Greg Schiano and the 4 Biggest Reach Hires in NFL History

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter and the Associated Press, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have hired former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano:

"

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have finalized a five-year deal to hire Rutgers coach Greg Schiano as their new head coach.

Bucs general manager Mark Dominik confirmed the team's hiring of the former Scarlet Knights coach in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday afternoon.

"

That being said, this is a bit of a reach especially with other more NFL experienced coaches available. So to keep the flow, here are the five biggest reach hires in pro football history.

Note: A "reach" hire is being considered as a coach who doesn't have much (if any) NFL experience and/or is lacking a strong overall resume. Some more experienced NFL coaches like Marty Mornhinweg failed, but are not considered "reach" at the time of their hire.

Greg Schiano, Buccaneers

As mentioned in the intro, Greg Schiano is now the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Well, he's quite a reach hire because in 11 years at the helm for Rutgers University, Schiano only managed one season of 10 or more wins (11-2 in 2006). That same year was the only season his Scarlet Knights finished ranked in the final Top 25 poll.

Schiano's overall record was just 68-67 although he did get the Scarlet Knights to a bowl game in six of the past seven years.

Despite that recent success, it's not comparable to an NFL coach like Marty Schottenheimer or Jack Del Rio, two former coaches who Tampa should have at least considered.

Cam Cameron, Dolphins

Let's put it this way, from 1997-2001 Cam Cameron was the head coach for the Indiana Hoosiers and his best record was 5-6 in 2001.

Collectively, Cameron compiled a dismal 18-37 record at Indiana and was his only head coaching gig before Miami gave him a chance in 2007.

Now, to the Dolphins' defense, Cameron did orchestrate a great offense in San Diego from 2002-2006, however, it was clear that he did not possess the knowledge, skills and abilities to be a successful head coach.

Still, the Dolphins gave him a chance and immediately recognized their mistake. Miami began the 2007 season 0-13 and finished 1-15. Needless to say, Cameron was out and it would be really surprising to see him in charge again.

Mike Riley, Chargers

In 1999 the San Diego Chargers were looking for a head coach.

They unfortunately stumbled upon Mike Riley who had just completed his second season with the Oregon State Beavers. There, Riley was only 8-14 in two years as Oregon State's head coach (his first gig at the position) and has just limited college coaching experience.

He spent time in Canada with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and then the San Antonio Riders of the World League of American Football.

Needless to say, Riley's experience didn't hold a candle to any average college coach at the time, let alone enough to warrant a shot in the NFL.

Well, the Bolts learned quick and after a 14-34 record Riley found his way back to college.

David Shula, Bengals

.

Solely because of his last name, Don Shula's son Dave was hired as the Cincinnati Bengals head coach in 1992.

Prior to that, Shula was hired under his father in Miami from 1982 through 1988 and then spent time as the offensive coordinator for Jimmy Johnson and the Dallas Cowboys from 1989 to 1990.

Let's put it this way, there's a reason why Johnson got rid of Shula before Dallas went on to win Super Bowl's in 1992 and 1993. Shula's first season in Dallas the Cowboys went 1-15 and only scored 20-plus points four times.

After the 1990 season happened, Dallas went 7-9 but only managed to score 20-plus points in five games.

With the Bengals, Shula went just 19-53 and was axed during the '96 season.

John Rozum on Twitter.