Ryan Dunleavy|Staff writer
PISCATAWAY – The final question that Kyle Flood faced at his final press conference as Rutgers football coach was asking for his assessment of quarterback Chris Laviano’s play.
At the time, even Flood – who took a helicopter out recruiting the next day and got fired over the phone – did not know it was the end of the road. But in hindsight it seems like a fitting way for the dust to settle given Flood’s blind loyalty to his quarterbacks was a trademark of his tenure.
Flood finished 27-24 in four years at the helm,with a .592 winning percentage that is the best at Rutgers since Frank Burns (1973-83) became the last of six straight coaches with winning career records.
As expected from a roughly .500 era, Flood did some things well and other things poorly. Here is our report card grading the Kyle Flood Era:
Recruiting: Hired to hold together the stacked 2012 class, Flood did an excellent job and even landed five-star Darius Hamilton as his first move.
He appeared to have another dynamic class coming together for 2014, but losing and off-field issues swirled together and led to an unthinkable 13 decommitments.
Rutgers never recovered in-state, landing just one of 30 total Top-10 ranked players in New Jersey over the last three classes. That wasn’t about to change with the upcoming class, either.
Flood did uncover some undervalued gems, like halfbacks Josh Hicks and Robert Martin, kick returner Janarion Grant and pass-rusher Kemoko Turay.
Grade: C-.
Oversight: Flood’s biggest downfall wasthat the job may have been too big.
Greg Schiano often is painted as a control freak – setting the thermostat to optimal temperatures – but he struck a level of fear in players that he had eyes all over campus to follow your every move.
Eleven different players are reported to have been arrested while playing for Flood, some more than once. In fact, the second andsometimes third chances Flood allowed the likes of Ruhann Peele, Tejay Johnson and Nadir Barnwell came back to bite him.
Seven players were arrested – and six players dismissed – this September alone.
Barnwell was the player that Flood went to bat for, leading to his three-game suspension for impermissible contact with a faculty member.
Grade: F.
Hiring: The best decision that Flood made during his tenure was checking his own ego and luring pro-style offense guru Ralph Friedgen out of retirement for a year to fix quarterback Gary Nova and start the Big Ten era off right with an eight-win season.
When Friedgen retired, Flood handed the job to Ben McDaniels, a possible up-and-comer with good football DNA.
The rest of Flood’s hires read like a roll call of former colleagues and opponents from his stops in the FCS and old Schianohires. Other than when he had seven future NFL players at his disposal in 2012, Flood never got the defense right under Dave Cohen or Joe Rossi.
Rutgers has had the three worst yards allowed seasons in school history back-to-back-to-back.
Grade: B-.
Public Relations: While a lack of availability to media became the way for all top Rutgers officials to handle crisis, Flood answered questions 3-4 times a week from August until the day before he was fired, except for when he was barred from doing so during his suspension.
Flood always sounded confident – perhaps too much so – and comfortable in front of cameras and usually knew when to be apologetic, defiant or whatever emotion a situation called for.
On a different level, Flood’s community involvement made him a coach relatable to the average fan, unlike so many in college football.
The unfortunate victims in the situation are charities like Special Olympics, Embrace Kids, Coach to Cure MD and military organizations who lose a powerful advocate in public and private.
Grade: A.
Coaching:In a word, Flood was loyal. Probably too loyal.
He stuck with Gary Nova too long in 2013 – though he was rewarded for it in 2014 – and with Laviano too long in 2015.
He stayed true to the pro-style offense when it seems to be outdated and to Schiano’s defensive scheme even without a Schiano to run it.
He refused to abandon the three-halfback rotation and made some curious late-season decisions regarding redshirts for freshmen.
But Flood’s teams rarely lacked effortas Rutgers set and matched the school record with two 25-point comeback wins in its last 14 games under Flood.
And he was seldom afraid to make a gutsy decision, be it on a fourth down or managing the clock.
Grade:C.
Competitiveness: In four years, Flood had four wins against Power Five teams that earned bowl berths that same season (Syracuse in 2012, Maryland and UNC in 2014 and Indiana in 2015).
Over the last three years, he went 2-15 against teams that finished winning records, beating Navy and Maryland last season.
Rutgers lost four Big Ten games by a cumulative score of 177-44 this season after losing four by a cumulative score of 180-44 last season. Not surprisingly given those numbers, Rutgers suffered 10 losses by 21 points or more over the last three seasons.
Rutgers went 1-2 in three bowls – the Russell Athletic, Pinstripe and Quick Lane – under Flood but saw a golden opportunity to win the Big East and go to a BCS game slip away in 2012.
Grade: D.
Staff Writer Ryan Dunleavy: rdunleavy@gannettnj.com