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Greg Schiano

Schiano (left) during his tenure at Rutgers
Personal information
Date of birth	(1966-06-01) June 1, 1966 (age 46)
Place of birth	Wyckoff, New Jersey
Career information
Position(s)	Linebacker
College	Bucknell
Career highlights
Awards	2006 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year 2006 Walter Camp Coach of the Year 2006 Home Depot Coach of the Year 2006 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year 2006 Big East Coach of the Year
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1989 1990 1991–1995 1996–1997 1998 1999–2000 2001–2011 2012–present	Rutgers (GA) Penn State (GA) Penn State (DB) Chicago Bears (Def Asst) Chicago Bears (DB) Miami (DC) Rutgers (HC) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (HC)

Gregory Edward Schiano (born June 1, 1966) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a position he assumed in January 2012. Schiano served as the head football coach at Rutgers University from 2001 to 2012.

Early life and education[link]

Schiano was born and grew up in Wyckoff, New Jersey, and attended Ramapo High School. He then attended Bucknell University, where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, and graduated in 1988 with a B.S. in business administration.

Playing career[link]

In his playing career at Bucknell University, he was a three-year letterman at linebacker. In his junior year, he led his team with 114 tackles and was named to the All-Conference team. In his senior year, he was named team captain, and was named to The Sporting News Pre-season All-American Team.

He and his wife Christy have four children: Joey, John, Matt, and Katie.

Coaching career[link]

Schiano began his coaching career in 1988 as an assistant coach at Ramapo High School. In 1989, he served as a graduate assistant at Rutgers. In 1990, he took the same position at Penn State, and later served as the defensive backfield coach there from 1991 until 1995.

From 1996 to 1998, Schiano was an assistant coach in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. For his first two seasons there, he was a defensive assistant, and then was promoted in his third and final season with the Bears to defensive backfield coach.

University of Miami[link]

Schiano served as defensive coordinator for the University of Miami from 1999 to 2000. In 1999, UM finished the year ranked 12th in the NCAA's Division I-A in points allowed per game (17.2), and in 2000 moved up to 5th (15.5 points allowed per game). His brief 18 month stint at Miami and his roots in New Jersey, made him a candidate for his next position as Rutgers head coach.

While at the University of Miami, Schiano coached: NFL Pro Bowlers Dan Morgan, linebacker, retired; Jonathan Vilma, linebacker, New Orleans Saints; and Ed Reed, free safety, Baltimore Ravens.

Rutgers[link]

On December 1, 2000, Schiano accepted the head coaching position at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. In 2001, his first season as head coach, the Scarlet Knights posted a 2–9 record (0–7 in the Big East), followed by a 1–11 mark (0–7 Big East) in 2002. This was followed by a 5–7 record (2–5 Big East) in 2003. In 2004, Schiano took on defensive coordinator responsibilities as well, and the team finished 4–7 (1–5 Big East). Although Schiano was producing solid recruiting classes, especially by Rutgers standards, his 3-24 record in conference games and 4–17 record in road games in those first four years were a cause for concern for some fans.

But things began to turn around for the program during the 2005 season. That year, the team finished with a 7–4 record, including a 4–3 conference record, and a nationally-televised 37–29 upset win over Pittsburgh and their coach Dave Wannstedt, a long-time friend of Schiano's who hired him while coaching Chicago. At season's end, Schiano and the Scarlet Knights accepted a bid to play in the Insight Bowl against Arizona State University, their first bowl game appearance since the 1978 Garden State Bowl. (Coincidentally, that game was also against Arizona State, and a then-12-year-old Schiano was among the attendees.) During preparations for the Insight Bowl, Schiano signed a new contract, extending his contract through the 2012 season.

In the 2006 season, Schiano's Scarlet Knights achieved their first Top 25 ranking since 1976. Following week four of the college football season, Rutgers with a record of 4–0 was ranked #23 in the Associated Press and Coaches Polls. The team was ranked as high as #6 in the country (BCS standings) with a 9–0 record after a historic win against the Louisville Cardinals, beating them 28–25 in Piscataway. Throughout the season, coach Schiano and Rutgers were featured prominently in both the local and national media, and Schiano's motivational phrase "keep choppin'" became part of the lexicon of college football. Rutgers finished the season with a 10–2 record, the first time they had won ten games since 1976. Following the season, Schiano and the Scarlet Knights accepted an invitation to play Kansas State in the inaugural Texas Bowl, where they would go on to defeat Kansas State 37–10, capturing their first ever bowl win. For his work in the 2006 season, Coach Schiano was awarded several Coach of the Year honors, including the Home Depot Coach of the Year award and the inaugural Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.

Current NFL players who played under Schiano at Rutgers include:

• Indianapolis Colts linebacker Gary Brackett
• Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Eric Foster
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gary Gibson
• 2010 NFL Draft 1st round pick San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Anthony Davis
• 2009 NFL Draft 1st round pick Tennessee Titans WR Kenny Britt
• 7th round pick Jacksonville Jaguars WR Tiquan Underwood
• 2008 NFL Draft 2nd round pick Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice
• Miami Dolphins cornerback Nathan Jones
• Baltimore Ravens tight end L.J. Smith
• Cincinnati Bengals running back Brian Leonard
• Buffalo Bills defensive end/long snapper Ryan Neill
• Pittsburgh Steeler guard Darnell Stapleton
• 2010 NFL Draft 1st round pick New England Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty and his twin 2009 NFL Draft 6th round pick Tennessee Titans cornerback Jason McCourty
• 2008 NFL Draft 3rd round pick Tampa Bay Buccaneers guard Jeremy Zuttah
• 2007 NFL Draft 5th round pick Jacksonville Jaguars guard Cam Stephenson. 2007 NFL Draft
• 7th round pick tight end/long snapper Clark Harris is on the Houston Texans practice squad.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers[link]

On January 26, 2012, Schiano agreed to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.^[1]

Awards and bowl bids[link]

Schiano received most of the major 2006 national Coach of the Year awards after orchestrating what was considered by many to be one of the great turn-around stories in college football history, transforming the hapless Scarlet Knights into a winning football program.

On December 4, 2006, one day after Rutgers accepted a bid to play in the 2006 Texas Bowl against Kansas State, Schiano announced that he would not be a candidate for the recently-vacated head coaching job at his previous employer, the University of Miami, ending rumors and speculation that he would leave his creation at upstart Rutgers to return to Miami.^[2] He stated that he is "very happy at Rutgers" and that Rutgers is just beginning to "scratch the surface" of what the team can accomplish. He confirmed this by signing yet another contract extension, announced on February 16, 2007, upping his yearly compensation to $1.5 million per year and extending his deal with Rutgers to 2016.^[3] Schiano's 2011 salary and compensation of $2.3 million^[4] made him "by far" the highest-paid public employee in New Jersey^[5], as well as the highest paid coach in the Big East.^[6]

In December 2007, The Star-Ledger reported that Schiano spoke with University of Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin "for quite a while" on December 5 about the head coaching vacancy at the school.^[7] Two days later, he withdrew his name from consideration and remained as the Rutgers Head Coach.^[8] In 2008, after a bad start his Knights staged a come-from-behind season where they ended up 8-5 with the school's 4th straight bowl bid. Schiano's name once again came up in general speculation about the Miami head coaching position in 2010, after the firing of Randy Shannon.^[9]

Head coaching record[link]

College[link]

NFL[link]

References[link]

• "Records and Results" (PDF). 2006 Rutgers Football Media Guide. Rutgers Athletics Communications. Archived from the original on 2007-07-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20070703063541/http://www.scarletknights.com/football/news/guide06/rutgers_fb06_157-174.pdf. Retrieved 2007-01-06. 

External links[link]

• Greg Schiano at the College Football Data Warehouse

Josh Freeman

Freeman during his tenure at Kansas State.
No. 5     Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1988-01-13) January 13, 1988 (age 24)
Place of birth: Kansas City, Missouri
Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Weight: 248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
College: Kansas State
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 17
Debuted in 2009 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Career history
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
College awards and honors NFC Player Of The Week (Week 5 and 17, 2010) FedEx NFL Air Player Of The Week (Week 16 and 17, 2010)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
TD–INT 51-46 Passing Yards 8,898 QB Rating 79.0 Stats at NFL.com

Joshua Tyler "Josh" Freeman (born January 13, 1988) is the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was selected 17th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kansas State.

High school career[link]

Freeman passed for over 7,000 yards at Grandview High School where he was a four-star rated prospect by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. As a sophomore, he threw for 1,946 yards and 24 passing touchdowns, leading Grandview to a 9–3 record and a spot in the quarterfinals of the Class 4 playoffs. In addition, he set 10 school records during his career at Grandview, including career passing yards (7,175), passing touchdowns (78), attempts (809), completions (385), yards passing in a game (404) and touchdowns in a game (6).^[1] As a junior, he topped 2,400 yards through the air with 23 touchdowns. As a senior, he was the #4 pro-style rated quarterback in the country by Rivals.com as well as being ranked as the #92 overall prospect in the nation by Rivals and the top player in the state of Missouri. He was the #9 quarterback nationally. He led Grandview to a 7–4 record, a district title and a berth in the sectional round of the Missouri state playoffs. He also completed 151-of-286 passes (53%) for 2,622 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2005. He also earned first team Class 4 all-state honors from the Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. Freeman was selected to the Kansas City Star All-Metro team and was the 2005 Thomas A. Simone Award winner as the top player in the Kansas City metro area.

College career[link]

Despite being a highly-recruited quarterback prospect, at least one major program wanted the 6' 5" 225 lb. Freeman as a tight end, which his African-American father saw as a racial slight. Freeman said he "didn't see it the same way" at the time, as the school already had a QB recruit from his class. Nevertheless, Freeman was not interested, as his longtime goal was to become an NFL quarterback.^[2] He originally committed to the University of Nebraska to play for former head coach Bill Callahan, but the newly hired head coach at Kansas State, Ron Prince, convinced Freeman to enroll at Kansas State instead.

As a freshman in 2006, Freeman appeared in 11 of 13 games that season, including starts in the final eight contests of 2006. He took over at quarterback during the second half at Baylor and directed the Kansas State offense the rest of the season. He passed for a Kansas State freshman record 1,780 yards on 140-of-270 passing (52%). He became the first true freshman to start a game at Kansas State since 1976. Additionally, he had consecutive 250+ yard passing games against Colorado and Texas, marking the first time a Kansas State quarterback had done so since Michael Bishop in 1998. He attempted a Kansas State freshman-record 47 passes against Nebraska, completing 23 for 272 yards. He earned his first career start against Oklahoma State and led the Wildcats to a comeback win. He finished the game 10-for-15 passing for 177 yards and ran for a game-winning 21-yard touchdown with 1:11 to go in the game. In 2007, he set new single-season school records for pass attempts, completions and yards after throwing for 3,353 yards and 18 touchdowns on 316-of-499 passing. In 2008, Freeman was 224 of 382 passing for 2,945 yards and 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season for a passer rating of 132.9. The 14 rushing touchdowns were the fourth-most in a single season by a Wildcat quarterback.^[3]

In his three year collegiate career, Freeman completed 680 passes for 8,078 yards and 44 touchdowns and 34 interceptions in 35 career games. He accumulated a school-record 8,427 total yards and joined Ell Roberson as the only quarterbacks in Kansas State history to score at least 60 touchdowns.

College statistics[link]

^[4]

College awards and honors[link]

• Earned honorable mention freshman All-America honors from The Sporting News (2006).
• Earned three national player-of-the-week honors after a win over Texas in 2006, including Cingular All-America Player of the Week, the Walter Camp Foundation Offensive Player of the Week and the Master Coaches Survey Player of the Week.
• Big 12 Conference Co-Offensive Player of the week (September 2, 2008)
• USA Today College Football Player of the Week (Named on October 15, 2008)
• 2008 honorable mention All-America selection by Pro Football Weekly.

Professional career[link]

2009 NFL Draft[link]

Freeman was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round (17th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. He entered the 2009 NFL Draft with one year of college eligibility left.^[5] The Bucs later agreed to terms with Freeman on a five-year, $26 million contract, a deal that (if Freeman achieves his incentives) could balloon to as much as $36 million.^[6]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers[link]

2009[link]

On November 8, 2009, Freeman started his first professional game at home against the Green Bay Packers. The Buccaneers won, ending an 11-game losing streak. He completed 14 out of 31 passes for 205 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 1 INT, including a fourth down touchdown pass to rookie Sammie Stroughter to take the lead, 31–28 late in the game. Freeman became the youngest quarterback in Bucs history to start and win his first game. On December 27, 2009 he led his Buccaneers to a 20–17 overtime win over the 13–1 New Orleans Saints preventing them from clinching the 1st seed in the playoffs for 1 more week.

2010[link]

Josh Freeman began the 2010 season as the starting quarterback. He started all 16 games of the season, the first since Brad Johnson had done it in 2003. On December 26, 2010, Freeman completed 21 of 26 pass attempts for 227 yards and 5 touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks, matching a franchise record for touchdowns in a game. On January 1, 2011 Freeman completed 21 of 26 pass attempts for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns against the playoff-bound New Orleans Saints. Both performances won him the FedEx Air Player of the Week. He was awarded NFC Player Of The Week on Week 5 and 17. He led the team to a winning record of 10–6, barely missing the playoffs. He was also named as an alternate for the 2011 Pro Bowl.

Statistics[link]

Buccaneers franchise records[link]

• Highest quarterback rating in a single season - 95.9 (2010) (in 16 starts)^[8]
• Most 4th quarter comeback wins in a single season- 5 (2010) (tied with Doug Williams)^[9]
• Most game winning drives in a single season- 5 (2010)^[10]
• Most touchdown passes thrown in consecutive games (2010)^[11]

Personal[link]

His father, Ron, was a hall of fame linebacker for Pittsburg State University and also played in the United States Football League with the Pittsburgh Maulers (1984) and Orlando Renegades (1985). Freeman's brother, Caleb, was recruited to Missouri to play linebacker in 2008. He was red-shirted.^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Josh Freeman Football Camp
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers Bio
• Kansas State Bio