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Victimized by a house-cleaning of the Syracuse (N.Y.) University football program at the end of last season, former Northwest head coach Randy Trivers landed his second college coaching job last week.

On March 5, Rutgers (N.J.) University announced it had hired Trivers as its running backs coach, the same position he held for two seasons at Syracuse. He was on the job that day, when the Scarlet Knights opened spring practice.

"It's been fast and furious," Trivers said. "It's my job to make sure the running back position continues to be productive for this program, and to enhance the productivity of that group, as far as all the things running backs are asked to do."

Trivers is a former running back himself, having played at both Sherwood High and the College of the Holy Cross (Mass.), which plays in NCAA Division I-AA. After graduation, he became a graduate assistant at the University of Maryland before becoming Northwest's first-ever varsity football coach when the school opened in 1998.

In nine seasons at Northwest, Trivers' teams went 73-27 and made the playoffs six times. His only losing season was his first, when a team with no seniors went 2-8. The Jaguars went 9-2 the following year, and went on to win the Class 3A state championship in 2004.

After an undefeated regular season and 4A West Region championship two years later, Trivers made the jump back to the college level, signing on to coach the Orangemen backs under Greg Robinson. The team went 5-19 during Trivers' two seasons in Syracuse, and the entire staff was let go.

"It's not easy when you're in a situation where it's an unknown, you don't know where you're going to land," Trivers said. "Fortunately for me, I landed at a fantastic program with a highly successful head coach in Greg Schiano."

There was some speculation within the county that Trivers might return to the high school sidelines, speculation that only increased after his successor at Northwest, Andrew Fields, stepped aside after two seasons.

"I certainly will always look fondly upon my time as a high school football coach," Trivers said. "Right now, my priority is trying to be as good as I can be as a college football coach."

One of Trivers' new running back charges is junior Jourdan Brooks, a former rival from Seneca Valley. Trivers said he did not know Brooks well when each was plying his trade in Germantown. That was not the case with junior safety Joe Lefeged, a member of Trivers' final Northwest team in 2006.