A former Rutgers head coach may be having a difficult time being hired for another head coach gig, but current Rutgers head coach was just given a boost of confidence from his bosses. According to a report from NJ.com, Rutgers has reworked the contract of Chris Ash to now run through the 2022 season, giving Ash a two-year extension as a result.
Ash originally signed with Rutgers in December 2015 on a five-year contract, which was valued at $11 million. In addition to commitments to improve the football facilities, Rutgers is now investing more in their head coach as part of the new agreement in place. Per NJ.com;
As noted in the report, this is actually the first official contract Ash will have on the record. The previous two seasons, Ash was working off a signed Memorandum of Agreement with the promise of working out an official contract. That deal was in place as Rutgers was awaiting word from the NCAA on any potential sanctions stemming from incidents that occurred under the previous head coach, Kyle Flood.
Ash took the Rutgers job prior to the 2016 season, his first job as a head coach after serving as an assistant under Urban Meyer at Ohio State. The first year on the job did not go well with a rebuilding project on his hands and injuries to key players. The Scarlet Knights went 2-10 in 2016 and suffered humiliating losses in Big Ten play. The 2017 season saw some steps forward for the Rutgers program result in doubling the win total from the previous season. The gaps between Rutgers and the top programs in the Big Ten were still visible from the moon and the season ended with a loud thud in the form of a 40-0 loss at Indiana and a 40-7 setback at home against Michigan State, but the larger picture of Rutgers in 2017 had some positives the 2016 season simply did not.