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Schiano staying put at Rutgers

He won't be succeeding Lloyd Carr as the football coach at Michigan.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Greg Schiano rejected overtures from Michigan and will remain the football coach at Rutgers.

Schiano met with the Scarlet Knights yesterday morning and told them of his decision, Rutgers spokesman Jason Baum said.

It marked the second time in less than a week that Michigan had been rebuffed in its efforts to find a successor to Lloyd Carr. Les Miles decided to remain at Louisiana State last Saturday.

"I was contacted earlier this week about the Michigan coaching vacancy, but I have decided to remove my name from consideration," Schiano said in a statement. "I look forward to our third straight bowl game and to bringing a national championship to Rutgers and the state of New Jersey. I will have no further comment."

Rutgers athletic director Robert E. Mulcahy; Bryan Harlin, Schiano's agent; and Michigan spokesman Bruce Madej did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

Michigan athletic director Bill Martin and Schiano met for several hours in New York City earlier this week.

The Star-Ledger of Newark reported that a member of the Scarlet Knights' football staff who requested anonymity said the Michigan job was Schiano's if he wanted it, but the job was never officially offered.

Schiano, a New Jersey native, orchestrated one of the most impressive turnarounds in college football during his seven seasons at Rutgers. When he took over in Piscataway, the program was one of the worst in Division I-A.

The Scarlet Knights have enjoyed three straight winning seasons and will be making their third consecutive postseason appearance at the International Bowl, against Ball State, on Jan. 6. They were 7-5 this season, a disappointment after starting the season ranked 16th in the nation.

Schiano's decision to talk to Michigan came just a day after he gave the impression that he was not interested in the job.

"I haven't spoken to anybody about any job, and that's where I'm going to leave it," Schiano said Monday when asked about Michigan at his weekly news conference.

Within 48 hours, that seemed to change, which was similar to the situation a year ago when Schiano turned down a chance to return to Miami. He was the Hurricanes' defensive coordinator before coming to Rutgers.

After pulling out of contention for the Miami job, Schiano signed a four-year extension through 2016 that will pay him $1.7 million annually.

That deal contains a buyout of $750,000 if Schiano leaves Rutgers between the end of the 2007 regular season and the beginning of the 2008 campaign.

Instead of a new contract, Schiano's decision to stay might influence the powers that be to raise money to expand the Rutgers football stadium. The university's board of governors recently put off a vote on a stadium-expansion proposal after Gov. Corzine expressed reservations about floating a $30 million state loan for the project.

The addition of 12,000 seats, luxury boxes, and a dining club to the Piscataway stadium is expected to cost $120 million.

Schiano's decision left Michigan 0 for 2 in its search to replace Carr, who retired on Nov. 19 after 13 seasons.

Michigan's list of potential candidates includes Wake Forest's Jim Grobe, California's Jeff Tedford, Missouri's Gary Pinkel, North Carolina State's Tom O'Brien, Ball State's Brady Hoke, Michigan offensive coordinator Mike DeBord, and Wolverines defensive coordinator Ron English.

Carr posted a 121-40 record, including an 8-4 mark this season. His .752 winning percentage was seventh among active coaches, behind Florida State's Bobby Bowden and ahead of South Carolina's Steve Spurrier.