Rossi ran the defense through out bowl preparation, but he really did not change anything scheme wise from what Dave Cohen had been running the entire season. The defense did not play poorly in the Pinstripe Bowl, but they weren't exactly great either. It's not really fair to judge Rossi based on this one game because it was a small sample size, first of all, and two weeks isn't enough time for a complete overhaul.
I think that Rossi is capable of becoming a pretty good coordinator, but this is a pretty risky move for Kyle Flood. Rossi has only coached at the FBS level for two seasons, and there were a few very good coordinators available. Former Rutgers defensive coordinator Robb Smith, former Boston College head coach Frank Spaziani, former Penn State linebacker coach Ron Vanderlinden all supposedly interviewed for the position and former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley was available as well. Vanderlinden (now at Air Force) and Bradley (now at West Virginia) would have been pretty cheap hires, and passing over Smith seemed like a monetary issue. It was reported that Smith was on the verge of accepting the position, but right after Fridgen was hired, he chose to take the same position with Arkansas, presumably because there wasn't enough money left over to offer him. That's concerning, and an example of Julie Hermann not fully committing to the football program.
I would guess that Rossi was promoted in part to bring back the fast, attacking style of defense that Rutgers has had so much success running in the past and went away from last season. That type of scheme best suits their personnel and there should not be much of a transitional period, as it would be with any of the a fore mentioned candidates. Rossi is a smart coach who will bring a lot of energy back to the defensive side of the ball, but this seems like such a boon or bust hire to me, because of his relative lack of a track record. Then again, I felt the same way about Smith's hiring a few years ago, and that of course worked out for the best. Hopefully this does too, Rossi could be a rising star. I am not a fan of NJ.com's Rutgers football coverage lately, but this is a very good profile on Rossi.
Replacing Cohen as the linebackers coach and Rossi as the special teams coordinator is former Rutgers assistant Bob Frasier, who left after the 2011 season to join Greg Schiano's staff in Tampa Bay. Frasier was the defensive coordinator (though we know who really ran the defense when he was here) and linebacker coach previously on the banks. He did a very good job coaching linebackers during his first tenure, and I would expect him to do the same this time around. Rutgers has had one of the best special teams unit in the country for a few years now, and Frasier was here for part of that. He doesn't bring a lot of juice recruiting wise, but if he is able to coach linebackers like he did his first time around and continue the great special teams play, he will be a fine hire.
The final addition Kyle Flood made to his staff this offseason was Ben McDaniels as the wide receiver coach. McDaniels --whose brother Josh was the head coach of the Denver Broncos-- was the assistant quarterbacks coach with the Buccaneers last season, and on his brother's staff in Denver prior to that. His only college coaching experience was as a grad assistant at Minnesota from 2004-05. McDaniels has worked exclusively with quarterbacks, but he is perfectly capable of coaching receivers, the two positions go hand in hand. I'm really not sure what to make of McDaniels, but it's easy to be optimistic about this hire. His NFL experience is obviously a plus, and he is a younger coach with very strong ties in Ohio (he coached at a couple Ohio high schools and his dad is a legendary coach in the state), so I think he will be an asset on the recruiting trail.
Additionally, former Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel was added as a graduate assistant and he will work with the wide receivers. Teel coached quarterbacks at Wagner (FCS) and Kean (D3), and he obviously is very familiar with the program and knowledgeable about the passing game. I've always been a big fan of Teel, so hopefully this eventually leads to him getting a full time position on the staff.
I'm going to take a wait and see approach to some of these hiring, but none of them seem bad and Rutgers' coaching staff has pretty clearly improved this offseason. Friedgen is deservedly the headliner of the new crew, but Frasier will no doubt be a solid addition and McDaniels and Rossi are high upside guys (weird writing that about coaches) who will probably be upgrades over the coaches they are replacing. Rutgers is about to take a big step up in competition level, and they made somewhat of a step up on the coaching staff front too.
