A little more than an hour after reports surfaced that Florida International head coach Mario Cristobal was not taking the head coaching job at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights apparently have their man. Offensive line coach Kyle Flood has reportedly agreed to become to the Scarlet Knights' head coach, taking over for Greg Schiano who left after eleven seasons to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Flood previously worked as offensive line coach at Delaware from 2002-2005. He joined Schiano's Rutgers staff in 2006 as offensive line coach. He was also named the team's run game coordinator in 2007. He had previously served as co-offensive coordinator before that job was given full time to Frank Cignetti in 2011.
Flood is seen as a safe choice and one that will likely hold together much of the current coaching staff. He is also the Knights' best chance to hold together a highly ranked recruiting class since he is well liked by New Jersey high school coaches and much of the current recruiting class is of local talent. Upon the announcement that Flood will accept the position, two of Rutgers prized offensive linemen (JJ Denman and Chris Muller) told Scout.com that they would sign with Rutgers on Wednesday. They had previously indicated they might delay their signing to see what happens with the coaching staff.