On Sunday night, Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano made the decision to move on from offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson. It was a move that, Schiano says, was predicated on the belief that this team can still win games this season.
This past weekend, Rutgers dropped to 3-3 (0-3 Big Ten) following a 14-13 loss to Nebraska. The Scarlet Knights were shut out in the second half of that game while managing just 85 yards of total offense after halftime.
The timing of the decision was perhaps a bit of a surprise as coaching changes in midseason are not regular in college football. Schiano elevated tight ends coach [autotag]Nunzio Campanile[/autotag] to the role of offensive coordinator.
Campanile, well-regarded in New Jersey football circles, is the longest-tenured coach on the Rutgers staff. In 2019, he served as tight ends coach under Chris Ash. He then was elevated to interim coach midseason after Ash was let go.
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The decision means that Campanile has half the season to state his case for the offensive coordinator’s role.
“Well, I’ve been doing this a long time; I know a lot of people. My main focus is our football team, right now. There will be time, later on, if that’s the route we have to go,” Schiano said on Sunday night about the search for the next offensive coordinator.
“But it’s not like you don’t have guys already that you always keep on your shortlist. So that’s not an issue. But right now, my focus is 100 percent on our football team.
“I believe that we can win games this year (or) else I wouldn’t have made this change. You can do it the traditional way and wait till the end of the season…But I believe that we can win games this year if we play complimentary football. That’s why it happened now.”
Rutgers has lost three straight games, with two of those losses coming at home. In those two losses, both in the Big Ten, Rutgers has five interceptions thrown as the offense struggled to find its rhythm and flow.
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The Scarlet Knights have a bye weekend and then host Indiana on Oct. 22.
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