On Sunday, according to the university, both Flood and athletic director Julie Hermann were fired.
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Rutgers hasn’t gotten many personnel decisions in their athletic department right lately, but this weekend was a step in the right direction.
Flood led the Scarlet Knights to bowl games in his first three seasons with the program (winning one), but the 2015 campaign was filled with off-the-field incidents. “I believe, however, at this point, when major changes are being made in our football program, we need a fresh start”.
The permanent job was offered to Hobbs on Friday, welcoming the former Dean Emeritus at the Seton Hall School of Law as the new Athletic Director, Barchi said.
Flood was the coach when Rutgers transitioned into the Big Ten Conference in 2014 and seemed to hold his own when he finished with an 8-5 record and a home win over MI.
“Rutgers gets a lot of numbers behind the ball and they’re a pretty physical team”, said head coach Steve Swanson.
Still, Rutgers, who turned to her to replace Tim Pernetti, a casualty of the Mike Rice scandal, stuck by Hermann.
Flood was 27-24 in four seasons at Rutgers, including bowl appearances in his first three.
But it has been a disastrous season for Flood in almost every way imaginable, both on and off the field.
Flood has quickly fallen out of favor with the RU fan base this season, which started with a string of player arrests and resulted in the dismissal of seven players.
The other issue was that Flood was suspended for three games and fined $50,000 earlier this season after the school did an investigation that found that Flood had contacted a player’s instructor about the possibility of altering the player’s grade. He had taken a helicopter to Long Island for recruiting purposes.
Hermann, who was hired from Louisville in 2013, oversaw the athletics department during an embarrassing period as the university transitioned to the Big 10. She has made series of gaffes since arriving, in addition to encountering accusations about her past.
Sargeant also does a must-read blow-by-blow about how Hermann became a national embarrassment on multiple occasions that included denying she encouraged an assistant volleyball coach not to get pregnant during her tenure at Tennessee in the late 1990’s.
Surely Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney has some buyer’s remorse right now, but competing Big Ten institutions can only feel so much concern for the downtrodden.
Rutgers finished with a 1-7 record in the Big Ten, tied for last with the Terps in the vaunted East Division.
Maryland erases 21-point deficit to get revenge on Maryland in the season finale.
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Anything more is a tall order, though, and the mess of the last several years could make it hard to lure a coach. But listening to the embattled head coach, it was apparent that his mindset was one of defiance, not contrition, even if those folks who pay his salary were not pleased.
