Greg Schiano is officially on the hot seat after coaching just one game this season.
Rutgers suffered a historic loss on Thursday night, dropping its season opener to UMass despite being a 29-point favorite. William “Pop” Watson III had his way with Schiano’s defense, throwing for 197 yards with three touchdowns. His performance is why UMass was able to snap its 16-game losing streak.
After Thursday night’s game went final, Schiano admit that he didn’t have his players ready to compete against UMass.
“I didn’t have [the players] ready to play,” Schiano said. “I’m in charge of all the coaches. I’m in charge of all the players. So when you come out and lay a egg like we did opening night. We thought we had a great training camp. Never saw it coming, and you know we’re doing this a long time. Never saw it coming.”
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Schiano’s honesty during his postgame press conference isn’t going to earn him any sympathy from Rutgers’ fan base. In fact, most fans in New Jersey want him fired this Friday.
“This is embarrassing.. fire Schiano asap,” one fan said.
“Greg Schiano will likely be fired after 2026 no doubt about it barring unforeseen events especially after last season missing a bowl game,” a second fan wrote on X.
“FIRE SCHIANO TODAY … AND DROP THE PROGRAM,” a social media user declared.
“Fire Schiano! He’s terrible and always has been terrible. No back pay nothing, especially how he left us last time before signing day,” another fan commented.
Schiano’s second stint has been underwhelming.
When Schiano first coached at Rutgers, he turned the program from a 2-win team into an 11-2 program. He also won four consecutive bowl games from 2006-2009.
Since rejoining the team in 2020, Schiano has struggled to return to form. Outside of 7-6 seasons in 2023 and 2024, his squad has been under .500 every other year.
While there’s still time for the Scarlet Knights to turn things around, things won’t get easier once their conference schedule begins.
