According to a report from Pete Thamel today, the deal that was once imminent that would have marked the return of Greg Schiano to Rutgers has fallen through.
Thamel tweets today that Schiano and the school "could not come to an agreement."
"The sides couldn’t come to an agreement over multiple facets of the negotiation. While Rutgers was willing to increase support significantly from its current levels, it wasn’t to the threshold that Schiano saw as the minimum to be competitive in the Big Ten East," Thamel lays out in his piece.
Schiano had stepped away from his position with the Patriots before ever coaching a game with to help clear the way for a potential return to Piscataway, but after going to Rutgers decision makers with a list of demands that included an increased salary pool for assistants, improvements to the facilities to help make them more competitive with their Big Ten and regional counterparts, and the possibility of a football-only facility with an indoor practice space.
Earlier this week we shared some information on why the process seemed to be taking so long, and in that we shared that Schiano continued to press his demands and wanted complete autonomy over the football program, but the belief in the industry was that athletic director Pat Hobbs wasn't sold that Schiano was the best decision, despite the support he had from others in top leadership positions.
Brett McMurphy adds that Rutgers offered an 8-year, $32 million deal, but that ultimately wasn't enough as some concerns remained surrounding Schiano's other demands.
The longer the situation took to play out, the more likely this outcome became. Now the attention likely turns to those connected to the search earlier, like Mississippi State's Joe Moorhead - a decision that would make a lot of sense for both sides.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.