‘This is home’: Bergen Catholic thrilled for chance to be Rutgers football co-DC

PISCATAWAY – The idea of someday coaching with Rutgers football had appealed to Zach Sparber for a long time.

He grew up in Norwood, played at Bergen Catholic and later spent a year there as a coach. But being able to compete at the highest level of college football and to do some in his home state seemed like a perfect fit.

Sparber put the work in, climbed the ranks of coaching and impressed the right people along the way.

Now he finds himself right back at home, realizing that opportunity to coach with the Scarlet Knights as co-defensive coordinator.

“I have tremendous affection for this state and Rutgers being in the Big Ten, this is the highest level of college football,” Sparber said following the Scarlet Knights‘ spring practice. “To have the opportunity to coordinate defense here and work for Coach (Greg) Schiano is something I’ve always thought about in the back of my head.”

Sparber, also Rutgers’ linebackers coach, officially joined the program in February after spending last season as the linebackers coach at James Madison. He’ll lead the defense with Robb Smith, whom he worked for at Duke in 2022 when he was a graduate assistant and Smith was the defensive coordinator.

The chance to reunite with Smith while also working for Greg Schiano is an opportunity Sparber is relishing just a couple months into the job.

“It’s been fantastic,” Sparber said. “Coach Schiano is such a beacon of football in this state, so for me to be able to work with him is really, really exciting. Then to get back together with Robb Smith – we were together in 2022 at Duke – we had really good experiences playing quality defense and taking the football away from people. Really excited to be back with Coach Smith and now add Coach Schiano as a mentor is extremely exciting.”

Zach Sparber’s initial meetings with Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano

In some ways, this was a long time coming for Sparber, who played at Brown University.

He first met Schiano in 2017 when he was the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Bergen Catholic. Schiano, then the defensive coordinator at Ohio State, made a trip to the Oradell school on a recruiting visit.

Then they met again in 2020. Sparber said he was in Schiano’s office around the time when the NBA suspended its season at the start of the pandemic.

“We had a great meeting, it was awesome, Sparber said. “But obviously at that point things shut down, nobody’s hiring anybody. I stayed put where I was at.”

Two years later he was at Duke with Smith. Now they’re all together at Rutgers.

“This guy is a sharp young kid, and he’s had tremendous experience since then working with some defensive football coaches,” Schiano said prior to the start of spring practices.

Zach Sparber’s rise in coaching included stops

While Smith will call the plays, Sparber’s input will be valuable. He’s worked with some high-level coaches, including former Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster and former Duke head coach Mike Elko, now the head coach at Texas A&M.

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Last year with JMU, Sparber helped run a defense that ranked third nationally with 29 takeaways and first in the Sun Belt in total defense (321.8 yards per game), scoring defense (20.5 points per game), rushing defense (115.4 yards per game), sacks (3.5) and interceptions (17).

While Sparber had never been a coordinator until now, he said he always tried to see the game from that point of view.

“I always tried to look at the game as a whole,” Sparber said. “How do all the pieces fit together, from back to front, from front to back. We all are going have to work together.”

After a quick rise in coaching, Sparber has a big opportunity right back in his home state.

Sparber’s not taking it for granted.

“This is home. To be coordinator in Power 4 football and to have my children grow up, and my wife is from here also, to have my children grow up an hour from their grandparents, it doesn’t happen, it’s unheard of,” Sparber said. “The pride I feel about the state of New Jersey, I tell guys all the time when we recruit them: ‘Nobody likes us except for us.’ We are a special and a different breed here. I really do believe that. I take great pride in the state of New Jersey.”

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