Greg Schiano will return as Rutgers coach in 2027, a decision that AD says serves program's 'best long-term interests'

Rutgers is 2-7, and a meager 1-5 in Big Ten play, this season. The Scarlet Knights are already guaranteed to finish with a losing record for the second year in a row.

They're again in the basement of an 18-team conference that's seen Indiana and UCLA pull off instant turnarounds in recent years, and, yet, they're not making a change at the head-coaching position, Rutgers athletic director Keli Zinn announced Tuesday .

The Scarlet Knights will be coached by Greg Schiano in 2027, Zinn said in a statement. While announcing his retention, she stressed her "obligation to make decisions that serve the best long-term interests" of Rutgers.

Next season will mark Schiano's 19th total leading the Scarlet Knights, including his eighth consecutive in his second stint at the helm.

"Let me be very clear: This decision is not reflective of a lowering of standards or an indication that everything is fine. It is not," Zinn said. "This is instead a reflection of my belief that we have an opportunity to make meaningful changes that will strengthen our roster and better position our program to compete and win at a higher level."

"Let me be very clear: This decision is not reflective of a lowering of standards or an indication that everything is fine. It is not," Zinn said.

"This is instead a reflection of my belief that we have an opportunity to make meaningful changes that will strengthen our roster and better position our program to compete and win at a higher level."

Zinn wrote that she and Schiano, 60, have met on several occasions to forecast what's ahead for the program, and she noted that she's encouraged by the plan he's concocted. As reported by ESPN , the hope is that having a defensive staff in place (Rutgers didn't hire a DC until February last cycle) and an uptick in transfer portal hits can help the program evolve.

"While we both recognize that plans alone do not produce wins, we share in a belief that necessary changes will help deliver the competitive results we all expect for our football program," she said.

Schiano first held the head-coaching title at Rutgers from 2001-2011. It took him a while, but he ultimately built the program into a Big East power. That sentence, though, suggests just how long ago that was, considering Big East football folded after the 2012 season .

His 2006 Rutgers team won 11 games — tied for the most in single-season program history — and ranked as high as No. 7 in the AP Top 25. With Ray Rice starring at running back and the Scarlet Knights trotting out a stifling defense that had twins Devin and Jason McCourty, Schiano's crew was formidable that season.

It was the start of something great in Piscataway, New Jersey. From 2006-2011, Rutgers won eight-plus games five times in a six-season span. That success paved the way for Schiano to land the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' head job. He occupied that post for only two seasons, however, and eventually returned to the collegiate ranks, where he was an assistant at Ohio State before being named Rutgers' leading man once more.

He took over in advance of the 2020 campaign and hasn't brought the Scarlet Knights back to the same level he had them at down the stretch of his first go-around.

Back-to-back 7-6 seasons in 2023 and 2024 were somewhat promising. In the latter, the the Scarlet Knights won four Big Ten games, their most in a season since joining the conference in 2014.

But, despite stronger quarterback play than it's often had — thanks to 2026 seventh-round pick and current Washington Commanders QB Athan Kaliakmanis — Rutgers regressed to 5-7 last season.

The Scarlet Knights' defense lagged, clocking out in the bottom 20 nationally in points per game allowed (31.8). That unit has been even worse this season, ranking 125th in the country with 32.4 points per game given up.

"Our 2026 football season has fallen well below our expectations and has understandably led to frustration from our passionate fans and supporters," Zinn said. "As your Director of Athletics and as a competitor at heart, I feel those same emotions. Our results are not acceptable for the expectations we have for our football program and for the athletics program we are building."

Zinn emphasized in her statement that she has faith in what Schiano has in store for the program and, more generally, "in what is possible at Rutgers."

Schiano, 101-115 all-time guiding the Scarlet Knights, is the program's winningest coach. His contract takes him through the 2029 season, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel , who also reported Tuesday that it would have cost Rutgers close to $28 million to dismiss the entire staff, with the school owing Schiano alone $18.6 million if he had been fired this year.