Rutgers' Interim Coach Norries Wilson Should Get Chance to Replace Kyle Flood

The turmoil surrounding the Rutgers‘ football program came to a head this week, with head coach Kyle Flood suspended for the next three games and fined $50,000 for improperly contacting a faculty member. Assistant head coach/running backs coach Norries Wilson came to Rutgers with Flood in 2012, so he was a natural choice to take over as interim head coach. Flood’s suspension only applies on game days, and he will still lead practice during the week barring an unforeseen development.

Starting with a road game against Penn State on Saturday night, two of the Scarlet Knights’ next three games will be against Big Ten opponents. They’ll host Kansas on Sept. 26, then a week off will come before Michigan State comes to town on Oct. 10. Winning one or two of those upcoming games would have to be considered a major victory, and Wilson can bolster his resume if he can get good effort out of a suspension-thinned squad.

Wilson became the first black head coach in Ivy League history when he took over at Columbia before the 2006 season, but a 17-43 record over six seasons got him fired in 2011. The 50-year old made multiple stops as an assistant in the college ranks prior to that first head coaching opportunity, with stints at Minnesota (1989-90), North Carolina Central (1991-92), Livingstone College (1993), Bucknell (1995-98) and UConn (1999-2005). Wilson was a captain and two-year starter as an offensive lineman at Minnesota in the late 1980’s.

Since the start of September, six Rutgers’ players have been kicked off the team as the result of arrests. A seventh, star wide receiver Leonte Caroo, was suspended indefinitely last Sunday after an incident outside the team’s football headquarters last Saturday night.

Flood’s status as head coach may already be a bit shaky, based on the recent conduct of his players and a perceived lack of control. I think this situation with contacting a professor is fairly trivial overall, but rules are rules and Flood did not follow university policy.

It’s rare to get a real glimpse of how an assistant coach will handle more in-game responsibility as a head coach, but Rutgers will now have that chance over the next few games. If a change is made, either in-season or after the season, Wilson should not be overlooked as a top candidate to replace Flood on a permanent basis.

Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.