Ralph Friedgen

Former Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen was officially announced as Rutgers' new offensive coordinator tonight by head coach Kyle Flood. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The hiring of an offensive and defensive coordinator may have taken a lot longer than expected, but for Rutgers Kyle Flood it was well worth the wait.

Following a delay of several days after the news of the trio being hired first broke — and after a search for a defensive coordinator that started when Dave Cohen was fired on Dec. 8 — Rutgers officially confirmed three new football assistants last night.

Former Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen was lured out of a three-year retirement to be the offensive coordinator — likely with a deal that will make him the highest-paid assistant in school history — while Joe Rossi was elevated from special teams coordinator to defensive coordinator and Bob Fraser was brought back to oversee the linebackers and handle the special teams.

Flood still has one more vacancy to fill as well — likely a wide receivers coach.

No salaries were officially announced, but Friedgen’s two-year deal is expected to be in line with the average Big Ten coordinator’s salary.

"We got significantly better as a football program today," Flood said in a statement issued by the school. "All three of these coaches have proven track records as excellent tacticians and recruiters."

Friedgen, 66, built his reputation as an offensive guru before carving out a 75-50 record as the head coach at Maryland, his alma mater, from 2001-2010. He was fired following a 9-4 season in which he earned ACC Coach of the Year honors.

"We could not have found a better coach or person to lead our offense than Ralph," said Flood. "His track record of success both in college and the NFL is second to none on the offensive side of the ball. He will be a tremendous addition to our Rutgers football family."

He inherits an offense that ranked 73rd nationally overall and 77th in scoring out of 123 schools.

Friedgen has served as the offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech (twice, from 1987-91 and then from 1997-2000), with the San Diego Chargers (1994-96), at Maryland (1982-86) and at Murray State, William & Mary and The Citadel. He has been part of a national championship staff at Georgia Tech (1990) and part of a Super Bowl staff (Chargers in 1995).

Rossi, 34, has served as Rutgers’ special teams coordinator and a defensive assistant the past two seasons, and was named the team’s interim defensive coordinator for the Pinstripe Bowl after Cohen was fired.

"All along we were fortunate to know we had an excellent option at defensive coordinator already in our program in Joe Rossi," said Flood. "Joe has shown he is a tremendous teacher of the game and has been able to maximize the talent of our players. I am excited to promote one of the nation’s most promising defensive coaches."

Prior to coming to Piscataway, Rossi was Maine’s defensive coordinator from 2009-2011.

His task: Improving the worst pass defense in program history. The Scarlet Knights, generally a top 10 team nationally in most defensive categories, finished 73rd nationally in total defense and 120th in passing yards allowed.

Both the passing yards allowed (4,056) and total yards allowed (5,361) last season were school records.

Fraser, 51, was Rutgers’ co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2009-10, arriving in Piscataway when he was hired by Greg Schiano in 2006.

He spent the past two seasons as a defensive assistant for Schiano with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, serving as assistant defensive coordinator last season.

"Bob is one of the most knowledgeable coaching minds I have been around," said Flood. "His expertise in our Rutgers defense will be an excellent resource for our staff. We have prided ourselves in our special teams play and I look for that to continue under Bob."

One reason the hirings took longer than expected is Flood made a run at two highly-regarded former Rutgers assistants who preferred to stay in the NFL. Robb Smith was targeted as a candidate for the defensive coordinator job, while Brian Angelichio was an early frontrunner for the offensive coordinator position that became available after Ron Prince left to join the Detroit Lions staff after one season with the Scarlet Knights.

Friedgen, who has a two-year deal, Rossi and Fraser will help usher Rutgers into its inaugural season in the Big Ten this fall, with the school officially joining the league in six months.