Thoughts on the Hiring of Kyle Flood

*I meant to write this in January, but that never happened. Soooo, better late than never.

When reports that Greg Schiano was leaving Rutgers to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started pouring in, my first rational thought after the initial denial and shock was: Tim Pernetti HAS to hire Mario Cristobal to be Rutgers' next head football coach. Cristobal was a rising star in the coaching community after his 5 seasons at Florida International, where he turned one of the worst programs in the country into a respectable program that contends for conference championships and goes to bowl games, and he seemed to be ready for a big time job. He was a finalist for the head coaching position at Pitt (a job he may or may not have turned down) and was mentioned by Bruce Feldman as who he would hire at Penn State. It could only be a matter of time before he took a step up. He was also familiar with the Rutgers program, having coached tight ends and the offensive line for Greg Schiano during his ealiest years On the Banks. It seemed like a perfect fit, but ultimately it wasn't to be. Cristobal spurned Rutgers at the last moment and Pernetti turned the keys to the football program over to a familiar face; Kyle Flood.

Background
Kyle Flood was born and raised in Bayside, New York (a neighborhood in Queens) and his parents instilled a love of football and the meaning of hard work into him at an early age. His football career began on the fields of St. Francis Prep, where he was teammates with Rutgers football legend Mario Battaglia. He did not earn a starting job until his senior season, but he was able to play well enough that year to garner enough attention to continue his playing career at Iona. During his time as a Gael, he was a four year letter winner, named to the all conference team and selected as a team captain. Upon the completion of his playing career, he began coaching at his high school alma mater, before getting his first college coaching job at Division 2 CW Post, which he thought was big time.

In 1997 Flood caught his big break, when the coach who recruited him at Iona, Rob Spence, offered him a job at Hofstra as the Pride's offensive line coach. He spent five very successful seasons at Hofstra, and he was able to make some serious bonds in the coaching community there, before moving on to one of the top programs at Division 1-AA level, Delaware. He spent three seasons with the Blue Hens and was a part of a staff that won a D1-AA national championship, and his work in Newark earned him the right to make the jump to the FBS level, at Rutgers.

At Rutgers
In 2005, Flood joined Greg Schiano's staff with the Scarlet Knights as the offensive line coach, and that was the year Rutgers really started to turn things around, making their first bowl game in 27 years. Flood brought in his zone blocking scheme, and his scheme and group of lineman were a big part of that. Through out his early years in Piscataway, Rutgers' offensive line was amongst the best in the country. They allowed the fewest sacks in the nation in 2006 and the second fewest in '07, while also dominating on the ground, paving the way for Ray Rice. They finished 15th nationally in rushing in '06 and 26th in '07.

During these years, Flood produced a number of All Conference and NFL caliber players, including Darnell Stapleton, Jeremy Zuttah, and Pedro Sosa. He also played a huge part in landing the number one recruit in New Jersey in 2007, Anthony Davis, who he was able to insert into the starting lineup as a true freshman. Flood had established himself as one of the top assistants in the game, and he was given additional responsibilities to his title, including run game coordinator, assistant head coach, and eventually co-offensive coordinator, thanks to this success. He coached up Davis into becoming the #11 overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft as a left tackle, but his line's productivity in the run game declined in '08 (part of that was because Rice left), and in pass protectors in 2009. Things got totally out of control up front in 2010, but improved slightly in 2011. This poor performance some what tarnished his reputation as a coach, but he is still a very good coach and deserving of this promotion.

Qualities as a Head Coach
Though his offensive lines have struggles in recent years, Flood has numerous qualities that make him head coaching material. First and foremost, he is a great recruiter. When Pernetti was looking for Schiano's replacement, a number of the top high school coaches in New Jersey were asked who they would feel comfortable sending their kids to play for, and they responded positively to Flood. He was also responsible for the recruiting of a number of top prospects Rutgers was able to land, including Manny Abreu, Issac Holmes, Scott Vallone, and Savon Huggins. He has strong recruiting ties in New Jersey, as well as New York City and Long Island, and recruiting is half the battle.

Organization and preparation are considered to be two of Flood's strong suits. These traits probably stem down to him from Greg Schiano, as Schiano worked long hours making sure no stone regarding his team or an opponent was left unturned. Flood seems to be following suit, as it has been reported that he spends long hour in his office.

He is also well respected amongst the players on the team, and he is someone they are willing to take direction from and follow.
 
Following a Trend?
Recently, the trend around college football has been for successful programs to promote from with in when their head coach leaves on positive terms, in order to keep their method of success in place. This seems to have been spurred on by outsiders following a great head coach and subsequently running the program into the ground, like Ron Zook following Steve Spurrier at Florida, and Steve Kragthorpe following Bobby Petrino at Louisville. Top programs like Oregon, Stanford, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma State all promoted from with in when their head coaches retired or left for greener pastures, and they all appeared in BCS games last season.
 
Being familiar with the traditions and culture of a football program is a big, but overlooked, part of being a head coach. Take Michigan for example. After Lloyd Carr retired, Rich Rodriguez was hired, and he was an outsider whose personality and philosophies clashed with what Michigan has always been about. This alienated alumni, fans, and even some players, making him a  lame duck from the beginning. Once Rodriguez was fired, the Wolverines hired Brady Hoke, and he was able to win the fans, alumni and players over, since he was a so called Michigan man, having served as an assistant there during the '90's, and by bringing "man ball" back to Ann Arbor. Flood has been apart of the Rutgers family for a long time, he is very familiar with culture and traditions of the program, and is accepted as one of our own by the fans, alumni, student sand players.

Keeping offensive and defensive philosophies in tact are also a positive of hiring from with in.When Jim Harbaugh left Stanford, David Shaw was able to keep the powerful pro style/play action offense and 3-4 defense schemes in tact, and they finished in the top 5 last year. Keeping the schemes in place allows players to refine their skills in meetings and practice, rather than learning a new scheme. It also ensures that you won't have players who aren't fits for the offense or defense you are going to run.

Familiarity of the roster is also important. Knowing strengths and weakness of players, what situations they should be used in, and how they react to praise/criticism will help early in the season. This familiarity also helps keep continuity for the players. A new coach could give the players a totally different schedule, practice in different ways at a different pace, have a different weight lifting style, and a whole bunch of other things that can mess up their routine and how they did things. That would take some getting used to for the players, but keeping things the same should make the transition to a new coach a lot smoother.

Conclusion
There were a lot of candidates mentioned for this vacancy, but I'm very confident that Pernetti made the right decision in hiring Flood. Flood's background has prepared him for this moment. He is from the area and he has learned a lot from his predecessor Greg Schiano. He is a great recruiter, well prepared and organized, and knows the traditions and culture of the program. The players and high school coaches around the state love him, and he should make this transition from coach to coach as smooth as possible. He inherits a program on the rise that has improving facilities and a rapidly growing fan base. There is a lot of talent in-state to recruit, and on the current roster. He is a good coach set up to succeed. The program is built, he just needs to keep a steady hand on the wheel in order to take it to the next level. I think Flood was a very good hire.