Report: Rutgers to hire business consultant, program booster as recruiting coordinator

Well this is an interesting approach.

According to NJ.com’s Keith Sargeant, Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood “is on the verge” of hiring a business consultant with no football experience to be the Scarlet Knights’ recruiting coordinator.

The reported hire, Jeff Towers, is a “financial supporter of the football program” (AKA a booster) who described himself on LinkedIn as an “executive with 30 years of experience leading robust marketing, communications and fundraising programs in some of the largest nonprofit organizations in America.”

How does this qualify Towers to oversee recruiting for a Big Ten football program? I have no idea.

Here’s a bit more about Towers, per NJ.com:

Towers doesn't appear to have any football experience but, according to LinkedIn, he is said to have managed "his own consulting agency assisting nonprofit organizations in strategic planning, board development, marketing, communications and fundraising.'' The profile says he is principal of a New York nonprofit firm called Jeffrey Towers & Associates, which doesn't have a known website, and lists his previous employers as the American Red Cross, UNICEF and Public Interest Data, Inc.

In addition to Flood’s anticipated hire of Towers, University of Illinois director of player personnel Marcus Berry and volunteer assistant E.J. Barthel are also expected to join the football program, per Sargeant.

Before Berry’s lone season at Illinois, he spent four seasons at North Carolina in the same role.

Though he could not confirm the three hires, Flood did concede to NJ.com that “Towers, Berry and Barthel were among the candidates who interviewed for the positions.”

“Nothing will happen this week,” Flood said. “I have people I’m talking to, I have interviews I’m doing. We have a process that we’re going through.”

The position of recruiting coordinator opened recently as a result of the staff changes that followed offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen’s decision to step down. The program’s former recruiting coordinator, Phil Galiano, was promoted to special teams coordinator and tight ends coach on Tuesday.

According to Rivals.com, Rutgers’ 2015 recruiting class finished 53rd in the nation and 11th out of 14 teams in the Big Ten.

For more Rutgers news, visit ScarletNation.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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