Coach P Stepping Away from the NFL

[Rocco]

Jerry jones is doing Garrett no favors. He is making the Cowboys look more ridiculous than they usually do. I wouldn't be surprised at this point if he brought him back. And that would be down right crazy.

Jerry Jones is going to name himself the HC. He pretty much already was calling the plays and running the team. Garrett was such a puppet.

 

[Chip]

Would have been nice in 97 to have played a couple of layup home games after Wisconsin.

3-0 rolling into Blacksburg

It was the one and only time I made the trip to Blacksburg. I think we crossed the 50 once. That place was evil at night.

I'm very glad I didn't go back in 1999.

Kinda wish I did in 2001.

 

[tipphill]

As many things as people want to blame TGD for (and there are definitely things he did wrong), this one can't be laid at his doorstep. He took the job literally 4 days prior to P's firing and was following his new boss' orders.

i give you that. i wonder though why the powers that be accepted that--- imho. taking "orders" from a chancellor re football w/o board approval??? something was never right about that. the good news is that coach p never ended up at rutgers newark. i spoke with a u of i grad and they were so happy that nancy went to su--- enough said

 

[GoSU96]

The thing is, that era of the old big East - mid to late 90s - the BE was better than the ACC then, and better than the ACC now. Miami, SU, VT, WVU, BC... what could have been.

Yep

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

I mean his under .500 record over his last 3 seasons didnt help...

I'm not playing the revisionist history game just because the guy after him was a disaster. Robinson took us unto the express lane to crapdom, but P started the car in his final years. The mistake was the choice not the change. P was a very good coach who brought us to very good places. But he underperformed with national championship level talent. He deserved to be here as long as he was (that 10 win season bought him more time), but once he had 3 under .500 seasons in a row after having NEVER had one before that, it was time to move on. His next two seasons were 5-7 for UConn. The college game, simply, had passed him by.

All that being said...he should be honored. He was a very good coach for a very long time, and from what I understand a great person as well.

He had Ray Rice coming in. A difference maker of a RB that would have turned the momentum. Instead, Schiano's career has stood on Ray's shoulders. Too bad really, P deserved much better than he got.

 

[Cuseregular]

Poor facilities had nothing to do with losing to Rutgers in 2003 and Temple in 2004. Those were historically awful losses, and ultimately are what cost P his job in '04. I mean, beat Rutgers in '03 and we eek into a minor bowl. Beat Temple in '04 and we make the BCS. There is zero chance P is fired if we make the Fiesta Bowl in '04. Less than zero.

Poor facilities played a role in the program's slippage, but you can't give a pass for those losses.

this one below was the killer at least for me. After missing out on greatness the previous year and then this game, it solidified in at least my mind the direction the program was headed. And I even called this in my preseason progs that year. All that said P deserves to be honored here, next year would be great.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Rutgers Shocks Syracuse, And Breaks Losing Streak (Published 1999)

Rutgers defeats Syracuse, 24-21, in college football (M)

www.nytimes.com

 

[Chip]

The thing is, that era of the old big East - mid to late 90s - the BE was better than the ACC then, and better than the ACC now. Miami, SU, VT, WVU, BC... what could have been.

Should have raided first. Approach FSU with an offer they can't refuse, they could bring along GT. You're at 10 and could probably grab 2 more from what's perceived as a sinking ship.

Nice guys finish last.

It's crazy to think that back in the day, a game like, say SU vs West Virginia (in 96 for example) was more attractive than any SEC game, and was the 3:30 CBS game.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Should have raided first. Approach FSU with an offer they can't refuse, they could bring along GT. You're at 10 and could probably grab 2 more from what's perceived as a sinking ship.

Nice guys finish last.

It's crazy to think that back in the day, a game like, say SU vs West Virginia (in 96 for example) was more attractive than any SEC game, and was the 3:30 CBS game.

The ACC was run by football admins. The BE was run by basketball admins.

First conference to get to 12 teams wins.

 

[IthacaMatt]

The ACC was run by football admins. The BE was run by basketball admins.

First conference to get to 12 teams wins.

Yeah, but it was like Dodge Ball, and one set of guys knew what skills you needed to win, and the other guys did not.

 

[JeffCuse]

Losing your home opener to an unranked East Carolina team after a huge non conference season road opener win over a ranked NC team has nothing to do with the Big East schedule. Losing at home to an unranked NC state team at home the week after a tremendous thumping of a ranked Wisconsin team in your nationally televised season opener doesn’t either.

 

[cusefan88]

I would love to see Coach P get honored. And George DeLeone for that matter as well.

A lot of people may not know George's son, Mark, is a LB coach for the Bears and very well regarded.

 

[JeffCuse]

I would love to see Coach P get honored. And George DeLeone for that matter as well.

A lot of people may not know George's son, Mark, is a LB coach for the Bears and very well regarded.

I can get on board with P but honoring DeLeone is pushing the nostalgia train a bit too far

As an aside typing it out I realized for the first time ever DeLeone isn’t actually a 4 letter word...

 

[GoSU96]

Should have raided first. Approach FSU with an offer they can't refuse, they could bring along GT. You're at 10 and could probably grab 2 more from what's perceived as a sinking ship.

Nice guys finish last.

It's crazy to think that back in the day, a game like, say SU vs West Virginia (in 96 for example) was more attractive than any SEC game, and was the 3:30 CBS game.

Friggen Georgetown

 

[GoSU96]

I can get on board with P but honoring DeLeone is pushing the nostalgia train a bit too far

As an aside typing it out I realized for the first time ever DeLeone isn’t actually a 4 letter word...

you do realize that Mac doesn’t make it here without those guys, right?

 

[JeffCuse]

you do realize that Mac doesn’t make it here without those guys, right?

I mean do major universities, even those who have won national titles, regularly honor coordinators? I feel like you almost never see that even at that level. Never mind a guy who went from above average to below average by a failure to adapt.

EDIT- I’m sure it’s happened SOMEWHERE but I doubt think it’s common at all.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Maybe a return to SU as DC?

Babers did say he was waiting for some teams to wrap things up...
I’m ok with it as long as PP has learned how to take better staff directory photos.

 

[JeffCuse]

Bottom line: I would have no problem at all with a Coach P Day, or honoring him however the team sees fit. He did do really really good work here. I just don’t want to pretend he was something he was not, and the mistakes made subsequent to his dismissal do not change his legacy for the better or worse.

 

[JeffCuse]

Babers did say he was waiting for some teams to wrap things up...
I’m ok with it as long as PP has learned how to take better staff directory photos.

I would be fine with him as a DC provided it does not somehow position him as HC again if Babers moves on at some point

 

[sufandu]

so 2-3 losses define his career ? seriously, you do see a bigger picture don't you?? or maybe not

They don't define but they do influence. Those are the losses that separate good coaches from great coaches. Consider that the two most successful seasons he had, using the finishing poll rankings as the barometer, were with the teams Mac had left him, and the highest finish for a McNabb era team was 19. That's the track record of a good coach, maybe even a very good coach, but not a great coach. He also never had to build or resurrect a flailing program.

 

[kirbivore]

Agreed.

It's also fair to note that SU wildly overscheduled back in the day. Playing 2, or even 3, power conference teams OOC, while also competing in a pretty strong Big East, was insanity. Granted, some of those teams were mediocre, but there was no reason to wear the team out when we were staring down Miami, VaTech, WVU, etc. in conference. I mean, look at this...

1995: UNC, Minnesota
1996: UNC, Minnesota
1997: Wisconsin, NC State, Oklahoma
1998: Tennessee, Michigan, NC State
2001: GaTech, Tennessee, Auburn
2002: BYU, UNC, Auburn

I don't think Jake, or whomever did the scheduling for SU in the 90s, realized that we had joined a conference that decade.

I'd love to have seen what would've been if the 1997 or 1998 team had a typical Va Tech creampuff schedule

 

[elimunelson]

Bottom line: I would have no problem at all with a Coach P Day, or honoring him however the team sees fit. He did do really really good work here. I just don’t want to pretend he was something he was not, and the mistakes made subsequent to his dismissal do not change his legacy for the better or worse.

We tend to focus on the end but the start was better than any other Syracuse football coach ever. I’ve said often, if Paterno died in say February 1993, P may have left Syracuse at that point having gone to 3 straight bowl games, finishing w a top 6 season and who knows what he would have done with Penn St in that scenario.

Maybe Tarantino could do an alternate history movie on this subject. I mean everyone in the country is interested in that hypothetical!

 

[SmilinBob]

I see Coach P and Marrone as being very close to the same type of coaches in regard to being very good coaches but not Mr. personality to the general public. P had Mac's kids and went 20-4 and then was solid but not spectacular from then on but granted, the schedule didn't do them any favors.

He's a loyal and good coach and I hope they do honer him someday and that being said I have to wonder how he feels about the university now that many or all of the people that were there are now gone.

I wouldn't mind having him back as a LB/Co DC coach but I don't think that would work because of what has happened in the past.

 

[tipphill]

I see Coach P and Marrone as being very close to the same type of coaches in regard to being very good coaches but not Mr. personality to the general public. P had Mac's kids and went 20-4 and then was solid but not spectacular from then on but granted, the schedule didn't do them any favors.

He's a loyal and good coach and I hope they do honer him someday and that being said I have to wonder how he feels about the university now that many or all of the people that were there are now gone.

I wouldn't mind having him back as a LB/Co DC coach but I don't think that would work because of what has happened in the past.

we need a RECRUITER as well somewhere in the mix

 

[All4SU]

When you’re trying to turn a program around, the first element you need is a personality, a guy with charisma and enthusiasm to energize the fan base and give a boost to recruiting. Subsequently, you need a disciplinarian, a guy who will drive guys to sustain success. That’s the formula. That’s what we had with Mac and then P.

 

[Moontan]

We could use our version of Venables/Foster etc...