The case for Greg Schiano as Maryland's next head football coach

Over the coming weeks and months, the Maryland football program will search for a new head coach to replace the departed Randy Edsall. We know who the candidates are, but who should Maryland pick? We'll state every coach's case, whether he wants the job or not, in 500 words or fewer.

Greg Schiano, former head coach, NFL Network analyst

Possibility Scale: 3/10

The resume

We'll start in 1999-2000, when Schiano was the defensive coordinator of the powerhouse Miami Hurricanes. After the season, (they won the national title the next year) Schiano became the head coach at Rutgers.

Schiano began rebuilding the once-proud program that spawned college football. He went 2-9, 1-11, 5-7 and 4-7 in his first four seasons. From 2005 onward, the Scarlet Knights won and won regularly.

Rutgers went 11-2 in 2006 behind Ray Rice and his 20 rushing touchdowns. Schiano won Big East coach of the year and won multiple national coach of the year awards.

Rutgers was a national laughingstock and he turned them into perennial Big East contenders. During his time at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights upset two top-five teams.

Schiano left to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012 but was fired after only two seasons. He has made it clear that he wants to get back into coaching.

The benefits

Schiano rebuilt Rutgers football. Without him, Rutgers would be languishing in the American Athletic Conference, not ready to reap the rewards of being members of the Big Ten.

Schiano knows how to coach defense. While his first Tampa Bay team went 7-9, they had the league's top run defense. Four of his last six Rutgers teams were ranked in the top-20 in the country in scoring defense: 2006 (top-10), 2008 (19th), 2009 (16th) and 2011 (top-10).

Schiano averaged eight wins a year over his last seven seasons and is second on the Rutgers all-time wins list. The Scarlet Knights went to six bowl games during that seven year stretch, including five in a row. Rutgers went 5-1 in bowl games under Schiano.

He is known as a strict disciplinarian, so there won't be many, if any, academic or off-the-field issues under Schiano if he comes to Maryland.

The drawbacks

There are many. While Schiano was a very good recruiter, he was never able to find a quarterback capable of leading Rutgers to a Big East title. Schiano never won a conference title despite coaching in a very winnable Big East.

His overall record at Rutgers through 11 years wasn't impressive. He finished 68-67 overall but his record in conference games was a lousy 28-48. To be fair, he was 25-24 in conference games over his last seven seasons but those still aren't good numbers.

Lastly, he's a defensive coach and Maryland is looking for an offensive-minded coach who will bring an exciting, high-scoring offense to College Park.

In one sentence

Schiano would recruit well and win around eight or nine games every season, with solid defensive teams.