Could Shafer had duplicated Baber's success?

[IthacaBarrel]

Exactly. There is no inherent reason why Baylor should be winning double digit games in the B12, but they did. Fact is with this system you obviously need a quality QB and some some speed outside. You don't need 4 or 5 star OL, need nimbler guys who can block in space and work as a unit. Washington St. has been grobian bad in the Pac.

And what doesn't work is constant flipping of staff and coordinators with different schemes, a head coach who keeps trying to get it right without continuity. Marrone canned the coordinator after year 1, brought in Hackett and decided to figure it out internally on the offensive side. When Marrone left year 4, he had a great staff put together for sure. It took a little bit of time but he made corrections that needed to get done. I thought we might see that from Dino and the D would take another year or two to be OK but again he stuck with his guys, put some stop gap type fixes with JUCO's and 5th year guys and put a solid product out there and again proving he knows what he is doing.

Next year will be replacing the linebackers and the senior WR's and finding a better running game which is #1 area of concern right now I am sure. Bringing in the receiver from Maryland was another great move to his first season. It's what good coaches do and people who want to throw all progress out the window for 1 more win are crazy

 

[orangecuse]

You have to build a program from the ground up, there are always a few parts and pieces left over from the prior regime. Much like when Marrone took over, but you have to build depth, put your systems in and continue to build and recruit and always be developing the talent you have recruited. Much like when Marrone got us to a bowl game the 2nd year ( albeit in the Big East) but took a step back the 3rd year because of a ton of injuries, got off to a rough start the 4th year and then once Pugh came back we went on a hell of a run where things came back together and we played like a legit top 25 game the 2nd half of the season.

The thing about Marrone and Dino is there were moments one could believe we were heading in right direction. Marrone and Dino both had some nice wins along the way, Shafer did not. You could literally see the future. Shafer not so much.

Rebuilding a program doesn't always look like 4 wins one year, 6 the next, 7-8 the year after, 9-10 the year after that, it's just too simplistic to think that way, there are a ton of factors, bumps in the road, moments of brilliance and steps backward, it's the process for lack of a better word.

What I don't understand is that many fans act as if we have not been through this together and if Dino wins 5 games as if there is real cause for concern, there isn't you just have to continue to keep building, it will happen with this staff. People love the post game speeches but that doesn't change the uphill battle

The I Love Dino posts but we need 6 wins this year is hogwash, 6 wins and a bowl game would be great but does not change the long term vision one bit. Maybe some need to change from Miller Lite to tequila but it's still going to take some time. The other one that gets me is that when somebody states "Dino and his staff have never done it at the P5 level" pure crap, IMO. He just needs to keep upgrading talent, he also has inherited a brutal schedule which he has to try and sift through every year, it's not easy. I am not making excuses just living in the real world

I will throw GROB quote in there to end this, " you have to keep hanging in there, keep hanging!!"

HA!!!!!

Great post!

Those GRob pressers were classic. I recall after repeatedly get humiliated week in and week out how he would say "there's lots of improvement, I see it, I really do, you guys may not, but it's there"...or something along those lines. It was simultaneously dumbfounding, funny and brutal.

 

[orangecuse]

I don’t think people gave Marrone enough credit for what he did here in building from nothing. I wish he had stuck around a while longer to see what he could of done

In my opinion, I think if Marrone hadn't left, we very well may have consistently been in the Top 25. Rescuing the SU program after GRob took into the abyss was just short of miraculous. After we crushed WVU in the Pinstripe Bowl, I hadn't felt that good about SU football for some time. Then, "boom goes the dynamite!"

I think if the SU brass wasn't so rigid on some of Marrone's requests of what the program needed, maybe, he may have stuck around and not have bolted to the NFL. Shortly after he left, amazingly, the indoor practice field that was on the back burner moved to the front. Other improvements, weight room facilities, etc. came about. Not to mention, since Marrone was an SU alum and stated to the world that this was his "Dream Job," SU didn't/wouldn't have paid him what he was worth.

That being said, I'm excited about Baber's being here and the direction in which the SU program seems to be headed. Let's keep that train moving...get that Dome reno done!

 

[cusefan88]

I'm not gonna read this thread. The answer to the title is ...no