Bingo.
Not having the NIL resources to attack the portal aggressively was a major deterrent in hiring a defensive coordinator. Every serious candidate looked at the roster, saw the massive rebuild needed after losing 8–9 key contributors to graduation plus Turay and Bailey, and their first question was, “What NIL resources do I have to work with?” We all know the answer to that.
And before anyone jumps in with, “We did have resources,” don’t be foolish. We had some, but nowhere near enough to:
- Recruit high school kids at a competitive level,
- Retain all of the impact players we wanted to keep (we lost Konga, Turay, and Bailey to Louisville), and
- Overhaul a defense that needed something like nine new starters.
This was never about coaches not wanting to work for Greg. It was about whether they’d have the tools to do the job at a level that wouldn’t be career suicide. Most people here wouldn’t take a job for good money right now if the structure and resources were so limited that failure was almost guaranteed—and that failure could stain their résumé for the next 10–20 years. Coaches think the same way.
We basically lost an entire starting-caliber defense. Here are the guys who were starters or clear starting-level two-deep on the 2024 D and gone for 2025:
Defensive Line
- Aaron Lewis (DE) – Long-time edge starter, emotional leader up front, gone via graduation.
- Kyonte Hamilton (DT/NT/EDGE) – Starting nose/inside guy who also kicked out to end late in 2024, graduated and was a 7th-round NFL pick.
- Malcolm Ray (DT) – Starting interior DL, steady presence inside, graduation.
- Wesley Bailey (DE) – Veteran starting-caliber edge, left via transfer to Louisville; his departure was described as “a bit messy.”
Linebacker
- Tyreem Powell (LB) – Multi-year starter and one of their best overall defenders when healthy, graduation (and injuries derailed what could’ve been a Day 2 draft shot).
- Mohamed Toure (LB/EDGE) – Longtime havoc guy off the edge, led the team in sacks in every season he played; initially announced he was coming back, then transferred to Miami right before the spring portal window closed.
Secondary
- Robert Longerbeam (CB) – Three-year starting corner, graduation and 6th-round NFL draft pick.
- Eric Rogers (CB) – Starter on the outside when healthy, graduation.
- Desmond Igbinosun (NB / safety) – Multi-year starter at nickel/third safety, graduation.
- Shaquan Loyal (S) – Starting safety who made multiple high-leverage plays over his career, graduation.
- Flip Dixon (S) – Transfer safety who was their defensive MVP in 2023 and projected starter in 2024 before injuries; graduation, and his absence was called out as a turning point in the 2024 collapse.
If you draw it up on a whiteboard, that’s:
- 4 starting-level DL
- 2 starting-level LBs
- 5 starting-level DBs
…which is why national previews literally describe 2025 Rutgers as having an entirely new starting 11 on defense compared to 2024 training camp.
So I ask…. What quality DC would walk into this job regardless of salary and take a full rebuild on like this without and NIL resources to address the issue?? None! That’s on top of Greg being demanding, but he is demanding BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BE! Just like our players our coaches have to work harder here than at other places to overcome our deficiencies.
We NEED to get our NIL in order, so when we need a new OC, DC or HC we have that carrot to attract them. Without that resource it will be very hard to attract an any coach to come here. If we get NIL and then can get dominant P5 players the coaches job becomes easier and the job more attractive. There is a order and cycle to this…
on GS…he’s not the answer…period.
