Kyle Flood served as head coach for the Rutgers football program for four seasons from 2012-15 and worked 11 seasons overall in Piscataway starting in 2005. Flood became the first head coach in school history to lead the program to three bowl appearances in his first three seasons at the helm.
Flood led the Scarlet Knights through one of their most defining moments in program history – entrance into the prestigious Big Ten Conference in 2014. He owned a 27-24 record over four seasons as the head coach.
In 2015, Flood had six different players earn recognition in the All-Big Ten accolades. That included Leonte Carroo, who left as the program record holder with 29 receiving touchdowns. The campaign included a 25-point comeback victory at Indiana.
Flood guided Rutgers to eight wins in 2014 - the program’s first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Rutgers won all five of its non-conference games and earned Big Ten victories over Michigan, Indiana and Maryland. Following the season, four players (wide receiver Leonte Carroo, defensive lineman Darius Hamilton, defensive lineman Kemoko Turay, offensive lineman Kaleb Johnson) were named all-conference, with Carroo earning First Team All-Big Ten in the media vote. Defensive end Kemoko Turay also earned FWAA Freshman All-America honors.
Flood led Rutgers to a convincing 40-21 win in the Quick Lane Bowl against North Carolina in Detroit, the program’s ninth bowl appearance over the last 10 seasons. The Scarlet Knights earned their first-ever Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy, emblematic of the top team in the East in the Bowl Subdivision.
Following the 2013 season, Flood had the second-highest total of victories for any coach after two seasons in school history. Four players garnered all-conference honors under Flood’s watch – tight end Tyler Kroft (first team), running back Paul James (first team), center Betim Bujari (second team) and Janarion Grant (second team).
In addition, Kroft earned All-America status from SI.com, becoming the first Rutgers tight end to be named an All-American since Marco Battaglia in 1995. Redshirt freshman middle linebacker Steve Longa earned several Freshmen All-America honors as he ended the season as the first middle linebacker at Rutgers to total over 100 tackles in a season since Gary Brackett in 2002.
Flood was named the 29th head coach at the Birthplace of College Football on January 31, 2012. His first year as head coach of the Rutgers football program was as memorable as any first-year coach in Rutgers football history. Flood guided Rutgers to its first BIG EAST Championship, earned BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors and won more games (nine) than any rookie head coach in RU history.
Eight players garnered All-BIG EAST honors as the Scarlet Knights tied a school-record with a 5-2 league record. Khaseem Greene became the second player in league history to be named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons.
Greene also became the fourth player in school history to be named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America team, joining former RU standouts Ray Rice, Anthony Davis and Battaglia on the prestigious list. Greene and cornerback Logan Ryan both earned various All-America accolades after the 2012 campaign.
Following his third year as head coach, Flood witnessed a total of 26 former Scarlet Knights who were selected in the NFL Draft or signed free agent contracts after the 2015 NFL Draft. Additionally, Rutgers saw a school-record seven players taken in the 2013 draft.
While being part of a program producing victories at a rate unprecedented in Rutgers’ history, Flood understood the value of academics for the Scarlet Knights. The Rutgers football program was the lone state university to be ranked in the top 10 percent nationally in Academic Progress Rate (APR) for the eighth consecutive academic year in June.
The 2014 season also saw 27 Scarlet Knights named to the Big Ten All-Academic Team, the fourth-most in the conference. Included in this group was David Milewski, who was named a First Team Academic All-American and earned a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Milewski along with Kroft, Michael Burton and Lorenzo Waters were selected to the National Football Foundation (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society for their work in the classroom.
Off the field, Flood made an equally significant impact in the community. He served the past four years as the honorary coach of the New Jersey Special Olympics, serves on the honorary board of directors for Lauren’s First and Goal Foundation and has taken an active role with volunteering with Embrace Kids Foundation.
Flood was one of 17 people honored by the White House among Hurricane Sandy “Champions of Change,” earning the nod for Rutgers’ relief efforts after the deadly fall storm hit the Northeast region. The Rutgers football program under Flood’s leadership has helped raise over $175,000 for the New Jersey Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.
The Champions of Change program gave the White House a chance to honor groups of people doing great work in their communities.
One constant on any coaching staff with Flood is how successful those teams have fared. In 16 of Flood’s 18 seasons as an assistant coach, his teams finished with winning records, including earning a National Championship at Delaware.
A highly respected figure in the coaching profession, Flood has served as the assistant head coach of the program since 2008 and has been a key part in Rutgers’ six bowl appearances over his seven-year tenure as an assistant in Piscataway.
In addition to his four years as the assistant head coach, Flood has been in charge of the offensive line since coming to RU in 2005. During his time “On the Banks”, the Rutgers offensive line consistently produced top-level talent, including several players who have gone on to the NFL. All-American Anthony Davis became the highest player ever drafted in Rutgers history as the 11th overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft, eventually earning a trip to the Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers in 2013.
In 2011, true freshman right tackle Kaleb Johnson became a Freshman All-America selection, while offensive guard Art Forst collected All- BIG EAST First Team honors along with offensive guard Desmond Wynn who was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
Flood has helped engineer some of the most potent offenses in Rutgers history – evident in a record-breaking 2007 season. The Scarlet Knights’ offensive line ranked second in the nation with just 10 sacks allowed in addition to an RU offense that became the first in NCAA history to have a 3,000-yard passer, 2,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers in the same season.
The Rutgers offense was ranked 18th nationally in total offense in 2007. The offensive line featured two of the top tackles in the nation in Pedro Sosa and Jeremy Zuttah. Both players earned All-BIG EAST honors and were also invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, with Zuttah becoming a third round selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Flood handled run game duties in 2007 and his offensive line helped pave the way for All-American running back Ray Rice, who rushed for a school and then-BIG EAST record 2,012 yards that season. Rice was selected in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens and went on to consecutive Pro Bowl appearances in 2010 and 2011, and a Super Bowl title in 2012.
In 2006, Flood coached an offensive line that helped Rutgers to one of its most productive seasons, as the group relinquished the fewest sacks in the nation with just eight. His unit was regarded as one of the best in the country and featured Cameron Stephenson and Darnell Stapleton, both who played in the NFL. Flood’s corps of hard-nosed blockers helped guide Rice to an All-America season, as he finished second in the nation with 1,794 yards.
Flood came to Rutgers after three seasons at the University of Delaware, where he helped the Blue Hens to a 30-11 record, including a 15-1 mark in 2003 en route to the NCAA FCS National Championship and a share of the Atlantic 10 title in 2004. He also served as assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator during his stint.
Prior to his three seasons at Delaware, Flood was offensive line coach at Hofstra from 1997-2001. While at Hofstra, he helped the Pride earn berths in the NCAA FCS playoffs in 1997 and 1999-2001. The Pride were among the top offensive teams in the nation during his tenure, ranking second in total offense, fourth in passing and fifth in scoring in 2001.
Flood, a 1993 graduate of Iona College, was a four-year letterwinner for the Gaels. A high school teammate of former Rutgers All-American tight end Marco Battaglia at St. Francis Prep High School in Queens, N.Y., Flood earned First Team All-Liberty Conference honors in 1991 and served as team captain of the Gaels in 1992. Flood was a 2013 inductee into the Iona College Goal Club Hall of Fame.
Flood’s first college coaching position came in 1995-96 as offensive line coach at Long Island University-C.W. Post. While coaching at C.W. Post, he helped the team to the ECAC Division II Eastern title in 1996. Flood began his coaching career at St. Francis Prep in 1993, as both offensive and defensive line coach in 1993-94.
Flood and his wife, Amy, are the proud parents of three children, Kyle, Isabella and Joseph.
The Flood File
Hometown: Bayside, N.Y.
Alma Mater: Iona, 1993
Wife: Amy
Children: Kyle, Isabella, Joseph
Coaching Career
2012-15: Head Coach, Rutgers
2011: Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line, Rutgers
2009-10: Assistant Head Coach/Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line, Rutgers
2008-09: Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line, Rutgers
2007: Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator, Rutgers
2005-06: Offensive Line, Rutgers
2002-05: Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line, Delaware
1997-2001: Offensive Line, Hofstra
1995-96: Offensive Line, Long Island - C.W. Post
1993-94: Assistant Coach, St. Francis Preparatory High School, N.Y.
Bowl Games as a Coach
2014: Quick Lane Bowl
2013: New Era Pinstripe Bowl
2012: Russell Athletic Bowl
2011: New Era Pinstripe Bowl
2009: St. Petersburg Bowl
2008: PapaJohns.com Bowl
2008: International Bowl
2006: Texas Bowl
2005: Insight Bowl
Playing Career as a Student-Athlete
A four-year letterwinner and team captain at Iona College.
