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Message: [QUOTE="RF2044, post: 5692139, member: 40"] Failed him? He wasn't qualified for the job! There was NOTHING in his background that suggested that he had the chops for the job. He was one of the architects of the program's decline over Boeheim's last eight years, which was a STRONG indicator that he and the other ACs didn't excel at teaching the game. He wasn't coveted by any other programs. And there was nothing in advance to suggest that he was anything special from an X's and O's standpoint. Literally nothing. Everyone got excited at the beginning, at his initial press conference, when he suggested we were going to change away from zone, but all of the vague / non-specific stuff he had to say about what his approach would be ["Syracuse standard"] should have been a red flag. As it turns out, there wasn't any substance behind any of it -- because he didn't really have any tools in his tool belt. Red, much like Mike Hopkins proved at UW, is a solid assistant coach who got exposed as a no-trick pony, with lousy systems on both sides of the ball, and no plan B when plan A didn't work. But that's what happens when your entire approach is predicated upon enthusiasm and encouraging effort, without any tactical acumen to go along with it. He never should have been considered for the job in the first place, and wouldn't have been if JB hadn't foisted him on us by not stepping down gracefully, with dignity. And three years later, the program is in a much worse spot than it was. The University didn't fail Red, they failed the [U]fanbase[/U] by making such a lousy, unqualified hire for a high profile, performance based role. They failed the fanbase by artificially constraining the candidate pool, and emphasizing BS evaluative criteria like ties to the program, instead of far more important, merit-based considerations. And they failed the fanbase by pretending that there was nothing else they could do, because JB would get mad. Managing around dysfunction never works. And here we are. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?