"He is square-jawed and detail-oriented, a defensive fundamentalist with a commanding aura. He's a disciplinarian and teacher with a knack for getting the most out of players.

That's how football people describe Greg Schiano.

And that's why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed the Rutgers University coach to a five-year contract Thursday, making him the ninth head coach in franchise history and ending a 24-day search.

"He's a real no-nonsense kind of guy, a guy whose players love him and play hard for him,'' Bucs general manager Mark Dominik said. "And there's a universal respect around the NFL for him for what he did at Rutgers."

Schiano produced a modest 68-67 record during 11 seasons with the Scarlet Knights, but Rutgers was 56-33 during the regular season and 5-1 in bowl games during his final seven seasons.

"That part was very impressive to me,'' Dominik said. "He took over a program there that had just been awful — forever — and he turned it around and kept it going. No one's been able to do that.''

Schiano's objective with the Bucs will be similar to that at Rutgers. Since winning the Super Bowl in 2003, Tampa Bay is 62-82 during the regular season and 0-2 in playoff games.

Raheem Morris was fired on Jan. 2 after compiling a 17-31 mark in three seasons, including 4-12 in 2011, when the Bucs lost their last 10 games of the season.

Schiano's hiring marks the first time since John McKay was hired at the franchise's inception the Bucs have given a college coach his first opportunity to run an NFL team. At least one former NFL player believes Schiano has earned the chance.

"I'm very glad he got the job,'' said Terry Cousin, a 12-year NFL cornerback who played for Schiano in 1998, when the Wyckoff, N.J., native was the Bears secondary coach."