Wyckoff's Greg Schiano To Be Hired By Patriots: Reports

WYCKOFF, NJ — Township native and former Rutgers University football coach Greg Schiano is expected to be hired by the New England Patriots, according to multiple reports.

Schiano is expected to be named the team's defensive coordinator "imminently," according to a report by The Boston Globe.

The move has been anticipated for several weeks, according to ESPN.

Schiano will replace Brian Flores, the Patriots' de facto defensive play caller for the Super Bowl-winning 2018 season, according to the report. Schiano has a "close relationship" with Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick and a "solid" rapport with several Patriots players, the Globe reported.

Schiano was most recently the associate head coach and defensive coordinator of the Ohio State Buckeyes college football team. He left after the 2019 season.

Schiano was head coach at Rutgers University from 2001 to 2011. He led the Scarlet Knights to two top-1o finishes and five bowl wins and coached Belichick's son there, ESPN reported.

Subsequently, Schiano was named head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012, but he was fired after two seasons and an 11-21 record.

Schiano was rumored to be the Patriots' choice to replace Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator, almost exactly a year ago when Patricia left to become head coach of the Detroit Lions, CBS Sports reported . (See related: Wyckoff's Greg Schiano Not Going To New England Patriots: Report)

Schiano was a leading candidate to be the next head coach of the University of Tennessee football team before the deal fell apart in late 2017, ESPN reported. The deal faced a great deal of public backlash.

ESPN previously reported that the backlash against Schiano's hiring was because of his alleged connection to Jerry Sandusky and the Penn State sexual abuse scandal.

A rock at Tennessee's campus had the words "Schiano covered up child rape at Penn State" painted on it in 2017 after news of Schiano's then-pending hiring broke, ESPN previously reported. Schiano was an assistant coach under the late, and legendary, Penn State coach Joe Paterno while Sandusky worked under Paterno. Schiano worked there from 1990 to 1995.

Schiano tweeted in 2016 that he did not see any abuse and had no reason to suspect it while working at Penn State, according to the report.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Head Coach Greg Schiano of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights calls out from the sideline during the Big East Conference game against the Louisville Cardinals in 2007. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)