The rekindled romance between Rutgers and Greg Schiano, months in the making, is now dead. After spending almost all of November negotiating with Schiano -- critical days that the school can't get back -- the two sides could not get the ball across the goal line, and both sides have attempted to get their side of the story out.
Schiano's camp beat Rutgers to the punch, telling national reporters that it wasn't about the money, while the school put out a statement Sunday night that mentioned their search firm in the first sentence.
Meanwhile, as is true in any breakup, the truth lies in the middle.
NJ.com got its hands on the term sheet circulated among the Rutgers board of governors, and here's what Schiano wanted to take the Rutgers job:
-- An 8-year contract worth $4 million per year, with $400,000 retention bonuses after Years 4 and 6.
-- A buyout starting at $25.2 million.
-- The freedom to walk without penalty if the school did not improve its football facilities by 2023.
-- Unlimited private jet use.
-- A staff salary pool starting at $7.7 million, increasing by at least 3 percent per year.
-- Other standard bonuses and perks common to coaching contracts at the Power 5 level.
Rutgers, according to the site, originally offered Schiano a 6-year contract worth an average of $4 million a year, so Schiano's camp is partially right in saying it wasn't about the money.
And though it's obviously a failure by Rutgers to not get a deal done, it's hard to see a bad guy here. Rutgers is a Big Ten school that has to sit in financial purgatory for a decade before the school finally gets paid like a Big Ten school, in 2021. Schiano, meanwhile, has been a highly-paid coach for years and, while he was obviously intrigued by the idea of a Rutgers reunion, he didn't need the job. At this stage in his career, Schiano clearly signaled he has better things to do than take a job where he doesn't have a chance to succeed.
For what it's worth, Chris Ash signed a 5-year contract worth a total of $11 million upon taking the job ahead of the 2016 season and earned $2.3 million in 2019, second worst in the Big Ten.
So while both sides leave their breakup telling everyone it was the other side's fault, Monday's leak is actually helpful to both sides. It shows Schiano's demands weren't unreasonable for a coach in his position and stature, while Rutgers can re-start its search by signaling to candidates that it's willing to finally pay like a Big Ten school.