Rutgers Football: Ohio State assistant Chris Ash to be Scarlet Knights new head coach

The Rutgers football team is closing on naming their new head coach with Ohio State defensive coordinator finalizing a deal to replace Kyle Flood.

Rutgers cleaned house after a disappointing football season and parted ways with head coach Kyle Flood and athletic director Julie Hermann and the program is beginning to put together the pieces on starting a new era of Rutgers football.

According to Thayer Evans of Sports Illustrated, Rutgers is finalizing a deal to bring in co-defensive coordinator from Ohio State, Chris Ash, to be the next head coach of the Scarlet Knights.

Ash has been the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for the Buckeyes since 2014. Previously, Ash worked under Bret Bielema as the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and at Arkansas. He’s also been an assistant as Iowa State, San Diego State and Drake.

This is his first head coaching job.

Ash helped guide the Buckeyes to the national championship last year but made improvements on this year’s defense that finished second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 14 points per game, and tenth in total defense with 303 yards allowed per game.

Ash will stay in the same Big Ten East division he’s coached against the last two years so that familiarity will help his transition to being the head coach at Rutgers, but it’ll be a challenge to build this program into a consistent winner right away.

I think Ash will bring a new voice and approach to the program which was sorely needed, so it’s a big hire in that regard, and you can’t go wrong plucking a coach on the Urban Meyer coaching tree.

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So I’d preach patience and if you give Ash two-three years to makeover the roster and change the culture in Piscataway, the Scarlet Knights can challenge for bowl bids again.