lot of heavy competition with Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota, Indiana, and the list goes on. Finney, alongside the rest of the defensive assistants, must come up with a perfect strategy to lead Rutgers to one of the best defenses in the Big Ten.

The next three to five years will say a lot about the moves Rutgers is making now. Programs don’t get better overnight. It takes a few seasons for everything to start coming together, and the players still need to go out on the field to perform and stay healthy.

Rutgers’ personnel and fan base are hoping that Finney can be a major factor in the turnovers for this Rutgers defense. The goal is to have an elite defense and reach 10 wins or more. That’s the standard for the Scarlet Knights.