Greg Schiano is a good football coach.
He proved that with the job he did at Rutgers and, as a rookie NFL coach just two games into his new career at Tampa Bay, he looks to have the Buccaneers outplaying the talent they have on their roster.
But Schiano’s behavior at the end of yesterday’s bitter 41-34 loss to the Giants at MetLife Stadium, when his team failed to protect a two-touchdown lead late in the third quarter, was pathetic and unacceptable.
Schiano’s decision to order his players to bull rush the Giants offense while it was in the “victory formation’’ to run the clock out on the last play of a game they already had won was something out of the WWE.
With five seconds remaining and the Giants with the lead and possession of the ball, Schiano ordered his players to bust the formation in an effort to force a turnover. Eli Manning and several Giants offensive linemen were knocked down.
All Schiano needed to understand how classless the maneuver was, was to havie Tom Coughlin chase him down on the field after the game and verbally attack him, because Coughlin isn’t exactly what you would call a chronic complainer.
“I don’t think you do that,” Coughlin said. “You don’t jeopardize the offensive line, you [don’t] jeopardize the quarterback. Thank goodness we didn’t get anybody hurt … that I know of.’’
The only thing hurt here was Schiano’s reputation.
Schiano, perhaps trying to enhance his tough-guy image as he adjusts to coaching at this new level, delivered a tired tough-guy act after the game when pressed on why he did it.
Asked about the content of the animated exchange between Coughlin and him, he said, “That’s between the coach and I. We had some stuff we had to hash out, I guess.’’
You guess?
“I don’t know if that’s not something that’s done in the National Football League, but what I do with our football team is we fight until they tell us the game is over,’’ Schiano said. “If they watch Rutgers, they would know that’s what we do at the end of the game. We’re not going to quit. That’s just the way I coach and teach our players.
“Some people were upset about it. I guess that’s the way it goes. There’s nothing dirty about it. There’s nothing illegal about it.’’
That’s up for debate — not only from Giants players but from Schiano’s players, too. According to a couple of Giants linemen, the Buccaneers players seemed sheepish about the maneuver after it was over.
Giants tackle Sean Locklear said Tampa Bay players told him, “Our coach told us to do it.”
“It’s nothing I’ve ever seen; it’s a dirty play,’’ Locklear said.
“It won’t be forgotten,’’ Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said.
“It’s just something you don’t see at this level,’’ Giants right guard Chris Snee said. “Fortunately, no one got hurt. The sad part of it is you do have guys throwing helmets into knees. It’s the end of the game. It’s a kneel-down. This is the NFL. Maybe they got away with that in college, but you don’t do that here. It’s bush league.’’
Manning, who got knocked down, called it “a first’’ in his career, seeing a team do it.
“Obviously, I think it is a little bit of a cheap shot,’’ Manning said. “We are taking a knee in a friendly way,” he said. “They are firing off and it’s a way to get someone hurt.”
Maybe if Schiano’s front seven was as aggressive earlier in the game as it was on that final play, the Buccaneers would not have blown the 14-point lead they had with a little more than a quarter to play and they would not have been torched for the 510 passing yards Manning tattooed them with.
Schiano has built his reputation as a defensive coach. Based on what we saw yesterday, perhaps he should spend a little more time improving how his team plays defense for the first 59 minutes and 55 seconds and a little less time on the nonsense he called for with five seconds remaining yesterday.
Schiano is a good football coach, but he needed to be better than this.