Greg Schiano may be headed back to the NFL.
The Ohio State defensive coordinator/associate head coach is expected to interview for the Patriots' defensive coordinator position, according to Gary Tanguay of NBC Sports Boston. Current Patriots DC Matt Patricia is expected to be announced as the Lions' head coach after the Super Bowl.
Schiano made headlines in December as one of the central characters in Tennessee's botched search for a new head coach. Schiano and the school had agreed to a six-year, $27.7 million contract. Yet the university backed out after protestors demanded he not be hired, because he had been an assistant coach at Penn State during the scandalous Jerry Sandusky era. Many observers contended Schiano had no connection to that scandal and Tennessee had treated him unfairly in bowing to what they called a mob mentality.
Schiano spent two years as the head coach of the Buccaneers in 2012-13, posting an 11-21 record. But he wore out his welcome there long before his departure, with his brash coaching style rubbing many players the wrong way. Prior to that, Schiano posted a 68-67 mark in a successful run as Rutgers' head coach from 2001-11.
While Patriots coach Bill Belichick has always tended to hire his offensive and defensive coordinators from within the organization, he's very familiar with Schiano's work. Belichick's son, Steve, played for Schiano at Rutgers.
Belichick sang Schiano's praises last fall.
“He’s one of the very best coaches I think in our profession," Belichick said (via MassLive.com). "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Greg and the way he runs his program and the job that he does. I would say the most impressive thing for me is the way that our players, which we’ve had a lot of Rutgers players come through here, the loyalty and the, I would say love of the program, the college program that they were in at Rutgers when he was there, how they maintained that for years and years after they had left. Not taking anything away from any other school, but I would just say that it’s extremely strong.
"I think the relationship that he has with his kids, with his players and how well prepared his players are to come into this league is exceptional."