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[QUOTE="SWC75, post: 2459908, member: 289"]
When Doug was hired, Sean Payton said he was already on the short list for NFL jobs but wanted to come to Syracuse. we all know what Doug said when he got here. I recall that in his first couple of years he was almost bubbling over with enthusiasm about the job, excitedly describing every aspect of it. it was his first head coaching job but it was also at his alma mater.

Then came 2011. A shaky 5-2 start with one great performance vs. West Virginia followed by an 0-5 collapse. There were disciplinary problems and stories of locker room fights. As OrangePA later observed, his demeanor changed that year. He became sullen and uncommunicative. He used "That's on me I've got to do a better job" as a mantra, saying it so many times that I started abbreviating it as TOMIGODABJ. I think he decided he wanted back into the NFL at that point. He need a successful season as a launching point and when we went 8-5 and crushed West Virginia in the pinstripe bowl the next year, he drew interest from the Bills and suddenly was being announced as their head coach without any prior indication that he was leaving and no parting words for the SU fans that had believed he was going to be an SU lifer.

He was probably also discouraged by the slowness of facility upgrades but I think it was specific events  in the 2011 season that changed him. I don't believe that he initially saw SU as a stepping stone job at all. He could remained with new Orleans until an NFL job opened and gotten one sooner.
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