At long, long last, Greg Schiano is the head coach at Rutgers. Again. A pursuit months in the making became official on Tuesday, as the Rutgers board of governors approved Schiano's contract.
The deal, unanimously approved Tuesday morning and obtained by NJ.com, runs eight years and is worth $32 million. The buyout stands at 76.875 percent of his remaining contract, starting at $24.6 million. That formula would then decrease the buyout to:
-- $18.45 million if he's fired after the 2021 season
-- $15.375 million after 2022
-- $12.3 million after 2023
-- $9.225 million after 2024
-- $6.15 million after 2025
-- $3.075 million after 2026
-- nothing after the final year of his contract, 2027
On Schiano's end, he would owe $8 million if he leaves before Dec. 1 of next year and decreasing by $2 million a year until 2025, when it flattens to $1 million.
Rutgers will provide $7.7 million to pay Schiano's staff, increasing by 3 percent a year.
Schiano famously asked for unlimited private jet use the first time around, but he came down to earth (figuratively speaking, of course) in the second set of negotiations. He will be entitled to private airfare for recruiting purposes, and private air travel for other university business, if funding is available. If private funding is not available, he will fly commercially with first-class tickets.
Also, Schiano cannot walk away without penalty if Rutgers does not have a shovel in the ground to build a football-only facility by a certain date. In return, Rutgers put in writing that a football-only operations center is "necessary and desirable" and has committed to developing plans for such a facility "as soon as reasonably practicable."
Schiano is entitled to a $100,000 bonus for reaching the Big Ten Championship and $200,000 for winning it; bowl bonuses range from $75,000 for a minor bowl appearance to $350,000 for winning a national championship.
