OT: 2026 Coaching Carousel

rutgersguy2

All-Conference
Jul 9, 2025
5,607
2,756
112
Takes a good one off the market. Maybe with the 24 team playoffs some coaches might be like “I’m happy where I am with less pressure and can still achieve meaningful things here”

 
  • Like
Reactions: MADHAT1

rutgersguy2

All-Conference
Jul 9, 2025
5,607
2,756
112
Supposedly UCLA is working on a deal for Chesney…maybe he’ll like Dickert too. If he’s happy in LA, with less pressure and access to 24 it might be enough.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MADHAT1

Ru-baby

All-Conference
Aug 11, 2001
6,866
3,356
66
Would be too funny to see all the sideline whining, shocked faces and crying Phillip Rivers would do. If he was absurd as a qb-he was-imagine as a hc.
 

rutgersguy2

All-Conference
Jul 9, 2025
5,607
2,756
112
Would be too funny to see all the sideline whining, shocked faces and crying Phillip Rivers would do. If he was absurd as a qb-he was-imagine as a hc.
That’s a really risky one imo. I think he needs to hire an experienced staff to help advise him and even then you just can’t know what you don’t know until it happens to you. But who knows, we’ll see.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Knight Shift

rutgersguy2

All-Conference
Jul 9, 2025
5,607
2,756
112
I'm more interested in candidates in the next cycle.
Mike Jacobs at Toledo is one I’ve mentioned to keep an eye on. He’s come up from the lower levels and has won at a good clip, like 80%.

The caveat to him is other than his first job he took over solid jobs, rather than big rebuilds. He kept it going or elevated those places.

Similarly Toledo is probably a more advantaged MAC program. He’s 8-2 currently and in a 4 way tie for first. They needed miracle to win against Temple, lost to Pete Lembo’s Buffalo (another name that has kind of reemerged after some years off the radar) and struggled more than they should have with Sac St.

He’s a former OSU OL and you’d be betting on the winners know how to win kind of thing. If he finishes off this year well and has another good year next year he could pop up on more radars. He gets mentioned even now but the one year in the FBS is thin.
 
  • Like
Reactions: redking

Knight Shift

Heisman
May 19, 2011
92,081
90,242
113
Mike Jacobs at Toledo is one I’ve mentioned to keep an eye on. He’s come up from the lower levels and has won at a good clip, like 80%.

The caveat to him is other than his first job he took over solid jobs, rather than big rebuilds. He kept it going or elevated those places.

Similarly Toledo is probably a more advantaged MAC program. He’s 8-2 currently and in a 4 way tie for first. They needed miracle to win against Temple, lost to Pete Lembo’s Buffalo (another name that has kind of reemerged after some years off the radar) and struggled more than they should have with Sac St.

He’s a former OSU OL and you’d be betting on the winners know how to win kind of thing. If he finishes off this year well and has another good year next year he could pop up on more radars. He gets mentioned even now but the one year in the FBS is thin.
Jason Candle was once a hot commodity at Toledo, and he cooled off and wound up at UConn. Maybe he got burned out.

Can't recall the last highly successful MAC coach post Fleck, Brian Kelly and Dantonio who was as successful at next level.
 

rutgersguy2

All-Conference
Jul 9, 2025
5,607
2,756
112
Jason Candle was once a hot commodity at Toledo, and he cooled off and wound up at UConn. Maybe he got burned out.

Can't recall the last highly successful MAC coach post Fleck, Brian Kelly and Dantonio who was as successful at next level.
Dantonio was never a MAC coach.

Campbell was very good at ISU, he’s having a tough first year at PSU. Too early to say how that will go.
 

Knight Shift

Heisman
May 19, 2011
92,081
90,242
113
Dantonio was never a MAC coach.

Campbell was very good at ISU, he’s having a tough first year at PSU. Too early to say how that will go.
I had Dantonio misplaced- Cincinnati- same level as MAC. May was well be MAC. But I will take the loss.

Who was the NIU coach who bombed badly at Temple?

IDK why you are keen on the current Toledo Coach.
 

rutgersguy2

All-Conference
Jul 9, 2025
5,607
2,756
112
I had Dantonio misplaced- Cincinnati- same level as MAC. May was well be MAC. But I will take the loss.

Who was the NIU coach who bombed badly at Temple?

IDK why you are keen on the current Toledo Coach.
Rod Carey was the NIU coach.

Not keen on Jacobs, but just as one to watch to see how he does at the FBS level. No different than me mentioning Eck last year when no one here was really looking at him. No idea what Jacobs will do but the .800 winning percentage is impressive. I like Eck better because he went into tough situations and won.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Knight Shift

Knight Shift

Heisman
May 19, 2011
92,081
90,242
113
Rod Carey was the NIU coach.

Not keen on Jacobs, but just as one to watch to see how he does at the FBS level. No different than me mentioning Eck last year when no one here was really looking at him. No idea what Jacobs will do but the .800 winning percentage is impressive. I like Eck better because he went into tough situations and won.
USF is getting boat raced by Memphis. USF is Brian Hartline, for tOSU OC.
Golesh was only at USF for 3 years before moving up to Auburn this year.
 

Rutgers Chris

All-American
Nov 29, 2005
6,016
7,347
97
Whittingham looking like a one and done the way they’ve been playing. Today’s game reinforces that sentiment.
I’ve heard that he really had no intention of coaching after Utah and was ready to ride off into the sunset before Michigan came calling. Evidently his agent talked him into giving it a shot and worst case scenario he walks away with a nice buyout
 

rutgersguy2

All-Conference
Jul 9, 2025
5,607
2,756
112
I’ve heard that he really had no intention of coaching after Utah and was ready to ride off into the sunset before Michigan came calling. Evidently his agent talked him into giving it a shot and worst case scenario he walks away with a nice buyout
At Utah, I thought he was an intense type but don’t see any of it at Michigan. Some of the comments you kind of even wonder if all the marbles are there because of the lack of awareness. Like talking about Oregon buying players when you’re at Michigan lol. You’re not at Utah anymore.

Utah obviously saw something and maybe that’s why they pushed him out despite being their most successful coach . It looks like they made the right move. I thought it wasn’t a good idea but they’ve been proven right with how Scalley has done after taking over and how Whittingham has done ar Michigan.
 

rutgersguy2

All-Conference
Jul 9, 2025
5,607
2,756
112
At Utah, I thought he was an intense type but don’t see any of it at Michigan. Some of the comments you kind of even wonder if all the marbles are there because of the lack of awareness. Like talking about Oregon buying players when you’re at Michigan lol. You’re not at Utah anymore.

Utah obviously saw something and maybe that’s why they pushed him out despite being their most successful coach . It looks like they made the right move. I thought it wasn’t a good idea but they’ve been proven right with how Scalley has done after taking over and how Whittingham has done ar Michigan.
Forgot to mention Michigan's new president doesn't take office til December 1. Also they haven't gotten a new AD since Manuel has been ousted and the search hasn't started, without a president I suppose that makes sense. How does that affect Whittingham's tenure, I don't know.
 

rutgersguy2

All-Conference
Jul 9, 2025
5,607
2,756
112


Luke Fickell: Just when you thought you were off the hot seat, some really bad football pulls you right back in. On Oct. 24, Wisconsin was 5-2 after a big home win over Southern Cal. It looked like the administration's decision to give Fickell another year and more resources to build his roster was paying off. Some were even whispering about the Badgers being a sneaky playoff contender. Then, on Halloween, they went to Iowa and got thumped. No big deal, right? Iowa is really good. But now, after a 24-21 loss to Maryland (against a backup quarterback no less), the entire picture looks different. At 6-4, with some very winnable games left against Purdue and Minnesota, Wisconsin's improvement this season is undeniable. But you can't lose to a previously 3-6 Maryland team that fired Mike Locksley weeks ago and not expect a lot of heat. Coming off two losing seasons, can Wisconsin really make a coaching change if Fickell goes 8-4 in his prove-it year? Probably not. But if it's 6-6 or even 7-5, who knows. Losing to Maryland could make all the difference in a multimillion dollar decision.

Greg Schiano: The whole point of Rutgers pushing its way into the Big Ten was to eventually make enough money through its conference membership that it wouldn't have to settle for bad football. And yet here we are, a dozen years into being a Big Ten program, and Rutgers can't afford the $28 million it would take to get rid of a coaching staff that is 2-8 this year after a 31-0 loss at home to Nebraska. That was the essence of athletic director Keli Zinn's announcement earlier in the week that Schiano would return. Even though expectations have not been met and standards have not been lowered, Rutgers is giving one more year to a coach who is 16-45 in the Big Ten. What does that mean in tangible terms? Barring a course correction that is, frankly, hard to envision, we're going to do this all over again next year. Rutgers fans will spend an entire offseason mad at the administration. The atmosphere around the program will be toxic. And much like Florida State this year with Mike Norvell, the season will be a long march of paper bags over heads, booing at lineup introductions and airplanes with messages flying overhead. Nobody ever wants to spend $28 million on a fired coaching staff, but if all that comes to pass, it'll seem like a bargain.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rutgers Chris

Knight Shift

Heisman
May 19, 2011
92,081
90,242
113


Luke Fickell: Just when you thought you were off the hot seat, some really bad football pulls you right back in. On Oct. 24, Wisconsin was 5-2 after a big home win over Southern Cal. It looked like the administration's decision to give Fickell another year and more resources to build his roster was paying off. Some were even whispering about the Badgers being a sneaky playoff contender. Then, on Halloween, they went to Iowa and got thumped. No big deal, right? Iowa is really good. But now, after a 24-21 loss to Maryland (against a backup quarterback no less), the entire picture looks different. At 6-4, with some very winnable games left against Purdue and Minnesota, Wisconsin's improvement this season is undeniable. But you can't lose to a previously 3-6 Maryland team that fired Mike Locksley weeks ago and not expect a lot of heat. Coming off two losing seasons, can Wisconsin really make a coaching change if Fickell goes 8-4 in his prove-it year? Probably not. But if it's 6-6 or even 7-5, who knows. Losing to Maryland could make all the difference in a multimillion dollar decision.

Greg Schiano: The whole point of Rutgers pushing its way into the Big Ten was to eventually make enough money through its conference membership that it wouldn't have to settle for bad football. And yet here we are, a dozen years into being a Big Ten program, and Rutgers can't afford the $28 million it would take to get rid of a coaching staff that is 2-8 this year after a 31-0 loss at home to Nebraska. That was the essence of athletic director Keli Zinn's announcement earlier in the week that Schiano would return. Even though expectations have not been met and standards have not been lowered, Rutgers is giving one more year to a coach who is 16-45 in the Big Ten. What does that mean in tangible terms? Barring a course correction that is, frankly, hard to envision, we're going to do this all over again next year. Rutgers fans will spend an entire offseason mad at the administration. The atmosphere around the program will be toxic. And much like Florida State this year with Mike Norvell, the season will be a long march of paper bags over heads, booing at lineup introductions and airplanes with messages flying overhead. Nobody ever wants to spend $28 million on a fired coaching staff, but if all that comes to pass, it'll seem like a bargain.

 

Knight Shift

Heisman
May 19, 2011
92,081
90,242
113
Are the psychotic LSU fans happy now? They should be forced to hire Greg as punishment.
Be careful what you wish for.

 
The Knight Report

Latest

  1. 01 The Knight Report Rutgers Football PFF Grades + Snap Counts versus Nebraska
  2. 02 The Knight Report Rutgers vs Penn State odds: Point spread released on Scarlet Knights, Nittany Lions
  3. 03 The Knight Report Football Every throw from Rutgers Football Quarterbacks versus Nebraska
  4. 04 The Knight Report Rutgers Football Postgame Show: Nebraska Cornhuskers Edition - TKR Pod
  5. 05 The Knight Report Rutgers Football HC Greg Schiano's Nebraska Postgame Press Conference