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Greg Schiano was the head coach at Rutgers for eleven seasons. Before he decided to dip his big toe into the NFL, he compiled a record of 68-67 including a 49-28 record over his last six seasons. Like many college coaches before him, the NFL hasn't been very good to him. In his first season at Tampa Bay he went 7-9. In 2012, he is 0-7 and it looks unlikely that he will make it to a third season. At Crystal Ball Run we don't wish ill will on anybody but let's be serious, he will likely be looking for a landing spot for 2014 so let's look at some college jobs that might be a good fit for Schiano…..
Let's start with some options in the MAC Conference. While it would be a step back from Rutgers, it would give Schiano a chance to get his feet back under him in a less pressure environment than he's been the last two years. He would also have a chance to build a program like he did when he came to Rutgers. Miami (OH) and UMass are both viable options here. Miami (OH) is currently 0-8 and they own the distinction of losing to UMass and Akron, who were widely considered the worst two teams in the MAC coming into 2013. Now Miami (OH) owns that distinction. Don Treadwell was fired in October so this is a position that is currently open and it was only a few years ago when the Redhawks were pretty good under Mike Haywood. UMass is currently 1-7 under second year coach Charley Molnar (who is 2-18 at UMass). UMass has just moved to the FBS so this would be another chance for Schiano to build a program.
Over in the ACC the most likely landing spot would be Virginia. Mike London is currently the coach for the Cavs and he's in his fourth year but hasn't turned the corner. If the Cavs decide to go a different direction after the season (which it seems like the fans are in support of), Schiano would be a good choice to pick up the pieces and it would give Schiano a chance to land in a better college spot than when he left to go to the pros. Virginia is also in an underrated recruiting area and the opportunity to get better quickly is there.
The best fit for me is the UConn job which is currently open after the Huskies parted ways with Paul Pasqualoni after he went 10-14 in his first two years and started out 0-4 this season. UConn would put Schiano in an area that he is very familiar with and in the American Athletic Conference, which he is also very familiar with. In this conference, he could get UConn competitive very quickly.
The Schiano/Tampa Bay situation will likely play out over the next few weeks, but there will be some landing spots for Schiano to come "back to school" if he chooses to do so.
