Greg Schiano’s anticipated return to Rutgers will likely hinge on the university’s 14-person Board of Governors, three people with knowledge of the situation told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday.

Although it’s not clear whether Schiano has signed paperwork to accept Rutgers’ offer, Schiano has signaled to top Rutgers officials and others close to the program he’s willing to take the job, the three people said.

One person familiar with the negotiations said Schiano is "all in'' and "it's up to Rutgers'' to get it done.

The news was first reported on NJ.com’s Rutgers Sports Insider.

The three people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Schiano and Rutgers athletics director Pat Hobbs have not returned several phone messages from NJ Advance Media this week.

The Board of Governors’ athletics committee is expected to recommend Schiano’s hire to the full board once university officials are confident sufficient support exists to secure a final approval.

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The BOG must provide a 48-hour notice by law before convening a special meeting to vote on Schiano’s hire. That meeting would be open to the public; it would likely be conducted by teleconference at Winants Hall on the New Brunswick campus. A majority vote of the BOG members present would be required to approve Schiano’s hire and eight members would constitute a quorum.

Four BOG members – Mark Angelson, Greg Brown, Marge Derrick and Frank Hundley – are on the athletics consulting committee that would recommend Schiano’s hire to the full board. Angelson is the BOG president and Brown is the chairman of the athletics committee. Brown and Hobbs met with Schiano on Nov. 5 in Columbus, Ohio, beginning a negotiation process that is now two weeks long.

Rutgers is believed to have targeted Thursday or Friday to finalize a reunion with Schiano and hold an introductory press conference. The Scarlet Knights have two games left this season, including Saturday’s home finale against Michigan State at SHI Stadium. Interim head coach Nunzio Campanile, who took over the program in late September after Chris Ash was fired with over $8 million left on his contract following a 1-3 start to this year and an 8-32 career record, is expected to lead the team for the remainder of the season regardless of when Schiano’s hire is made official.

Schiano, 53, built the Rutgers football program into a perennial bowl participant before leaving for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in early 2012 following an 11-year run from 2001-11. He spent three seasons as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator and then had a brief stint in the same role with the New England Patriots earlier this year before electing to take the season off. Schiano previously declined to address the Rutgers vacancy in a late October interview with NJ Advance Media prior to introducing longtime Star-Ledger columnist Jerry Izenberg in a New Jersey Hall of Fame induction speech.

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Rutgers went 68-67 under Schiano, but that record is deceiving. The Ramapo High product inherited arguably the nation’s worst program when he was hired. The Scarlet Knights had four straight losing seasons to begin his tenure but broke through to appear in the program’s second-ever bowl game in 2005, his fifth year.

Rutgers then had a breakthrough 2006, going 11-2 and finishing the year ranked No. 12 in the nation after an iconic home upset of Louisville during the regular season and the school’s first-ever postseason win in the Texas Bowl. Schiano took Rutgers to six bowl games in his final seven seasons, winning five of them, with a record of 56-33 during that span.

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Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.

Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.