Wyckoff's Greg Schiano Resigns As Patriots' Defensive Coordinator

WYCKOFF, NJ — Township native Greg Schiano has announced he has resigned as defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots.

The announcement comes about six weeks after Schiano reportedly took the position with the six-time Super Bowl-winning franchise.

The Patriots issued statements from Schiano and head coach Bill Belichick on the move Thursday afternoon.

"This is not the result of any one event, but rather a realization that I need to spend more time on my faith and family," Schiano said. "I don't want to look back years from now and wish I had done things differently. Therefore, I am taking time away from the game to recalibrate my priorities."

Belichick said in his statement that he greatly respects Schiano and "appreciate his contributions to our staff and team."

"He is a friend who we support completely," Belichick said in his statement.

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

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

Before joining the Patriots, Schiano was 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-10 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 in 2018 when Patricia left to become head coach of the Detroit Lions, CBS Sports reported.

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