Who has the better job to offer? Maryland or Rutgers?
Of course, there is only one Big Ten job available right now. Some think it's a matter of time before its two.
But, is one a better opportunity than the other? Does one have a higher ceiling? Is it better to be a knight or a terrapin?
A recent story in The Athletic asked just that: how good is the Maryland job ? In the article, Chris Vannini considered several factors; we'll chime in with thoughts about Rutgers in each one, too. In the grading, Maryland's grade is Vannini's, Rutgers' is mine.
Maryland: C-
Rutgers: C-
Tell me if you've heard a variation of this one before:
"Maryland is historically a middling program with spurts of success. It was a top ACC program 25 years ago, winning the league in 2001 after three straight top-20 AP poll finishes. However, head coach Ralph Friedgen was fired at the end of a 9-4 season in 2010, and the Terps haven't won nine games or posted a winning conference record since.
Under Locksley, the team became known for strong September starts followed by midseason collapses: Locksley's teams were 7-19 in October. Rebuilding trust with the fans will take time.
If that isn't Rutgers' Big Ten (and prior) history, I don't know what is. Like Friedgen with Maryland, Schiano had considerable success at Rutgers….almost 15 years ago. He went to bowl games, he flirted with being ranked. But, since his return in 2020, Schiano hasn't won more than seven games in a season.
Maryland: B-
Rutgers: B-
Mike Locksley has a history of good recruiting. The knock has been not being able to do as much as he could with the talent he had.
Schiano has long said that Rutgers is a developmental program: bring in good kids, 3-stars, and coach'em up. But this year Schiano himself said he didn't do a good job evaluating talent. Yes, KJ Duff, Antwan Raymond and, now, Clay Thevinin among others are top performers. But across the board? Is there enough depth? And who hits the portal if the coach goes?
Maryland: B-
Rutgers: C
The Athletic estimates that Maryland had about $1-3 million more than Rutgers for its roster. That's not insignificant. But Iowa is estimated to have some $2 million less than RU and Kirk Ferentz seems to be doing fine. And like Rutgers, Maryland does not generate a lot of revenue. It all paints a shaky picture for both schools.
Maryland: B
Rutgers: A
Jim Smith is in his second year aas athletic director at Maryland. It lost Kevin Willard to Villanova after Willard spoke out about UM's finances. And Smith is there because his predecessor left to be AD at SMU…yeah, leaving a Big Ten school for what could be considered an outlier ACC school.
Rutgers has…alignment. We've had some administrative churn between Hobbs and the lengthy presidential/AD search. But, RU seems to be fairly stable now, and maybe a tad better than Maryland.
Maryland: B+
Rutgers: B+
Vannini's article listed over a dozen possible candidates, both sitting head coaches as well as coordinators. Some are currently at P4 schools, like Duke's Manny Diaz and Wake Forest's Jake Dickert; there are also G5 coaches like Charles Huff at Memphis, UNLVs Dan Mullen, and Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor. Throw in Jason Eck, a hot name now, at New Mexico. The discussion is interesting in that some of these coaches might want to take the leap of faith now rather than wait for a bigger P4 job a year from now. And barring a significant change in money/NIL, both RU and Maryland would likely be looking at the same pool.
Maryland: B–
Rutgers: B-
They are both Big Ten jobs, which will always draw interest. The DMV is a good recruiting area, as is New Jersey. But recruiting the local area, as we've discussed elsewhere , isn't necessarily an absolute requirement in this era. Both schools have potential, but as Vannini wrote about the Terps, and I'll add for Rutgers, the ceiling is low and fans need something to believe in order to, well, keep believing.
Both jobs seem comparable in terms of prestige – and I use the term loosely here – and what they can offer. Maybe the bigger question is what other jobs will be out there at the end of the season.
Since Lockskey's firing, NC State fired Dave Doeren and Dave Aranda is out at Baylor. And the hot seat is pretty real for Shane Beamer (South Carolina), Bill O'Brien (BC), Barry Odom (Purdue), and Lincoln Riley (USC). That list has two Big Ten jobs on it, maybe only one that is significantly better than Rutgers/Maryland. So, right now, the market is small but there are some jobs that could open up and be more attractive to candidates. Could Keli Zinn create a package that will entice the right candidate to Rutgers?
Of course, we have to remember one thing: as you read this, there is no job opening in Piscataway.
