The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football program under head coach Greg Schiano had one of the more disappointing seasons in recent memory in 2025. The season came to a close after a 40-36 home loss to rival Penn State. With a win, the Scarlet Knights would have become bowl eligible. Rather, their long off-season has begun after missing out on a bowl game for the first time in three years.
Entering the 2025 season, there was hope the Scarlet Knights could produce success despite a very tough schedule. Offensively, Rutgers had one of the best seasons in their history. However, defensively, it was a disaster.
The Scarlet Knights defense finished the season tied for 116th nationally, giving up 31.8 points per game. They surrendered 432.8 total yards per game (126th), 209.9 on the ground (131st) and 222.9 through the air (73rd).
Historically, under Schiano, Rutgers has been a program known for tough defense and excellent special teams. The Scarlet Knights lacked any type of consistent pressure on opposing offenses and only tallied 11 total sacks on the season. For reference, the team played 12 games, so not even an average of one sack per game. Just how bad is that? 11 sacks this season ranks them 133rd out of 134 teams, with only UCLA recording less sacks.
An inability to apply pressure typically results in big plays, and that’s exactly what took place all season. The Scarlet Knights allowed more plays of 50-plus yards (15) and more yards per play (7.6) than any team in the country.
Smith and Others Removed From Rutgers Coaching Staff
As a result, Schiano fired defensive coordinator Robb Smith and co-defensive coordinator Zach Sparber on Thursday night. Defensive line coach Colin Ferrell will not be retained – his contract expired after the 2025 season. Rutgers will owe Smith $800,000 in salary he would have received during the 2026 season, the final year of his contract. Sparber had two years remaining on his contract. and will be owed $1.55 million in salary. Both of those numbers can become lower should those individuals get another coaching job.
In a year when the Rutgers offense gave them a fighting change in most of their games, it was an extremely disappointing and disheartening defensive performance that ultimately doomed their season. Now it’s on Schiano, who has a defensive background, to find a solution.
