Ventura Partners Plays Key Role in Returning Head Football Coach to Rutgers

December 6, 2019 – Executive recruitment firm Ventura Partners has helped to bring Greg Schiano back to Rutgers University for a second stint as head football coach. Mr. Schiano led the Scarlet Knights to six bowl appearances during his previous tenure, from 2001 to 2011. Partner Chad Chatlos led the assignment for the search firm.

Mr. Schiano left Rutgers in 2012 to accept the head coach position for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he spent two seasons. Since then Mr. Schiano has coached at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, FL as well Ohio State University, where he was defensive coordinator.

Reportedly, Rutgers will pay him $32 million over eight years.

Rutgers officials said Ventura Partners was to offer services that included “leadership identification, market mapping and intelligence, outreach, internal search assistance, reference review, staff development and industry consulting.”

Rutgers director of athletics Pat Hobbs said the hire open a new chapter for Rutgers football. “Coach Schiano is absolutely the best person to lead our program,” he said. “He brings a quality of leadership and integrity that will make all of us proud in the years ahead. I couldn’t be more excited for our student-athletes and our fans.”

The Perfect Coach

“From the start we said we would hire the best football coach for our university community, our fans, and our student-athletes, and Greg Schiano is the perfect coach for this important job,” said Rutgers president Robert Barchi. “I commend Rutgers athletics director Pat Hobbs and coach Schiano for reaching an agreement following very complex negotiations to bring on this new, exciting chapter for Rutgers athletics. We are all thrilled to welcome coach Schiano. He is the right coach at the right time to build our Big Ten football program into a long-running source of pride for Rutgers.”

With the football team holding a 1-5 record this season, the Big Ten Conference school fired Chris Ash and appointed Nunzio Campanile as the team’s interim head coach. The team’s final record for 2019 was 2-10.

“Rutgers University and this football program have meant the world to me and my family,” said Mr. Schiano. “I arrived here in 2000 with the goal to build a program that would be a source of pride for the state of New Jersey and develop great young men. I look forward to embracing that challenge once again. This is a great opportunity for all of Rutgers to pull together to get us back to where we all know we belong.”

After making one prior trip to a bowl game in Rutgers football history, Mr. Schiano led the team to six bowls in seven seasons, including the program’s first bowl victory. He holds a 68-67 record as Rutgers head coach, including a 56-33 mark in his last seven seasons. The 68 wins are fourth most in school history.

Mr. Schiano served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami in 1999 and 2000 before becoming the Rutgers head coach. Prior to that, he spent three seasons in the NFL with the Chicago Bears (1996 to 1998). Mr. Schiano was the defensive backfield coach at Penn State from 1991 to 1995 after working as a graduate assistant in 1990. He was a three-year letter winner at linebacker for Bucknell (1985 to 1987).

Proven Search Consultants

Established in 1766, Rutgers University is the state university of New Jersey and the eighth-oldest institution of higher education in the country. The Rutgers football team is notable for playing in what is considered to be the first ever intercollegiate football game in 1869.


Ventura Partners Places Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Penn State
Ventura Partners recruited Carolyn Kieger as the sixth head coach of the women’s basketball program at Penn State University. Ms. Kieger, a 2019 Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year Award semifinalist, guided Marquette University to the top of the Big East Conference and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances as the Golden Eagles’ head coach.


Ventura Partners is one of a growing cadre of search firms dedicated to the explosive growth sector of sports – focused on finding preeminent leaders in college and professional sports recruitment, and leading searches for college athletic directors, commissioners, premier coaches and senior executives across all sports. Ventura recently completed searches for Ole Miss, Clemson, Texas A&M, Auburn, Iowa, Utah, Kansas State, Nebraska and Purdue.

With offices in Beverly Hills, Chicago and Atlanta, the firm also serves an array of other clients, including top-performing private equity funds, well-known and industry-disrupting brands, and leading industrials. Ventura Partners’ practice groups include: consumer products and services, industrial, private equity, CFO services, board services, sports and entertainment, and senior leadership assessment.

Mr. Chatlos specializes in senior executive searches across the sports industry with a focus on diverse roles in the intercollegiate athletics landscape. His clients include major sports leagues, teams, conferences, and leading colleges and universities. He has completed Power Five athletic director and commissioner searches as well as head coaching searches for football, basketball, volleyball, softball, soccer, strength and conditioning, and more, with marquee programs. In addition, he has led innovative searches in marketing, revenue-generating roles, eSports and player personnel positions.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media

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