Rutgers Football head coach Greg Schiano found himself among the fourth tier of college football coaches ahead of the 2025 season.
Greg Schiano finished year five of his second stint at the helm of the Rutgers Football program with a 7-6 record. This was the second year in a row that he had the Scarlet Knights finish with at least seven wins, as the program continues its upward trajectory.
After those back to back winning seasons, he’s hoping to continue that trend in 2025 after adding one of the top recruiting classes in program history, which features a Top 10 transfer portal haul.
Despite the upward trajectory, some college football insiders still aren’t sold on Schiano.
The Athletic’s Chris Vannini, released his annual college football coaching tier list ahead of the 2025 season and Schiano once again found himself on the fourth tier of coaches aka the “Rising stars and steady hands” section.
Schiano is joined on Tier 4 by Tim Albin (Charlotte), Shane Beamer (South Carolina), Chris Creighton (Eastern Michigan), Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State), Dave Doeren (NC State), Mike Elko (Texas A&M), Jedd Fisch (Washington), KC Keeler (Temple), Chuck Martin (Miami-Ohio), Jeff Monken (Army), Pat Narduzzi (Pittsburgh), Matt Rhule (Nebraska), Bill O’Brien (Boston College), Barry Odom (Purdue), Deion Sanders (Colorado), Ryan Silverfield (Memphis), Kalani Sitake (BYU), and Jeff Traylor (UTSA).
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Here’s what Vannini had to say about the tier and the coaches in it:
“This tier includes a lot of coaches on the way up, led by Shane Beamer (rising two tiers) and Kenny Dillingham (rising three). Beamer just went 9-4 with a second Top 25 finish at South Carolina. Dillingham went 11-3 with a Big 12 championship and CFP appearance in his second year at Arizona State. The only reason both aren’t higher is their limited sample size.
You have to give Deion Sanders a lot of credit for taking over a one-win program and winning nine games in his second season. Having Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders certainly helped, but Sanders did a good job overhauling his staff, especially the defensive side, in Year 2. Sanders’ 27-6 run at Jackson State also boosts his standing.
New Charlotte coach Tim Albin moves into this tier after taking Ohio to its first MAC championship since 1986. New Temple coach KC Keeler, who has a long track record of lower-level success and an FCS national title, moves up after leading Sam Houston to 9-3 in its second FBS season. And new Purdue coach Barry Odom took UNLV to 19 wins in two seasons, the most since the Rebels became an FBS program.
“I think he did a good job at Missouri,” the first agent said of Odom. “I think that was a tough way to (follow former Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel). He quickly changed around UNLV and made it a really physical team.”
The group also includes coaches who have a solid track record without a conference championship, like NC State’s Dave Doeren, Boston College’s Bill O’Brien, Nebraska’s Matt Rhule and BYU’s Kalani Sitake.”
It’s an interesting tier of coaches, featuring some veteran coaches and a good amount of up and comers. As for Schiano, if he has a big year in 2025 with the tough schedule, there’s a chance he could be bumped up tier three next season.
Wondering what other Rutgers fans are saying?Category: General Sports
