Buccaneers Name Rutgers' Greg Schiano Head Coach In Surprise Move

Buccaneers Owner the Glazer family and GM Mark Dominik Thursday announced Greg Schiano will be the team’s new head coach, and they “view him as a serious, hands-on coach who knows how to make a few repairs,” according to Rick Stroud of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Dominik said, "We liked his leadership, his structure, his organization, and he's a football guy through and through.” Dominik said that he “will retain authority on personnel decisions, similar to the structure he had” with former head coach Raheem Morris. Schiano was “the biggest surprise among the three finalists for the coaching job, which included former Packers and Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman and Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 1/27). An NFL official said, "He will make what first-year NFL coaches in his situation typically make, which is between $2.8 and $3.8 million per year." In New Jersey, Tom Luicci notes Schiano's contract as head coach at Rutgers, which “paid him approximately $2.3 million per year, had five seasons left on it” (Bergen RECORD, 1/27). NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi said the Buccaneers “wanted to think outside the box,” and the hiring of Schiano “is a critical move for them” (“NFL Total Access,” NFL Network, 1/26).CBSSPORTS.com’s Josh Katzowitz wrote the hiring of Schiano is “a big surprise, considering his name wasn’t mentioned among the 11 other candidates who the Buccaneers supposedly chased.” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said that the two sides “met twice without any word leaking to the media, including Wednesday” (CBSSPORTS.com, 1/26).

WHAT'S THE WORD? In Tampa Bay, Stephen Holder notes the reaction to Schiano's hire “was generally positive,” and there was “a great deal of sentiment that he is a good fit for the Bucs given their undisciplined, inconsistent ways in 2011” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 1/27). But ESPN's Michelle Beadle noted the Buccaneers recently had a hard time selling tickets and said, "You’re going to go to these guys who are your potential ticket buyers and say, ‘Guess what, guys? We got the third-best coach in the Big East coming in. Time to get your season tickets'” ("SportsNation," ESPN2, 1/26). ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said, “It’s clear that the Glazer family really wanted to hit a home run in some way. ... The word was they were really digging in the college ranks, and clearly Greg Schiano struck a chord with them. I guess this is just to try to energize their fan base. I don’t know if that’s going to work” (“NFL 32,” ESPN2, 1/26). SI.com’s Michael Rosenberg wrote Schiano’s hiring is “the most baffling NFL coaching hire I can remember.” Rosenberg: “How do you go from Tony Dungy to Jon Gruden to Raheem Morris to Greg Schiano? Does that seem like progress to anybody on this planet?”  In the last three years, Schiano's Big East record at Rutgers was 8-13, and he “never won the Big East” (SI.com, 1/26). Columnist Kevin Blackistone said Schiano "was a hot name a few years ago but has turned into being a very mediocre coach in a fairly mediocre football conference in the Big East" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 1/26).