Rutgers is targeting James Madison linebackers coach Zach Sparber for a co-coordinator position, sources told FootballScoop on Monday. CBS and ESPN first reported the news.
A New Jersey native, Sparber was in his first season as an on-field position coach in 2024.
Previously, he was a defensive analyst working with the linebackers at Duke in 2023, and then a GA for the Blue Devils in 2021-22. Prior to that, Sparber was a GA at Virginia Tech from 2018-20. He was an assistant at New Jersey prep power Bergen Catholic in 2017, and the defensive line coach at Stonehill College in 2016.
Rutgers has been on the market for a defensive coordinator for nearly two months now, following Joe Harasymiak taking the UMass head coaching position on Dec. 6.
Sparber is expected to coach linebackers from his co-coordinator spot. It is not immediately clear if another assistant will be elevated to a co-coordinator spot, nor who will call plays for the Scarlet Knights. Harasmyiak was the only member of Greg Schiano's 10 on-field assistants to depart after the 2024 campaign.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.