After about two decades of preparation, Ash got his first opportunity to call the shots after stops as defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, Arkansas and Ohio State. He chose to do so at Rutgers over Syracuse.
The 42-year-old Iowa native didn't stop at cleaning house of Flood's staff. He overhauled virtually every aspect of the program over the course of eight months.
The question now: Can he return Rutgers to winning ways while playing a Big Ten schedule?
When Rutgers hired Chris Ash to replace the fired Kyle Flood, it was out with the old and in with the new.