PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano announced the addition of Robb Smith and Randy Trivers to the coaching staff for the Scarlet Knights. Smith will be the special teams coordinator and coach the outside linebackers while Trivers will serve as the team’s running backs coach.
“We are excited about Robb and Randy joining our family,” said Schiano. “They are both great coaches and great people.”
Smith comes to Rutgers after spending seven seasons on the Maine coaching staff, most recently serving as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. In addition to his role as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach, Smith also coached the team’s linebackers. He replaces Chris Rippon, who has decided to pursue other opportunities.
Under Smith, Maine was ranked in the top third nationally in the Football Championship Subdivision in total defense in each of his three seasons as defensive coordinator. Smith earned the promotion to assistant head coach after leading one of the finest defenses in the nation in 2006. In his first season as the defensive coordinator, the "Black Hole" defense ranked among the top five nationally in several categories, including: rush defense (first), total defense (second), sacks (third), scoring defense (fourth) and tackles for loss (fifth).
Before joining the staff at Maine, Smith worked as a quality control/defensive graduate assistant at Iowa from 1999-01. He was with the 2001 Hawkeye squad that defeated Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl, 19-16.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Smith played at Allegheny College from 1993-97 and was a three-year letterwinner at strong safety. Smith earned his B.A. degree in economics from Allegheny in 1997. He also earned a masters degree in communications from Iowa in 2002. Smith and his wife, Amy, are the proud parents of two sons, Charles and Jonathan.
Prior to Rutgers, Trivers spent the previous two seasons as the running backs coach at Syracuse. He fills the vacancy created by Gary Brown, who was hired by the Cleveland Browns as running backs coach.
During his tenure with the Orange, Trivers mentored one of the BIG EAST’s top running backs in Curtis Brinkley. Brinkley finished fourth in the BIG EAST with 1,164 yards rushing last season and scored seven touchdowns.
Before his stint with the Orange, Trivers was the head coach at Northwest High School in Germantown, Md., from 1998-2006. As the head coach at Northwest High School, Trivers coached current Scarlet Knight Joe Lefeged. Trivers mentored 42 student-athletes who went on to play on the collegiate level during his time at Northwest.
During his nine-year tenure, Trivers team’s recorded a 73-27 record and he won 12 different Coach of the Year accolades. In 2004, Trivers guided Northwest to a 13-1 record and the 3A state championship en route to being named the Maryland Associated Press Coach of the Year.
Trivers, a native of Silver Spring, Md., graduated from Holy Cross in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in English. In 1997, he earned his master’s degree in secondary education from Maryland.
