The coach in demand

Now that his team is undefeated and ranked in the top 10 nationally, Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano is the hot coach in college football land. And the Rutgers faithful are worried they might lose the man who has guided the Scarlet Knights from the desert to the mountaintop. Funny thing, few people cared much about Schiano's next stop when his teams won only eight games in three seasons not long ago.

Schiano is part of a fraternity where "what have you done for us lately'' and the law of supply and demand rule. His recent success has put him in the enviable position of being the subject of rumors, if not feelers and offers. But he's not hurting financially. At $875,000 a year, he's undoubtedly the state's highest-salaried public employee. That's the highest salary among the eight Big East coaches, but almost half of the big-time college football coaches make even more. How much is enough?

Rutgers fans do have some things going for them in their hopes of retaining their coach. Schiano's a Jersey guy, from Bergen County. He's building a house not far from the football stadium. He says he's happy, has unfinished business and has no plans of leaving. Fans can only hope that he can resist temptation and stick to what he says.