Report: Wyckoff's Schiano Inks 5-Year Deal with Bucs

Wyckoff native Greg Schiano signed a five-year deal Thursday, making him the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to a report from ESPN.

"We are thrilled to introduce Coach Schiano as the new head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers," Bucs co-chair Joel Glazer said on the team's website. "During our thorough search, we met with numerous impressive candidates, but Coach Schiano surely distinguished himself. From his leadership skills to his impressive track record, he is, simply put, the right man for the job."

The former Rutgers head coach met with the Bucs several times this week to iron out the details of the deal that would put him at the helm of the NFL's fourth worst team.

The Bucs finished out the 2011-2012 season with an abysmal 4-12 record.

Schiano, 45, is expected to be officially introduced as the team's new coach at a press conference on Friday.

The organization cited Schiano's talents as a motivator and a team-builder, as well as his the resume he's compiled at the college and pro levels, as good reason to hire the  grad. 

In 11 seasons as the head football coach at Rutgers, Schiano won five bowl games, including  in December over Iowa State in the second annual New Era Pinstripe Bowl — a game was played at the Bronx's Yankee Stadium in front of 38,328 fans.

Schiano compiled a 49-28 record at Rutgers since took the helm there in 2001. He served as a defensive assistant with the Chicago Bears from 1996-98.

According to NBC's College Football Talk, Schiano was considered for the Penn State head coaching job following the firing of Joe Paterno and was briefly connected to a vacancy at Illinois.

Before hiring Schiano, Tampa sought out the talents of Oregon head coach Chip Kelly, but after talks collapsed when Kelly decided he had unfinished business in the Pacific Northwest, the Bucs closed in on Schiano.

"One of the people [team officials] called was Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who spoke highly of Schiano," reported ESPN.com's Adam Schefter. 

Schefter also reported that Schiano's contract with Rutgers, which ran through 2016, was expected to earn him about $2.35 million per year.

The NFL's 2012-13 season is scheduled to start the first week in September.