Rutgers Football: Head coach Chris Ash on a very hot seat in 2019

The heat on Rutgers football head coach just went to 11. Last week the athletic department released a set of standards for their teams. So far Ash hasn’t measured up.

It’s been a dismal start to Rutgers football coach Chris Ash‘s head coaching career. The former Ohio State Buckeyes co-defensive coordinator is a horrid 7-29 including 3-24 in the Big 10 since he took over the Scarlet Knights program in December of 2015. That level of ineptitude doesn’t cut it anywhere, let alone in a Power Five conference.

“The Relentless Pursuit of Excellence” (TRPE) was released by Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs last week. It is an 11-page document that outlines the athletic department’s vision for sports teams in their purview. The press release sent out about TRPE described the document as “a strategic vision that outlines a plan and details quantifying measures towards achieving determined goals over a five-year timeframe.”

In the 150 year history of Rutgers Athletics, this is the first time the institution has a measurable set of goals to hold their sports teams and coaches accountable to a set of standards. TRPE may also be the instrument of Ash’s demise in his current job. Of the five core values excellence, integrity, respect, accountability, and grit. The Rutgers football team has struggled in four of them during Ash’s tenure.

More from Empire Writes Back

There is no good reason to question the coach’s integrity. To give Ash some credit, the coach has not signed bad kids. When incidents have come up he has handled them quickly. Additionally, Ash and his players have represented the university well off the field. The other four values, however, are fair game.

Just looking at the team’s record, excellence has gone out the window. Respect? Go on any Big-10 fansite, the Scarlet Knights are a laughing stock. No one has ever said the players on the field are trying their best, but the fact they were outscored 405-134 in 2018 does put the grit issue in question. That leaves accountability, which appears to be coming across the field like the Four Horseman of the Apocolypse.

Next, come the measurables. This is where Hobbs will have the impetus to remove Ash as the head football coach. Some of the items on this list standout. Among them are Big 10 conference rank, attendance growth, qualification for postseason play, all Big 10 honors, fund donor growth, and media exposure. If these criteria were in place last year, someone else would be in charge of the football program today.

Next. Giants post-draft defensive backs breakdown. dark

An outsider would think TRPE was specifically designed to light a fire under Ash and men’s basketball coach Steve Pikiell. The reality is that it took 150 years for Rutgers to put into writing how they want to run their athletic department. No wonder the football program crumbled under the weight of college football royalty in the Big 10 Conference.

Home/New York News