(Photo via nj.com)

Today’s guest on the Coach and Coordinator podcast is Chris Ash, head coach at Rutgers. Ash, who just completed his second season as the Scarlet Knights’ head coach, and is the first Big 10 coach to appear on the podcast. Before coming to Rutgers, Ash served as defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and Ohio State, and was part of the staff on the Buckeyes’ 2014 College Football Playoff championship team. Ash and host Keith Grabowski talks about culture, building a staff, recruiting and more.

Show notes

• 1:30      How Ash’s career trajectory brought him to the Big 10 coaching ranks
• 3:30      What Ash had to learn along the way
• 5:30      Some of the big names in football who have influenced Ash 
• 9:30      The importance of culture within a program
• 12:30    How Ash has built the culture, and where the Scarlet Knights stand in their three-year plan
• 15:45    How Ash built the Rutgers defense based on his past experience as a defensive coach
• 17:55     Recruiting at Rutgers
• 20:40   Ash’s system for evaluating players
• 23:00   The formula for building a coaching staff upon taking the Rutgers job
• 24:30   How Jerry Kill helped Ash during his time at Rutgers
• 27:00   How Nunzio Campanile has helped the coaching staff
• 29:15   What Ash looks for in a recruit
• 31:20   The winning edge

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