How little does that award mean after going down in gut-wrenching fashion with millions in bowl revenue on the line? Ask runner up Jim Grobe.

Wake Forest won the ACC and is Miami-bound to take on Louisville. I’ll bet Grobe woke up Sunday a lot happier with and Orange Bowl berth, than a trophy from the Home Depot.

Schiano and the Scarlet Knights wrapped up the season a more-than-respectably at 10-2. The highlight – a last second, 28-25 win over #3 Louisville. After that win, Rutgers went 1-2 down the stretch, losing at Cincinnati and West Virginia.

The Miami rumors have been persistent and with Rutgers’ regular season finally over, it’s time for Schiano to mull it over a few days and make a decision. Recruits, a fan base and the nation await.

This has loomed for weeks now, as much as it’s publicly been denied. Schiano will be en route to Miami tomorrow, the day after. Soon. It’s in the works. Paul Dee made the call today.

Schiano will get Donna Shalala and Dee’s best sales pitch and then it’s time to choose. It’s a huge fork in the road for him, personally and professionally. What will be the deciding factor?

Before we get into that, I’ll say I think Schiano is Miami’s best bet. Still, I’m not completely sold yet. There are some solid traits, but there might be a better fit out there. This process can’t be taken lightly. Chuck Nienas better earn his consultant’s fee and help The U figure it all out.

Schiano turned around a Rutgers program which could’ve easily been confused for Temple a few years back. Both were bottom dwellers and punching bags for the rest of the Big East. In 1999, Miami beat both the Scarlet Knights and Owls, 55-0.

Today Rutgers is 10-2. A few weeks back they peaked, knocking off #3 weeks ago. Yesterday they came within an overtime of an Orange Bowl berth. A far cry from 2-9 in Schiano’s inaugural season of 2001. That’s more than “progress.”

Hell, it’s just short of a miracle.

Schiano also proved he can recruit South Florida. He’s known this neck of the woods just shy of a decade now. He also cut his teeth at The U. It was 1999-2000. The end of the probation era and the dawn of a new day. Schiano saw the difference between a four-loss season at Miami and a one-loss campaign. He knows the culture and expectations.

Does he want to take on that challenge again, running the whole show this time, or is he comfortable in Jersey?

There’s your million dollar question. Schiano’s career-altering “fork in the road.” This move determines what kind of man he really is.

There’s no right or wrong here. I wouldn’t fault Schiano for staying put, though I’d respect him more if he accepted the bigger challenge. Rutgers is the seemingly easier route. He’s already the Prince of Piscataway. They were thisclose to an Orange Bowl berth this year. Combine that with the love he’ll get for turning down big, bad Miami for his New Jersey hometown roots.

Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi could write a dozen songs between them on the subject matter.

Schiano can make Rutgers a consistent top-20 program with random bright spots due to overachieving and good coaching. 2006 is a prime example. Signature wins here and there. Two BCS berths a decade. Competitive football played by a once laughing stock. He’d be a god among men up there.

But he’d never sniff a National Championship unless he came to Miami.

Today’s golden boy could also string together a couple of four-loss seasons. 2006’s Coach of the Year, when? Fans have a short memory once you’ve showed them you can win and then lose your mojo. Larry Coker, who?

This is a case for getting out while the getting is good. Anything less than 10-2 last year is now considered a “down year” at Rutgers. That won’t bode well for a coach some speculate is waiting out the Penn State job. Schiano’s star has to keep burning bright if he expects to succeed a living legend. A few three-loss seasons with the Scarlet Knights and there will be another “coach of the year” type dominating the headlines then.

How high up the coaching ladder does Schiano want to climb?

Is Rutgers a high enough peak, or is there a more appealing challenge in Coral Gables? Schiano turned 40 this year. A new decade brings new challenges. He’s in his prime. This is an ideal time for a Type A, “go getter” to take a leap of faith.

If he’s got that fire in the belly and sky’s the limit, then Greg Schiano will be the next coach of the Miami Hurricanes.

This is not a job for the weak, but succeed here and the reward is that much sweeter. Miami was college football’s punching bag in 2006. Everyone made sure to get their licks in now because they know the Canes don’t stay down long. They know the right coach will come in here and right this ship and when they do, to the victor goes the spoils.

When Miami was tabbed NFL U, that wasn’t just for players. Hurricane coaches get snatched up like first round draft picks. Howard. Jimmy. Dennis. Butch. All went on to big money at the next level.

During the Rutgers/West Virginia game, the commentators stated that Schiano and Butch Davis were slated to talk early this week. You don’t even have to read between the lines on this one.

Schiano is asking Davis about the upside/downside to taking over the program and Davis is telling him what five years and some success at that program will do for an up and comer. Davis rebuilt Miami and Cleveland turned it into a huge NFL payday. Things crapped out, Butch still got paid and spent this season pimping himself on the NFL Network as a commentator.

Weeks ago, North Carolina ponied up some big money to bring Davis to Chapel Hill. Those opportunities happen to “Miami” guys , not Rutgers.

By week’s end, Schiano will have visited The U and talked to Davis. Rutgers top brass has answered back with a 10-year/$20M extension, waiting for him when he returns. It’s real life “Let’s Make a Deal” and Schiano is days away from choosing doors #1 or #2.

Stay at Rutgers, lose no more than three games a year, earn a few BCS berths per decade and you’re a hero.

Or, Door #2. Come to Miami and play with the big boys. The stakes are higher, but so are the rewards when you get the job done. There’s been a lot of negative focus on the media cracking down on Larry Coker as of late, but ask him about 2001-2002.

During the 24-0 run, Coker was Teflon and received nothing but praise as the good guy who finished first.

Schiano needs to look no further than Urban Meyer, another up and comer facing an identical situation, this time in 2004.

Meyer’s Utah Utes rolled to 12-0 and whooped Big East champs Pittsburgh, 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl. The Urban One knew his star wasn’t going to shine any brighter, so he got out while the getting was good. Utah is only going so far – which never sits well with a guy who wants to win it all. They’re always ready to pounce on the next great opportunity.

Meyer accepted the Florida job weeks before the Fiesta Bowl, yet still coached his kids in the big game. His Florida team went 9-3 in 2005. Instant improvement from the back-to-back 5-loss seasons under Ron Zook, showing Florida had some talent but needed someone more skilled to run the show.

A year later, Meyer and his Gators (12-1) were voted #2 in the BCS and head to Glendale, AZ to take on #1 Ohio State for the National Championship.

Coach Schiano, here’s your Urban-like moment. Miami or Rutgers. One or the other. You can’t have both. You currently have a seemingly safe and secure out. Ride that wave and lay low for that Penn State dream gig, if you think that’s the play.

Or you head to Miami for that “next level” kind of opportunity.

The good and the bad are all intensified down here. You want to climb the coaching ranks? Having “The U” on the resume gives you instant credibility. Hell, you already saw that first hand. After two years as Miami’s defensive coordinator (1999-2000), Rutgers rolled out the scarlet carpet to bring you home.

The orange and green carpet is being rolled out now. Big time. Miami is digging deep. Schiano has supposedly been identified as their #1 and Randy Shannon is a distant #2. Dee and Shalala aren’t going to hold back. Schiano will get their best pitch and then it’ll be on him to make his move.

Whatever the choice, it’s the “right” answer.

If Schiano has the stones to accept the Miami gig and invites the challenge, then good things are in store for The U. If he can turn around Rutgers, he can flat out make Miami a winner again.

If he stays put and takes the cushy route, then he lacks the character Miami needs out of its next coach who will clean up this current mess. Step up to the challenge of putting this program back on the map. Miami should have to sell someone on the premise. This is the most dominant program in the game these past 25 years. It always claws its way back to the top unconventionally. Just watch.

Schiano downplayed things well the past few weeks, but it’s decision time. My take? The chat with Davis is a difference-maker. Schiano’s old boss let’s him know that while torn, Miami is too big of an opportunity to pass up.

The U is ripe for the taking. Schiano needs to speak now or forever hold his peace. Academic standards? Money? Facilities? He has a very captive audience who’s been vocal he’s their top choice. Don’t hold back with demands that will help the program. Lay it out there. Chop that wood.

Schiano’s facing a tough decision and a no-brainer all at once. Curious to see how it all plays out. Right now I’ll put the “Schiano Bolts” odds at 53% entering Monday.

Watch it play out and check back Tuesday…

.:Canes305:.