Greg Schiano and Rutgers have reached an agreement in principle that will bring the former Scarlet Knights coach back to lead the program, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Sources said the sides agreed to an eight-year, $32 million contract.
The agreement was first reported by Yahoo Sports.
The move comes a week after both sides walked away from negotiations and declared the possibility of a reunion dead. After that news was first reported by Yahoo and confirmed by ESPN last Sunday, Rutgers officials faced a wave of criticism from boosters, fans and former players.
"The next great chapter for Rutgers Football is about to begin," school athletic director Pat Hobbs said in a statement Sunday that stopped short of formally announcing the hire of Schiano.
Rutgers' board of governors has a special meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, where it is expected to approve a contract for Schiano.
"It wouldn't be appropriate to prejudge any action that the Board of Governors may take," Hobbs said, "but I believe today that Rutgers Football is on the path to greatness."
Schiano, 53, a New Jersey native, coached Rutgers from 2001 to '11 and led the Scarlet Knights to postseason bowl berths in six of his final seven seasons. His 68 wins as head coach rank third in program history. Success under Schiano helped Rutgers land an invite to the Big Ten, and it joined the lucrative Power 5 conference in 2014.
Schiano left Rutgers in 2012 to become head coach for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but his tenure lasted only two years. He resurfaced at Ohio State as defensive coordinator under Urban Meyer in 2016. He had reached an agreement to become Tennessee's coach in 2017, but an uproar from fans on social media led the school to rescind its offer.
Schiano left Ohio State after last season when the Buckeyes struggled on his side of the ball, and he briefly took a job as an assistant with the New England Patriots earlier this year. He stepped down soon after, deciding instead to take the season off.
Rutgers finished off a 2-10 season (0-9 in the Big Ten) on Saturday with a loss at No. 10 Penn State. Nunzio Campanile has been the interim head coach since Chris Ash was fired five games into his fourth season. Ash went 8-32 in three-plus seasons, including 3-26 in the Big Ten.
Athletic director Pat Hobbs has declined to comment on the search to replace Ash since he was fired in late September.
ESPN's Adam Rittenberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.