We're now stretching the DC search into week 7 after former DC Joe Harasymiak took the HC gig at UMass on signing day (December 4th). The last two coordinator hires (OC Kirk Ciarrocca and the aforementioned Joe Harasymiak) were both made on the first week of January (1/7/22 for JH and 1/5/23 for KC). Here's what I think happened and where things currently stand with the search...
1) Safe assumption Greg went after Corey Hetherman, but given the terms of his extension he got at Minnesota, it should be pretty obvious (ie 100% buyout if he leaves for a B1G school, 25% if anyone else)
2) After that, it's likely Greg continued to aim high. I think a lot of his current top targets are/were likely either on NFL teams or CFP teams. That's the only reason that makes sense as to why this could be stretching out as long as it has.
3) There are quite a few big DC jobs still open (PSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Florida, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, etc) that could be holding up some candidate's decisions.
4) Given we're 7 weeks into the DC search, I'd imagine there's a couple candidates that have been contacted other than Hetherman. With kids now on campus and spring football is right around the corner, my guess is that the candidate(s) Greg could be after were on NFL teams or CFP teams. Here's a list of guys that fit that...
Rutgers (2006-07) - Director of player development
Rutgers (2010-11) - LB coach
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-13) - Defensive Assistant
Lukabu has made several stops in both the NFL and college ranks since then (Colgate, FIU, SF 49ers, Mississippi St, CIN Bengals, BC, CAR Panthers).
Lukabu was Jeff Hafley's DC at BC from 2020-2022, and his best season was in 2021. BC ranked third nationally in passing yards allowed (173.5 per game) during 2021. The Eagles were also top-30 nationally in six other defensive categories that season.
Notre Dame (2003)
Rutgers (2004-11)
Baltimore Ravens (2012-present)
Hewitt's brother (Matt Hewitt) is on the Rutgers staff as the assistant TEs coach and has been with the program since 2017. Hewitt's son is a top recruit in the 2026 class. who Rutgers is doing very well with. Hewitt has risen high on the Baltimore staff and is currently the assistant HC/pass game coordinator/secondary coach. The thought process here is that he could reunite with GS, make a TON of money (Rutgers has shown the willingness to pay top dollar for coordinators, nearly $2M/year for KC on his latest extension) and have the unique ability to coach his son in college.
1) Safe assumption Greg went after Corey Hetherman, but given the terms of his extension he got at Minnesota, it should be pretty obvious (ie 100% buyout if he leaves for a B1G school, 25% if anyone else)
2) After that, it's likely Greg continued to aim high. I think a lot of his current top targets are/were likely either on NFL teams or CFP teams. That's the only reason that makes sense as to why this could be stretching out as long as it has.
3) There are quite a few big DC jobs still open (PSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Florida, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, etc) that could be holding up some candidate's decisions.
4) Given we're 7 weeks into the DC search, I'd imagine there's a couple candidates that have been contacted other than Hetherman. With kids now on campus and spring football is right around the corner, my guess is that the candidate(s) Greg could be after were on NFL teams or CFP teams. Here's a list of guys that fit that...
Former Carolina Panthers LB coach Tem Lukabu
Lukabu grew up in NJ and his brother (Piana Lukabu) played under Greg Schiano in his 1.0 era. Most importantly, Lukabu worked under Schiano on three separate occasions...Rutgers (2006-07) - Director of player development
Rutgers (2010-11) - LB coach
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-13) - Defensive Assistant
Lukabu has made several stops in both the NFL and college ranks since then (Colgate, FIU, SF 49ers, Mississippi St, CIN Bengals, BC, CAR Panthers).
Lukabu was Jeff Hafley's DC at BC from 2020-2022, and his best season was in 2021. BC ranked third nationally in passing yards allowed (173.5 per game) during 2021. The Eagles were also top-30 nationally in six other defensive categories that season.
Packers LB coach/running game coordinator Anthony Campanile
Another NJ native who played under Greg in 1.0 and a part of NJ football royalty. There's been a long dance with Campanile returning to Rutgers going back to the beginning of the Schiano 2.0 reign, with it seeming like he was an NFL lifer at this point. Campanile is being linked with the open PSU DC job and it would not surprise me at all if Greg has kicked the tires here as well. This of all the guys on this list is probably the biggest longshot.Ravens Assistant HC/pass game coordinator/secondary coach Chris Hewitt
Hewitt is yet another NJ native who has close ties to Greg Schiano. He's only worked at 3 place in his 22 years coaching:Notre Dame (2003)
Rutgers (2004-11)
Baltimore Ravens (2012-present)
Hewitt's brother (Matt Hewitt) is on the Rutgers staff as the assistant TEs coach and has been with the program since 2017. Hewitt's son is a top recruit in the 2026 class. who Rutgers is doing very well with. Hewitt has risen high on the Baltimore staff and is currently the assistant HC/pass game coordinator/secondary coach. The thought process here is that he could reunite with GS, make a TON of money (Rutgers has shown the willingness to pay top dollar for coordinators, nearly $2M/year for KC on his latest extension) and have the unique ability to coach his son in college.
Rams Sr Defensive Assistant Sean Desai
Sean Desai is another local guy (CT native) who got his start coaching under Al Golden at Temple in 2006. Desai worked his way from a GA at Tempe (06-09) to LB coach/STC and followed Golden to Miami. He had a long stint with the Chicago Bears (2013-2021), with his final season in Chicago as the DC. He also was the DC in Philadelphia in 2023. Two NFL DC roles before he turned 40 is pretty impressive.Ohio State S coach Matt Guerrieri
Guerrieri is a rising star in the coaching world and only 35 years old. He's an Ohio native and spent 10 seasons with Duke (2012-21), rising from a GA to Co-DC/S coach. He left Duke in 2021 when David Cutcliffe retired and joined tOSU as a Senior Analyst before taking the Co-DC/S coach for Indiana in 2023. He joined back with tOSU this year as the S coach. He was widely seen as one of the few bright spots on the 2023 IU team that otherwise was pretty bleak.
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