Rutgers gives Kyle Flood 2-year contract extension, raise

Published Sep. 11, 2014 11:19 a.m. ET

foxsports

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Take Rutgers coach Kyle Flood off the hot seat.

Rutgers gave Flood a two-year contract extension Thursday after the Scarlet Knights opened the football season with two wins.

Athletic director Julie Hermann announced the deal two days before the Scarlet Knights (2-0) play their first Big Ten Conference game against Penn State (2-0).

"Kyle Flood is a tremendous coach for our football team and has earned the opportunity to lead us into the Big Ten and build on our program successes," Hermann said. "With the generosity of private funding, we are pleased to invest in our head coach and our entire staff at a level more consistent with our Big Ten peers."

The deal extends Flood's contract through early 2019 and includes a salary increase that will push his salary to $1.25 million next season. It will increase $100,000 annually through the length of the contract. Flood is earning $950,000 this season, making him the only coach in the conference being paid less than $1 million.

If Flood is fired before the end of the contract, he will receive a $1.4 million buyout.

Flood has a 17-11 record and a Top 10 APR ranking. He is the first Scarlet Knights coach to reach bowl game in each of his first two years.

Named the 2012 Big East Coach of The Year in his first season, the Scarlet Knights earned a share of the 2012 Big East title, the first championship in program history.

"Coach Flood exemplifies our university's standards and values both on and off the field," Rutgers President Robert Barchi said. "He has put together a strong coaching staff that supports our mission to compete well both in the classroom and on the field."

Flood made two important moves after Rutgers posted a 6-7 record last season. He hired former Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, one of the game's top offensive minds, to become the Scarlet Knights' offensive coordinator. He also named former Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant defensive coordinator Bob Fraser as his special teams coordinator.