NEWARK, N.J. — Rutgers is on the rise in the Big Ten Conference.
The Scarlet Knights are fresh off a 7-6 season capped off by a win over Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl. A big reason for the program’s resurgence is the addition of two local coaches.
Red Land’s Kirk Ciarrocca was the offensive coordinator at both Minnesota and Penn State before landing the same position at Rutgers.
“We’re fortunate to have him,” said Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano. “The thing he does that’s as good as anyone else I’ve ever been around is he really looks at what the players are capable of doing and then he fits it to the scheme, rather than vice versa. That is an ability that's very uncommon. The way he connects with the kids is uniquely him, he doesn’t try to be somebody he’s not, and I think the kids just love him because of that.”
Ciarrocca likes to have a potent running attack. It’s imperative to have a solid offensive line to run the ball.
Good thing the Scarlet Knights have Delone Catholic’s Pat Flaherty to coach the big guys up front on the line of scrimmage.
“He’s coached some elite players and it’s crazy because at first, I didn’t really know all that stuff about him,” admitted Rutgers Senior Mohamed Toure. “But when I got to learn more and I got to sit down and really talk to him and see what kind of person he is and what kind of coach he is, it really opened my eyes about him. I just love having him around.”
Schiano was a graduate assistant for Flaherty 36 years ago. “Flats” has a long and impressive college and pro resume. He won two Super Bowls on the staff with the New York Giants.
Once he was done in the NFL, Flaherty started hanging around practices at Rutgers. He agreed to be the offensive line coach and Schiano couldn’t be more thrilled.
“It takes a certain kind of guy to be able to motivate players in that environment and Flats is the best," he told FOX43.