Greg Schiano enters his second season as head coach in 2013, having been named the ninth head coach in team history on January 27, 2012.

In his first season leading Tampa Bay, Schiano’s impact was evident in all three phases of the game while instilling a culture change within the organization. He transformed a team that had lost its final 10 games of 2011 into a competitive 7-9 club – tied for second place in the NFC South – with seven of those losses being decided by one score or less. Schiano’s seven wins in his debut season marked the second-most by a Buccaneers first-year head coach. 

The Buccaneers offense blossomed under Schiano, becoming the most prolific in franchise history by setting team records for most points, yards, touchdowns, passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Quarterback Josh Freeman became the first passer in team history to eclipse the 4,000-yard passing mark with a team-record 4,065, while throwing for a Buccaneers record 27 touchdowns. Freeman also set franchise highs with 35 passes of 25+ yards and 185 first-down passes.

Wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who Schiano lured to Tampa Bay as a free agent in March, earned a Pro Bowl selection following the 2012 season. Jackson recorded the second-most receiving yards in a single season in team history (1,384), which ranked fifth in the NFL in 2012. He also led the league in yards per catch 19.2 and first-down catch percentage (84.7), while his 17 receptions of 25+ were the most in team history.

Rookie running back Doug Martin, selected by Schiano and General Manager Mark Dominik with the 31^st pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, also paid immediate dividends while earning Pro Bowl honors. Martin recorded the second-most rushing yards (1,454), scrimmage yards (1,926) and total touchdowns (12) in a single season in franchise history, as well as tying for the second-most rushing touchdowns in a single season in team history (11). All were franchise rookie records. Martin’s 1,926 yards from scrimmage were the third-most in the NFL and was the third-highest total for a rookie in league history.

Schiano took a Buccaneers defensive unit that ranked last against the run in 2011 and transformed it immediately. Tampa Bay finished 2012 with the No. 1-ranked rush defense in the NFL, both in yards per carry (3.5) and yards allowed per game (82.5), a mark which also stands as the best in Buccaneers history. The worst-to-first turnaround was the first of its kind since the 1970 NFL merger.

That rush defense was anchored by defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who under Schiano’s tutelage, earned his first career Pro Bowl selection, and rookie linebacker Lavonte David, who was selected to the All-Rookie Team. David finished seventh in the NFL in total tackles, second in solo tackles and third in tackles for loss. His 20 tackles for loss were the most by an NFL rookie since 2001. In addition to Martin and David, safety Mark Barron, the Buccaneers first selection in the 2012 NFL Draft, earned All-Rookie Team honors, giving Tampa Bay the distinction as the only club to have three position players selected.

On special teams, the Buccaneers set a franchise record and led the NFL with three blocked punts, which resulted in a league-leading 17 points, including one returned for a touchdown. Dakoda Watson was responsible for two of the blocks, becoming just the third player in the last six seasons to have more than one. Punter/Kickoff Specialist Michael Koenen ranked first in the NFL in touchback percentage, while kicker Connor Barth led the league with field goals of 40 yards or longer.

Schiano joined the Buccaneers after serving as the head coach of Rutgers University for 11 years, where he transformed the Scarlet Knights from an unknown into a consistently winning and respected program.

During his tenure, Schiano’s teams and players rewrote the Rutgers record book. His teams set single-season school marks for passing yards, passing touchdowns, receiving yards, receptions, rush yards and rushing touchdowns. His players also hold the top spots in career passing yards, passing touchdowns, receiving yards, receptions, receiving touchdowns, 100-yard receiving games, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.

Under his leadership, Rutgers – which had advanced to a postseason bowl just once in the team’s previous 135-year history – developed a new tradition of not only competing in, but also winning, bowl games. In his final seven seasons with the team, Schiano’s Scarlet Knights qualified for six bowls and recorded five consecutive bowl victories.

Rutgers’ rise to national prominence under Schiano began in the 2005 season, where the team made its first postseason bowl appearance since 1978. In 2006, the Scarlet Knights took the next step, putting together a sensational season, winning 11 games and concluding  with a No. 12 ranking in the national polls and a convincing 37-10 victory over Kansas State in the Texas Bowl, the first bowl championship in school history.

For his architecture of such a prodigious turnaround, Schiano was honored with 2006 Coach of the Year accolades from every major college football awards outlet, including the Football Writers Association of America, The Walter Camp Football Foundation, the Maxwell Club, and the titles of Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year, Home Depot National Coach of the Year and Big East Coach of the Year.

Schiano’s aptitude for developing young players has translated into NFL success for many of his former charges. He was responsible for developing 18 NFL draft picks as Rutgers’ head coach, including 14 in the last six drafts. During his years coaching collegiately, Schiano helped produce nearly 60 players who went on to professional careers.

In 2009, WR Kenny Britt became Rutgers’ inaugural first-round NFL Draft pick when he was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the 30th overall pick. Britt was the first of a school-record five Scarlet Knights selected in that year’s draft. The next year, Schiano’s players continued to make their names known, with two men – T Anthony Davis (San Francisco, 11th overall) and CB Devin McCourty (New England, 27th overall) – being selected in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Other notable current and former professional players groomed under Schiano’s leadership include RB Ray Rice, LB Gary Brackett, LB Jonathan Vilma, S Ed Reed, and LB Dan Morgan, among others. In 2010, 32 of Schiano’s Scarlet Knights played on an NFL roster, including seven players from the 2009 squad.

Three former Rutgers players from Schiano’s tenure have earned Super Bowl rings over the past seven years. Rice was chosen to his third Pro Bowl in leading Baltimore to a Super Bowl XLVII victory, Brackett served as a captain of the Super Bowl XLI Champion Indianapolis Colts, and Darnell Stapleton started at right guard on Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl XLIII Championship team.

Schiano is known for impacting more than simply his players’ performances on the field, however, as he accrued a reputation while at Rutgers for attracting high-character students and pushing his team to academic success. Rutgers football achieved the nation’s No. 1 ranking in Academic Progress Rate in 2010, and the nation’s No. 2 mark in 2011. For the fourth consecutive year, the Rutgers football team was ranked in the top three nationally in multi-year APR rates, becoming the only university in the entire nation to earn that prestigious honor.

Prior to heading up Rutgers’ program, Schiano served two seasons (1999-00) as defensive coordinator with the Miami Hurricanes. While with the Hurricanes, the team posted a 20-5 record, including an 11-1 mark, the No. 2 ranking and a Sugar Bowl victory in 2000.

The ‘Canes showed rapid improvement under Schiano, as the team closed out the 1999 season by not allowing a passing touchdown in 27 quarters and was ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense (17.2). In 2000, Miami surrendered just 15.5 points per game, the fifth-best mark in the nation and the fewest allowed by any team in the Big East. In those two seasons, Schiano also helped the team to finish in the top five in total takeaways, amassing 35 in 1999 (third in the nation) and 33 in 2000 (fifth in the nation).

Schiano served three seasons in the NFL with the Chicago Bears as a defensive assistant (1996-97) and later defensive backfield coach (1998), and also spent six seasons at Penn State as a graduate assistant (1990) and defensive backfield coach (1991-95).

Since coming to Tampa, Schiano and his family have quickly dove into the local community, working with Hillsborough County Public Schools, the Pepin Academy, Metropolitan Ministries and All-Pro Dads, while continuing his long-time association with Athletes in Action.

Schiano – born in Wyckoff, N.J. on June 1, 1966 – is a 1988 graduate of Bucknell University, where he was a three-year letterman at linebacker. He and his wife, Christy, are the proud parents of four children: Joey, John, Matt and Lena Kate.

SCHIANO AT A GLANCE