Three months after firing its offensive coordinator, Rutgers is reportedly closing in on hiring a new one.
The Scarlet Knights are expected to hire Minnesota offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca to the same role, according to reports. ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported the news.
“Rutgers expected to make a substantial commitment to bring in former offensive coordinator,” Thamel wrote.
Ciarrocca is a name that is familiar to Rutgers fans, as he was the program’s wide receivers coach in 2008 and co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2009-10.
He was fired by head coach Greg Schiano following the 2010 season, but Schiano is apparently confident that hiring Ciarrocca will be a better move this time around.
Ciarrocca spent last season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Minnesota after serving as an offensive analyst at West Virginia in 2021. It was the second time he’d held those roles for the Golden Gophers after doing so from 2017-19.
Ciarrocca was the OC and quarterbacks coach at Penn State in 2020 but was fired after one season. He also had stints in those positions at Western Michigan, Richmond and Delaware.
The expected hire of Ciarrocca brings a lengthy OC search to a close. Rutgers has been without a permanent offensive coordinator since Schiano dismissed Sean Gleeson on Oct. 9.