Greg Schiano on Why You Can't Trust Every Head Coaching Vacancy Report

When Oregon fired Mark Helfrich last week, Bruce Feldman of foxsports.com reported the Ducks were interested in filling the vacancy with Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Greg Schiano. A few days later, John Canzano of oregonlive.com reported UO brass interviewed Schiano while on the recruiting trail in New York.

When Oregon hired South Florida's Willie Taggart, Brett McMurphy of ESPN reported the Bulls were interested in Schiano as well, though they eventually hired former Texas coach Charlie Strong.

The former NFL frontman, given his venerable collegiate résumé and professional connections, would make for an intriguing hire by any program. But when you've been around as long as Schiano, you develop a rolodex of contacts, some of which may occasionally call to gauge interest in various opportunities.

According to Schiano, it's a process more informal than even some reporters realize. It would help explain the bevy of false reports seen during this time of year.

"I've made it a habit in my career to never talk about jobs other than the one I have unless I'm taking a different one," Schiano said Thursday when asked to comment about the reports linking him to head coaching jobs."

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"There are so many levels that go into it when you're at this level of football. Whether it's elite Division 1 football or the NFL, there are a lot of conversations that go on that never amount to anything.

"But when you do things long enough, you have a lot of relationships; so you know a lot of people. So a call that may come across your desk isn't necessarily an official [interview]."

And with co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell off in January to takeover the Cincinnati Bearcats, the father of two current high school juniors is poised to takeover the defense he helped mold into one of the best in the country.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who fired Schiano two years into his five-year, $15 million deal back in 2013, stop paying him in January. Which means Schiano is line for a raise when he comes off his one-year contract with Ohio State in the same month.

According to USA TODAY, Schiano was the 55th highest paid coach in the country in 2016 at 600,000 a year. A former NFL head coach at that rate borderlines on stealing.

Though Ohio State has shown a reluctance to pay a premium for assistants — Luke Fickell was the highest paid at $754,500 — a coordinator with Schiano's credentials would easily command over a million a year in the South.

Schiano plans to be in Columbus, so his new contract should be done soon after the season ends.