If he is not fired, I will leave the Rutgers coach, as he has a misunderstanding with his player.

If he is not fired, I will leave the Rutgers coach, as he has a misunderstanding with his player.

Although John McNulty has just recently moved to Boston, the locals are well aware of his background. They are aware that he was let go by Rutgers after just four games of the 2019 campaign, capping up a tumultuous second stint in Piscataway. They are aware that this Saturday, Boston College, his new team, will play their former team. This is a game that seems like it should count for more than one point in the win-loss column.

They won’t phrase it as a question; instead, they’ll say to him, “I bet you’re really fired up for the opener.” You would think he wouldn’t be human if he didn’t want a little revenge for being turned away all those years ago. And what better way to obtain it than by making asevere setback for the Scarlet Knights’ bowl matches two days before to Labor Day

McNulty understands. Additionally, he finds it difficult to believe that everything worked out for the best for him, Rutgers, and everyone else when he considers how things have transpired over the previous three years.

A coach never wants to be fired. On September 29, 2019, McNulty and Chris Ash were fired following a humiliating defeat to Michigan that resulted in a 1-3 start. Although McNulty didn’t find the decision surprising, he did find the timing to be. In New Jersey, the leaves had not yet begun to change hue, but as a coach, he had no team.

“And then, while I was driving home that Sunday, James called me,” McNulty stated.

That would be James Franklin. After learning of the development, the head coach at Penn State invited McNulty to work as an advisor at State College. This decision started a series of events that saw McNulty go from a collapsing program to one of two dominant programs vying for national titles and New Year’s Day bowl bids, and ultimately to the opportunity to manage his own offense once more in Boston.

He worked at his alma mater, Penn State, before moving on to teach tight ends for a postseason squad at Notre Dame and then B.C., where he was working with a quarterback potential for the NFL. In a word, not a bad rebound.