Greg Schiano Reportedly Close to Becoming Head Coach of Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are about to make a shocking move for their next head coach.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Rutgers University coach Greg Schiano is the man they plan to hire:

Schiano has been rumored for many jobs since his breakout year with Rutgers in 2006, but has remained loyal to the Scarlet Knights. If things hold up, that is all about to change.

What It Means?

Schiano has been at Rutgers since 2001. He took a completely miserable program and made them relevant again. He led the Scarlet Knights to six bowl games in the last seven years and won five of them.

The program has turned out numerous NFL stars under Schiano's rule, including superstars Ray Rice and Kenny Britt.

This is a huge blow for Rutgers.

And for the Bucs, this is a huge leap of faith.

College coaches don't have the best track record in the NFL and Schiano has only been the head coach of one program during his career.

However, according to Schefter's report to ESPN, the Glazers, owners of the Bucs, were very thorough in their research on the Rutgers man and have been in contact with him from the beginning.

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Schiano is an under-the-radar coach, but Tampa Bay has been eyeing him throughout this process. Buccaneers college scout Bill Rees made contact with Schiano at the outset of Tampa Bay's coaching search, and the two men stayed in contact.

The Glazer family also conducted a massive amount of research, reaching out to various NFL people. One of the people they called was Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who spoke highly of Schiano.

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Belichick, in particular, has had a very solid relationship with Schiano and Rutgers over the last few years.

Schiano spent time in the NFL as a defensive assistant with the Bears in the late 1990s before jumping back to college as the defensive coordinator at Miami.

On a speculative note, this could also be a sign of things to come for the Big East. Schiano has turned down numerous offers in the past to stay in New Jersey, but with things as uncertain as they are, we cannot ignore the timing of his departure.

What Happens Next?

Should the two parties agree to a deal, Rutgers will be left in the cold right before signing day. This loss be a huge blow to their recruiting class and they'll have to find a way to pick up the pieces quickly or they could fall out of relevancy in the Big East.

The Bucs will now have a coach who knows the college game and its players extremely well.

Tampa Bay owns the No. 5 pick in this year's draft and needs to turn things around quickly after a down season in the NFC South.

The other coach rumored to be in the lead for the Bucs job, former Packers and Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman, is interviewing for the Dolphins' offensive coordinator job, according to Schefter.

Again, moving for a college coach is always risky, but the Bucs feel that they have someone special in Greg Schiano.

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