Rutgers goes for experience not rising potential in offensive coach hires
Rutgers Football head coach Greg Schiano appears to have valued two things in his offensive assistant coach hirings this offseason. The first is connections. Schiano either has worked with or has known new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, wide receivers coach Dave Brock, and offensive line coach Pat Flaherty for a while. The other main attribute is experience.
The hires Schiano has made are older (Flaherty is 66, Ciarrocca is 57, and Brock is 55), so it remains to be seen how they do on the recruiting trail. Flaherty also hasn’t coached in college since 1999 (he was an analyst with Penn State from 2019-20), and Brock has been in the NFL since 2016, but they all have a monumental amount of experience coaching big time college football or in the pro ranks. They also have a track record of developing players over the years.
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Schiano often calls his team a “developmental program”. He knows Rutgers isn’t likely to out-recruit the likes of Ohio State any time soon, so he will need to bring in less-talented players that fit the Scarlet Knights way and get them better year in and year out. Brock, Ciarrocca, and now Flaherty have proven to do just that.
“Pat is a highly-respected coach and someone I have known for a long time,” Schiano said. “His experience will be beneficial to the development of our offensive line. We all know the Big Ten is a line-of-scrimmage league and Pat understands what it takes to be successful at the highest level.”
Flaherty, who previously coached at Rutgers from 1984-91, is a two-time Super Bowl Champion with the New York Giants and brings over four decades of experience. With the Giants from 2004-15, he helped the Giants offense finish in the top 10 in the NFL six times. He had a 1,000 rusher in seven years and had three pro bowlers in former Scarlet Knight Shaun O’Hara, David Diehl, and Chrhis Snee. Kareem McKenzie and Rich Seubert also saw improvements in their play over the years along the line. Eli Manning threw for 4,000 yards five times while Flaherty was there. The 2012 team led the NFL with just 20 sacks allowed while the Giants scored 429, the second-most in franchise history. In 2010, the Giants gave up just 16 sacks, the least in team history, and the 2008 team set the franchise record with 2,518 rushing yards.
Seubert was undrafted in 2001, O’Hara was undrafted in 2000, and Diehl was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft in 2003.
Flaherty also guided the San Francisco 49ers to the fourth-best rushing attack in 2016, and helped the Jacksonville Jaguars give up only 24 sacks and get to the AFC Championship game in 2017. Flaherty won a national title with Penn State while he coached up the offensive line.
Brock was the co-OC and WR coach in 2012 when Rutgers tied for first place in the Big East. Brandon Coleman set the school record for receiving touchdowns with 10 that year. When he was with the Atlanta Falcons, Brock helped Calvin Ridley register single-season highs for yards and receivings and went to the Pro Bowl. Former Scarlet Knight Mo Sanu and Ridley had over 800 yards apiece in 2018 and Julio Jones was an All-Pro that year under Brock’s watch.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Brock mentored NFL standouts Jordy Nelson at Kansas State, Hakeem Nicks at North Carolina, and Marques Colston at Hofstra. Kansas State ranked 18th nationally in passing and 19th in scoring while he was the OC and WR coach in 2008. Nelson was a Biletnikoff Award finalist in 2007. He set 11 KSU records during his time there. Nicks was an Honorable Mention Freshman All-American in 2006 and Jarwarski Pollock had the most catches with 177 while Brock was at UNC. Brock even made his mark at Temple as well.
“We welcome Dave and his family back to New Jersey and Rutgers,” Schiano said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge having a track record of developing wide receivers at the highest level. This is an exciting time for our program and we are glad to have Dave on board.”
Ciarrocca has over 30 years of coaching experience including 19 as an OC. He won two bowl games previously at Rutgers from 2008-10 and coached 26 players who were drafted including six in the first round. Ciarrocca coached Kenny Britt, Tiquan Underwood, and Tim Brown at Rutgers. Britt was an All-American and left with a program record 1,371 yards in a season. He also helped Tom Savage win Freshman AA honors at QB in 2009 and saw two players get drafted in Anthony Davis and Sanu. Several players of his coaching in the Big Ten had great seasons as well. Center John Michael Schmitz and RB Mo Ibrahim were AAs this past fall. In 2020, PSU ranked second in the conference in total offense and third in scoring with Jahan Dotson, who eventually became a first round pick. Receivers Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman had 1,000 receivers at Minnesota in 2019 while Rodney Smith ran for 1,000. Tanner Morgan that year set several passing records as well.
At Western Michigan, Ciarrocca called plays for a Broncos team that averaged 41.6 points in 2016. Corey Davis was an All-American at WR. He’s the only player to amass at least 300 catches, 5,000 yards, and over 50 touchdowns in his career. Zach Terrell passed for 33 touchdowns to only four interceptions in 2016. He had no Power Five offers coming out of high school. Union native Jamauri Bogan ran for 1,503 yards in 2015 and Jarvion Franklin had 1,551 in 2014. Daniel Braverman also had over 1,400 receiving yards while Ciarracca was there, too. Ciarroca helped develop Super Bowl-winning QB Joe Flacco at Delaware, and led Penn to an Ivy League title in 2000.
Everywhere he’s gone, Ciarrocca has improved the team’s yardage and scoring averages as his stay goes on.
“It is great to welcome back Kirk and his family to Rutgers,” Schiano said. “He is a proven leader of men, an excellent football coach and understands what it takes to be successful in the Big Ten. We look forward to getting to work. …He's a great developer of both coaches and players.”
Brock, Flaherty, and Ciarrocca replace less experienced coaches Augie Hoffmann, Damiere Shaw, and Sean Gleeson.
Shaw, who is still at RU now coaching running backs, is young and new to being a full-time position coach, Hoffmann was previously a high school head coach, and Gleeson, another younger coach, was mainly at Princeton for a couple years before coming to Rutgers.
Rutgers has ranked at or near the bottom of the Big Ten in pretty much all offensive statistics since 2016. It has a former four-star QB in Gavin Wimsatt and four-star RB Sam Brown and other capable backs on the roster. The Scarlet Knights have also brought in a slew of offensive linemen the last two years.
Schiano is hoping the staff members he’s added in recent weeks will elevate the offense in years to come and push Rutgers back to a bowl game.
“I've never been more excited to be the head coach at Rutgers than I am (right now),” Schiano said.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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