Before becoming the offensive coordinator at Rutgers, Drew Mehringer was coaching the receivers for one of the hottest coaching names in the country in Tom Herman at Houston.
The Cougars had put together a truly special season under Herman, which provided Mehringer an opportunity to interview for the Rutgers offensive coordinator job under newly appointed head coach Chris Ash (who worked alongside Herman at Ohio State). Mehringer notes in an ESPN piece today that he had his doubts about coordinating an offense during a coaching transition with the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Iowa on the schedule, not to mention a non conference trip across the country to Washington to open the season.
Those aren't exactly the names of programs that most coordinators are excited to cut their teeth against.
But after walking into the interview with a fair share of skepticism, Mehringer walked out feeling confident in the new direction of the program. He notes that one question he asked Ash hat really turned things around for him was "Why do you think we can win here?"
When Ash talked about his plan, which centered on recruiting New Jersey and the surrounding area much better and bringing with him the culture that Urban Meyer and the staff at Ohio State had instilled during their time in Columbus, it sparked a sense of confidence in Mehringer. Ash also encouraged Mehringer to finish what they had started in Houston with their bowl game against Florida State, and leave the recruiting up to Ash and his staff. That helped too.
What will the Rutgers offense look like come fall? It'll be "a little bit different" Mehringer notes.
“If we’re going to line up with Michigan State and Ohio State and go punch for punch right now do I think that’s the best avenue for success? Probably not."
"I say that a little bit out of ignorance not ever seeing these guys play in person, but yeah, I think we’ve got to do something a little bit different. I think we’ve got to create an edge or an advantage for our guys that’s different from what’s done in the Big Ten traditionally.”
Interestingly enough, the article also points out that while Mehringer has been full-go in Piscataway for a few weeks now, mostly doing some catching up recruiting wise as signing day quickly approaches, he does have an apartment in his name in New Jersey, but he hasn't had his feet on the ground for long enough to even see the inside of it.