Greg Schiano likes the veteran additions to his coaching staff
Rutgers football certainly changed things this offseason on the offensive side of the ball, adding significant experience to the coaching staff. The goal is to fix an offense that has certainly struggled over the past three years in the Big Ten.
Three big additions highlighted a serious revamping of the staff on the offensive side of the ball. This shakeup also included moving tight ends coach Andrew Aurich from his role with the running backs and shifting Damiere Shaw from wide receivers to running backs.
Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano needed to add experience and a certain amount of know-how on the offensive side of the ball. They certainly did that.
This offseason, Kirk Ciarrocca was hired from Minnesota to be the offensive coordinator. Ciarrocca spent three years on staff at Rutgers earlier in his career. He then became head coach at Delaware.
Later stops included time on staff at Penn State and West Virginia.
Also brought in by Schiano were wide receivers coach Dave Brock and offensive line coach Pat Flaherty. Brock and Flaherty come to Rutgers after being positional coaches in the NFL.
“Well, the defensive staff is totally intact, which is great. The offensive staff we made some big changes, kind of a new old coach, Kirk Ciarrocca, who was here in ’08, ’09 and ’10,” Schiano. He’s back now as offensive coordinator,” Schiano said in a recent interview with Piscataway mayor Brian Wahler.
“Dave Brock, who is now with wide receivers coach, he was here not with me, but here after I left with Coach Flood, he’s back. And then Andy Aurich is still on staff and Damiere Shaw. And then we brought Pat Flaherty in the old coach from the New York Giants. He was the line coach there for 16 years…and he will keep coached here. Yeah, so when I met him, I met him as a graduate assistant here. He was the line coach at the time.”
One other name brought in recently to the Scarlet Knights was John Perry. A former wide receivers coach with the Houston Texans, Perry is another experienced and savvy addition to the staff.
Beginning in 2014, Perry spent three years as the tight ends coach with the Houston Texans. Then he was their wide receivers coach for the next four seasons.
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It is quite a resume he brings as a quality control coach.
“John Perry came back. He’s in quality control, working with the offense. And he works with Dave Brock – with the receivers and you think about it… There’s not many college programs or any in the country where the receivers coach and then his QC both have extensive NFL experience in coaching receivers,” Schiano said following his charity golf classic in mid-June.
“So certainly, something I think that’s helping in recruiting. But more importantly or as importantly, helping on the field. (We) Went through spring practice now we’re in summer training. And I can see that group getting better and better and better.”
