Greg Schiano Gregory Edward Schiano ( born June 1 , 1966 ) is an American football coach . He served as the head football coach at Rutgers University from 2001 to 2011 and as head coach of the National Football League ' s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2012 to 2013 . Early life and education . Schiano was born and grew up in Wyckoff , New Jersey , and attended Ramapo High School . He then attended Bucknell University , where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity , and graduated in 1988 with a B . S . in business administration . Playing career . Playing at linebacker , Schiano was a three - year letterman at Bucknell . In his junior year , he led his team with 114 tackles and was named to the All - Conference team . In his senior year , he was named team captain , and was named to " The Sporting News " Pre - season All - American Team . Personal life . He and his wife Christy have four children : Joey , John , Matt , and Katie . Coaching career . Schiano began his coaching career in 1988 as an assistant coach at Ramapo High School . In 1989 , he served as a graduate assistant at Rutgers . In 1990 , he took the same position at Penn State , and later served as the defensive backfield coach there from 1991 until 1995 . From 1996 to 1998 , Schiano was an assistant coach in the NFL with the Chicago Bears . For his first two seasons there , he was a defensive assistant , and then was promoted in his third and final season with the Bears to defensive backfield coach . University of Miami . Schiano served as defensive coordinator for the University of Miami from 1999 to 2000 . In 1999 , UM finished the year ranked 12th in the NCAA ' s Division I - A in points allowed per game ( 17 . 2 ) , and in 2000 moved up to 5th ( 15 . 5 points allowed per game ) . His brief 18 month stint at Miami and his roots in New Jersey made him a candidate for his next position as head coach at Rutgers University . While at the University of Miami , Schiano coached : NFL Pro Bowl ers Dan Morgan , Jonathan Vilma , and Ed Reed . Rutgers . On December 1 , 2000 , Schiano accepted the head coaching position at Rutgers , the state university of New Jersey . In 2001 , his first season as head coach , the Scarlet Knights posted a 2 – 9 record ( 0 – 7 in the Big East ) , followed by a 1 – 11 mark ( 0 – 7 Big East ) in 2002 . This was followed by a 5 – 7 record ( 2 – 5 Big East ) in 2003 . In 2004 , Schiano took on defensive coordinator responsibilities as well , and the team finished 4 – 7 ( 1 – 5 Big East ) . Although Schiano was producing solid recruiting classes , especially by Rutgers standards , his 3 – 24 record in conference games and 4 – 17 record in road games in those first four years were a cause for concern for some fans . But things began to turn around for the program during the 2005 season . That year , the team finished with a 7 – 4 record , including a 4 – 3 conference record , and a nationally - televised 37 – 29 upset win over Pittsburgh and their coach Dave Wannstedt , a long - time friend of Schiano ' s who hired him while coaching Chicago . At season ' s end , Schiano and the Scarlet Knights accepted a bid to play in the Insight Bowl against Arizona State University , their first bowl game appearance since the 1978 Garden State Bowl . ( Coincidentally , that game was also against Arizona State , and a then - 12 - year - old Schiano was among the attendees . ) During preparations for the Insight Bowl , Schiano signed a new contract , extending his contract through the 2012 season . In the 2006 season , Schiano ' s Scarlet Knights achieved their first Top 25 ranking since 1976 . Following week four of the college football season , Rutgers with a record of 4 – 0 was ranked # 23 in the Associated Press and Coaches Poll s . The team was ranked as high as # 6 in the country ( BCS standings ) with a 9 – 0 record after a historic win against the Louisville Cardinals , beating them 28 – 25 in Piscataway . Throughout the season , coach Schiano and Rutgers were featured prominently in both the local and national media , and Schiano ' s motivational phrase " keep choppin ' " became part of the lexicon of college football . Rutgers finished the season with a 10 – 2 record , the first time they had won ten games since 1976 . Following the season , Schiano and the Scarlet Knights accepted an invitation to play Kansas State in the inaugural Texas Bowl , where they would go on to defeat Kansas State 37 – 10 , capturing their first ever bowl win . For his work in the 2006 season , Coach Schiano was awarded several Coach of the Year honors , including the Home Depot Coach of the Year award and the inaugural Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award . Current NFL players who played under Schiano at Rutgers : Tampa Bay Buccaneers . On January 26 , 2012 , Schiano accepted his first head coaching opportunity at the professional - football level , with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The hire was generally considered surprising ( as " college " coaches , historically , tend to experience a high rate of failure at the NFL / professional level ) ; Schiano ' s mere 68 - 67 record at Rutgers received less scrutiny at the time , as high - profile , upset victories had enhanced media / popular perceptions of Schiano ' s effectiveness . The Buccaneers ended the 2012 - 2013 regular season with a 7 - 9 record , missing the playoffs in the process . In the 2013 - 2014 season , the team regressed to 4 - 12 . His coaching style created controversy . He instructed his defense to create a scrum even when teams were in victory formation . He notably had an incident with Tom Coughlin where the New York Giants coach said " You don ' t do that in this league " . On December 30 , 2013 , Schiano was fired by Buccaneers ownership , along with the General Manager who had selected him . Awards and bowl bids . Schiano received most of the major 2006 national Coach of the Year awards after orchestrating what was considered by many to be one of the great turn - around stories in college football history , transforming the hapless Scarlet Knights into a winning football program . On December 4 , 2006 , one day after Rutgers accepted a bid to play in the 2006 Texas Bowl against Kansas State , Schiano announced that he would not be a candidate for the recently vacated head coaching job at his previous employer , the University of Miami , ending rumors and speculation that he would leave his creation at upstart Rutgers to return to Miami . He stated that he is " very happy at Rutgers " and that Rutgers is just beginning to " scratch the surface " of what the team can accomplish . He confirmed this by signing yet another contract extension , announced on February 16 , 2007 , upping his yearly compensation to $ 1 . 5 million per year and extending his deal with Rutgers to 2016 . Schiano ' s 2011 salary and compensation of $ 2 . 3 million made him " by far " the highest - paid public employee in New Jersey , as well as the highest paid coach in the Big East . In December 2007 , The Star - Ledger reported that Schiano spoke with University of Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin " for quite a while " on December 5 about the head coaching vacancy at the school . Two days later , he withdrew his name from consideration and remained as the Rutgers Head Coach . In 2008 , after a bad start his Knights staged a come - from - behind season where they ended up 8 – 5 with the school ' s 4th straight bowl bid . Schiano ' s name once again came up in general speculation about the Miami head coaching position in 2010 , after the firing of Randy Shannon .